Horseflies

by Bonnie Bryant

  “Wow!” he cried. He turned his head and looked around. “I’m so high up!”

  “Put your feet in the stirrups and lightly hold one rein in each hand.” Carole helped Jamie adjust his feet and hands. “Horses have sensitive mouths, so you don’t want to pull too much on Nickel’s bit.”

  “Okay.” Jamie kept his hands just as Carole had placed them.

  She grinned up at him. “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  “Great. Lead on, Lisa.”

  Slowly Lisa led Nickel and Jamie around the ring, while Carole and Stevie kept pace on either side. Nickel covered the ground with his gentle, swaying walk. Jamie’s cheeks grew pink with excitement. “This is fun!” he cried. “Can we go faster?”

  Lisa looked over her shoulder at Carole and Stevie. “What do you think?”

  “I guess we could trot,” said Stevie. “It might be hard to keep up if he canters, though.”

  “Okay, Jamie,” said Lisa. “We’re going to do the horse’s next fastest gait, which is called a trot. It’s a little bumpy, so squeeze tightly with your legs and keep your heels down.”

  “Okay.” Jamie nodded.

  Lisa clucked and Nickel moved quickly into a smooth trot, the girls jogging along with him.

  “How are you doing up there?” Carole called breathlessly after they had trotted around the ring twice.

  “Grreeaaat!” Jamie sounded as if he were being bounced on someone’s knee.

  “Can we stop now?” huffed Stevie. “Before I have a heart attack? Remember, Nickel’s got twice as many legs as we do!”

  They slowed to a walk, then stopped in front of the gate. “It’s time for me to take Jamie home, anyway,” said Lisa. “I promised his mother I’d have him back in time for lunch.”

  “So how did you like riding, Jamie?” Carole asked the beaming child.

  “It was great!” he exclaimed. He looked imploringly at Lisa. “Can I come back and ride again sometime?”

  She looked up at him. “Maybe we could work something out with your parents and Max. Right now, though, I need to get you home.”

  “You and Jamie go ahead, Lisa. Stevie and I can cool and untack Nickel,” offered Carole.

  “Really?” Lisa asked.

  “Yeah, that way you can get back faster and we can take a long trail ride this afternoon,” Stevie said with a grin.

  “You’ve got a deal!” said Lisa.

  Carole showed Jamie how to dismount. He unsnapped his helmet and handed it to Stevie. “Thanks for the ride,” he said softly. “It was lots of fun.”

  “It was our pleasure, Jamie,” replied Stevie. “We of The Saddle Club like nothing better than to introduce people to the fine art of equitation.”

  “Come on, Stevie,” Carole said, pulling Stevie and Nickel toward the stable. “See you later, Lisa. Bye, Jamie. Glad you had a good time. Hope you can come and ride again!”

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Lisa burst into the tack room. “Hi!” she called. “I figured I might find you two in here.”

  Stevie and Carole looked up from soaping two bridles.

  “Mrs. Reg said this pile of tack needed cleaning,” explained Stevie. “So here we are.”

  All the Pine Hollow riders were expected to help out with stable chores, and Max’s mother, Mrs. Reg, who was the stable manager, could usually find plenty for them to do. Though the girls grumbled sometimes, they really didn’t mind. The chores always had to do with the health and safety of the horses, and that was important to them.

  “It could have been worse,” Carole reminded them. “There were a bunch of stalls that needed to be mucked out.”

  Lisa sat down beside Stevie. “Give me that last bridle and I’ll help. That way we can finish faster and get on the trail.”

  Carole handed Lisa the bridle, and together the girls rubbed the clean-smelling saddle soap into the stiff leather reins.

  “Did you get Jamie home in time for his lunch?” Stevie asked as she cleaned green goop off a snaffle bit.

  Lisa nodded. “He talked about Nickel all the way back, and his mother gave me a tuna fish sandwich.” She smiled. “They’re really nice, and Jamie had a wonderful time here at the stable.”

  “He seems like a neat little kid,” said Stevie. “I’m glad you brought him over.”

  “I wonder what it would be like to have a bridle of gold,” Carole said dreamily as she cleaned a noseband. Lisa and Stevie exchanged grins. Carole obviously wasn’t paying attention to their conversation.

  “Well, you probably wouldn’t need to rub it with saddle soap,” Stevie said, giggling. “You could just dab metal polish on it, or you could have one of your goddess pals sprinkle it with diamond dust.”

  The girls looked at each other, then collapsed in laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” a woman’s voice called from the doorway.

  The girls turned. Deborah, Max’s wife, stood there in jeans and a sweatshirt, a tired smile on her face.

  “Oh, just one of Stevie’s jokes,” replied Lisa. “How’s Maxi? Max told us she’s got chicken pox.”

  “She had a terrible night last night. None of us got any sleep. She just itches and itches in places she can’t reach to scratch. Babies have such a miserable time with this disease.”

  “That must be awful,” said Carole. “Poor little thing.”

  “It is awful.” Deborah sighed. “The only good thing about it is she’ll never have to go through it again. You can only get chicken pox once.”

  “That’s a relief!” exclaimed Lisa.

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” Stevie asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Deborah answered wearily. “But thanks for asking. Are you three going on a trail ride?”

  “Yes.” Carole’s dark eyes sparkled. “It’s The Saddle Club’s first official trail ride of the summer.”

  “Well, have a good time.” Deborah smiled. “I’ve got to get back to Maxi.”

  “Bye, Deborah,” called Lisa. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

  “I will. Thanks.” Deborah’s voice faded down the hall toward Mrs. Reg’s office.

  The girls turned back to their job. The once-stiff leather bridles with dirty bits were now clean and hanging along the wall. “These look great!” Carole announced. “I’d say we’re done.”

  “Then let’s go,” said Stevie. “Last one tacked up is a rotten egg.”

  Stevie grabbed Belle’s lead rope. Carole snagged Starlight’s bridle. Lisa scooped up Prancer’s currycomb and dandy brush. Then they hurried to their horses’ stalls. In a few minutes they all met at the main entrance of the stable, tacked up and ready to go.

  “Whew!” said Stevie, out of breath. “I’d call that a draw. Nobody has to be a rotten egg today.”

  Carole laughed. “Good. I don’t feel much like being one after all that bridle cleaning. Which trail do we want to take?”

  “Let’s do the creek trail,” suggested Lisa. “We can have a nice ride across the meadow and then go wading in the creek.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Stevie agreed.

  The girls walked their horses to the back of the stable, where the creek trail began, then mounted. Prancer and Belle took off at a trot, eager to go for a run in the woods, but Starlight snorted and balked as if he would rather stay at the barn.

  “Come on, boy.” Carole squeezed Starlight with her legs as she watched Stevie and Lisa disappear around the first curve. Starlight backed up instead of going forward and twisted his head around to look at Carole. “Everybody’s going that way, Starlight!” she cried, squeezing him with her legs again. Finally the bay gelding turned in the right direction and trotted quickly after the other two horses.

  Spring fever, Carole thought as Starlight caught up to Prancer. He’s got spring fever and his muscles are tight. I need to ride him a lot more.

  The trail Stevie led them along went a little way through the woods. Above them the sunlight twinkled through a leafy green canopy of tr
ees, and a jaunty mockingbird trilled as they rode past. The sweet smell of blooming honeysuckle drifted through the air. “Isn’t this a wonderful day?” Stevie called over her shoulder.

  “It’s absolutely perfect!” agreed Lisa.

  “Want to canter when we get to the meadow?”

  “Yes!” Lisa and Carole cried in unison.

  They trotted until the woods thinned out into a grassy green meadow speckled with tiny yellow wildflowers. The ground was smooth here and the grass soft. It was the perfect place for a fast ride. The three girls pulled up side by side.

  “Everybody ready for the first official canter of the summer?” Stevie asked with a grin.

  Carole and Lisa nodded.

  “Then let’s go, and the last one to the creek’s a rotten egg!”

  The girls urged their horses into a canter. This time when Prancer and Belle bounded forward, Starlight did not hesitate but ran right along beside them, eager to be first.

  Carole shifted her weight over Starlight’s withers and relaxed into the horse’s gait. She could feel his muscles moving beneath her as his hooves thudded on the grass. The breeze blew cool on her face, and the flower-dotted meadow passed by in a blur. Just ahead was a small tree that had fallen in a storm. As soon as Starlight saw it, he nosed ahead of Belle and Prancer and galloped even faster. To Carole, it seemed as if they were flying. As they approached the tree, Starlight slowed a bit to gather himself; then he jumped high and long over the fallen trunk and branches. Carole closed her eyes as his powerful back legs lifted them into the air, but she wasn’t afraid. She suddenly knew exactly what it was like to ride a horse with wings. No wonder Bellerophon loved Pegasus so.

  When she opened her eyes, the creek was coming up fast. “Whoa, boy,” she said softly, sitting back in the saddle and shortening her reins. Though Starlight settled down into a canter, he tossed his head up and down as if he really didn’t want to quit running yet.

  “Easy, Starlight,” Carole murmured, patting his neck and turning him in a large circle. “You act like you’ve never galloped before.”

  Starlight snorted once but finally slowed to a trot, then to a walk. Carole turned to watch as Stevie and Lisa cantered up beside her.

  “Gosh, Carole,” Stevie said breathlessly. “I only said you’d be a rotten egg. I didn’t mean you’d be the rottenest egg on the planet forever!”

  Carole frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you were going fast. Really fast. Racehorse fast.”

  “Oh, Stevie,” Carole replied. She knew she’d passed Stevie and Lisa, but she didn’t think she’d gone that fast. Stevie tended to exaggerate, anyway.

  “No, Stevie’s right,” said Lisa. “You guys were a blur. I didn’t think you were ever going to land after that jump.”

  Carole couldn’t help grinning. “Wasn’t that wonderful? I felt just like Bellerophon must have on Pegasus.”

  Stevie and Lisa exchanged amused glances. “Let’s let the horses graze a little while we go wading,” Stevie suggested. She lifted one eyebrow at Carole. “Unless, of course, there are some lion-headed monsters around that you and Starlight want to take on.”

  Carole laughed. “Not today. Flying on the ground’s good enough for me.”

  The girls walked their horses to cool them down, then tied them to some low bushes that grew near the creek. Belle, Prancer, and Starlight were as much of a club as their riders, so there was little chance that any of them would run away. After they had begun to graze contentedly in the deep green grass, the girls sprawled out on the sun-warmed boulders that bordered the creek.

  “Oh, these boots,” Lisa groaned as she pulled off one tall black boot. “I love them, but they’re awfully hot for trail riding.” Lisa’s mother insisted that Lisa have just the right clothes to do all the things she thought proper young ladies ought to know how to do. She always bought Lisa the very best, but sometimes Lisa wished her mother would listen to her more and just buy her what she needed.

  “Maybe you’ll make enough money baby-sitting Jamie to buy a pair of short ones,” Stevie said as she pulled off her cowboy boots.

  “Jamie’s parents would have to go to Europe for six months for that to happen,” Lisa said matter-of-factly. She pulled off her socks and stuck her feet in the cool water. “Anyway, I’ve got to come up with fifty dollars of my own money each month for riding lessons this summer.”

  “Ouch.” Stevie winced. “That’s a lot.” She yanked off her socks and plunged her feet into the water. “Ahhh,” she murmured. “Bliss.”

  “He’s a nice little boy, though.” Carole leaned over the wide, shallow creek and watched as tiny silver minnows darted around their toes. “Baby-sitting him won’t be bad. And maybe he can come to the stable again.”

  Lisa smiled. “It was fun taking him around the ring on Nickel, wasn’t it? I felt like, I don’t know, a real honest-to-goodness horseback rider.”

  “I know,” agreed Carole. “I did, too. It felt so good to show somebody how wonderful horses and riding are.”

  Lisa reached down and splashed a handful of cool water where her hair fell against her neck. “I really appreciate your helping me with him today.”

  “That’s what The Saddle Club is for,” Stevie chirped. “To help each other out, whenever we need it.”

  “So you guys really do like Jamie?” asked Lisa.

  “Sure,” said Stevie. “He’s cute. When he grows up, he’ll be almost as cute as Phil.” Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend. He rode at Cross County Pony Club, and when he and Stevie weren’t competing with each other to see who was the better rider, they had wonderful times together.

  “Good,” Lisa replied. “I’m taking him to the Cross County Fair on Wednesday, and I was hoping you two might want to come along.”

  Stevie sat up straighter. “I’m already supposed to meet Phil there. But if you and Jamie come along, we can all do the fair together. Can you come too, Carole? Or are you sure you can tear yourself away from Pegasus and Beetlejuice?” There was a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes.

  “Yeah, Carole,” Lisa teased. “I mean, gosh, it’s only three months until that project’s due. You don’t have true Lisa-itis if you’re not already thinking about it!”

  “You two can laugh,” said Carole, “but these stories are really cool.” She turned toward Stevie and Lisa and sat cross-legged. “Bellerophon was a prince who had lost his kingdom. King Iobates sent him on a mission to destroy a monster called the Chimera, something no mortal man was supposed to be able to do.”

  “Is this Chimera Mr. Goat-Breath?” asked Stevie.

  “Right. Bellerophon knew he would probably be killed fighting the Chimera, and he was just about to ask for the king’s daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  “Gosh,” Lisa said softly.

  “But he was sworn to do what the king commanded. He was on his way to find the Chimera when suddenly the goddess Athena appeared before him. She gave him a golden bridle and told him to go and put it on Pegasus. That way, on a flying horse, he could kill the monster without being killed himself.

  “Bellerophon knew about a spring where Pegasus was supposed to drink, so he went and hid in the bushes and waited. Sure enough, Pegasus came along and Bellerophon jumped on his back. Furious, Pegasus flew high up into the heavens, but Bellerophon hung on and waited for his chance to slip the bridle into Pegasus’ mouth. After he did that, Pegasus became as gentle as—”

  “Belle!” Stevie interjected.

  “No, probably more like Patch,” said Carole.

  The girls giggled at the thought of Pine Hollow’s gentlest, most easygoing horse suddenly sprouting wings and flying off to attack monsters.

  Carole continued. “Anyway, after that, Pegasus and Bellerophon flew away to search for the Chimera, and they found it, sleeping at the mouth of a cave. Pegasus dropped down from the sky without a sound, but the Chimera woke up. They had a furious battle that lasted for hours, but in the end Bellerophon chopped
off its head. The blood boiled out of its body and turned the ground to ashes.”

  “So did Bellerophon get back and marry the king’s daughter?” Lisa asked.

  Carole shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t read that far.”

  Stevie chewed on a blade of grass and stretched out again on the warm rock. “I guess a book like that wouldn’t be too bad to read on summer vacation,” she admitted.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever mind reading and writing about horses,” said Carole.

  Stevie grinned at her two friends. “It just seems weird—Carole’s reading a book while Lisa’s teaching someone about horses!”

  Suddenly a high-pitched squeal rang out. The girls turned and looked over at the horses. Starlight had sidled up to Prancer and was trying to bite her ear.

  “What on earth?” cried Carole, jumping up and running barefoot over to Starlight. She grabbed his bridle. “He’s never tried to do anything like that before.”

  “Is Prancer okay?” Lisa asked worriedly, hurrying up behind her.

  “I think so.” Carole felt Prancer’s soft ear. There were no scratches, and the skin wasn’t broken. “She’s okay. I guess Starlight missed.” She looked up into Starlight’s big brown eyes. “What’s the matter with you, Starlight? You’ve been acting weird all day.”

  “That is weird for Starlight,” agreed Lisa. “He’s never been antisocial before.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s just spring fever,” said Carole, giving Starlight a pat on the neck. “He wouldn’t have run that fast through the meadow if he’d been sick. I just need to ride him more and get all the winter kinks worked out of his muscles.”

  “Well, you’d better work them out soon, or else we’ll have to buy Prancer a pierced earring!” Lisa laughed.

  “Is everything okay?” Stevie called from her perch on the rocks.

  “Just a bad case of spring fever on Starlight’s part,” Carole called back. “But they’re fine.”

  The horses continued with their grazing, and Lisa and Carole returned to the creek. “Hey, why don’t we put our boots back on and ride along the forest trail?” Stevie suggested. “We might see some fawns or fox cubs.”