Summer Horse

by Bonnie Bryant

  Stevie was excited at the thought of entering, too. Belle’s specialty was dressage, but she was also a strong and fast jumper. Stevie couldn’t wait to try her out over a real show-jumping course.

  Lisa had always been a good jumper, but she knew show jumping was a strenuous event. She decided to wait to see how things went with Major before she made up her mind whether or not to give it a try.

  “Nobody should feel pressured to enter this part of the show,” Betty said, as if reading Lisa’s mind. “It’s a tough event, and not everyone will be ready for it. But you’ll have plenty of time to think it over before you decide.

  “Okay, that’s enough talking for now. Let’s ride!”

  For the rest of the class, Stevie and Lisa thought about Betty’s exciting news during every spare moment. But for Carole, there were no spare moments. Even when just standing still, Ditto kept her busy. If she relaxed her attention for even a second, he would take a step or lower his head or do something else he wasn’t supposed to do. Besides that, she was having trouble communicating with him. Several times during the class, Carole thought she was finally getting through to him. But as soon as she began to relax and enjoy herself, Ditto would surprise her by ignoring or misinterpreting her commands once again. Even Betty noticed that Carole was having trouble.

  “Are you okay?” the instructor asked at one point, riding up to Carole and speaking quietly so the other campers wouldn’t overhear. “You seem to be having trouble with Ditto.”

  “Don’t worry,” Carole said quickly, blushing a little. “We’re still getting to know each other. I’m sure he’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

  Betty nodded and rode away. The instructor had believed Carole’s words. So why didn’t Carole believe them herself?

  AT THE END of class, Betty made one more announcement. “In the spirit of friendly competition, I decided to make things a little more interesting in this class,” she said. “At the end of each day, I’ll be awarding a prize to the rider who I think has done the best that day. This is a completely subjective decision, based only on my own opinion about who’s worked hardest or learned the most. So it pays to do your best, pay attention, and ask questions. Got it?”

  The students nodded. Lisa smiled to herself. She was always winning this kind of prize at school. Teachers liked her, and she liked to do her best. Judging by Betty’s words, doing your best was more important to this prize than being the best rider.

  “Good,” Betty said. She dug into the pocket of her jacket and pulled something out. “Since I’m a little short of gold trophies, the prize will be this candy bar. It’s wrapped in gold foil—I hope that’s close enough. And I’m happy to announce that our very first gold-candy-bar winner is … Stevie Lake!”

  Stevie grinned and rode forward to collect her prize. Carole started to applaud but had to stop when Ditto took the opportunity to toss his head and dance sideways. Luckily the rest of the class took over, clapping politely.

  Lisa clapped along with the rest, but her heart wasn’t really in it. It didn’t seem quite fair for Stevie to win. After all, she was riding her own horse, while most of the others in the class were on camp horses. Of course that gave her an advantage. Didn’t Betty realize that?

  The campers dismounted and started to lead their horses inside. Stevie caught up with Carole and Lisa, grinning ear to ear. “How about that, huh?” she said, holding up her candy bar. “I bet you never would have picked me for the teacher’s pet.”

  Carole laughed. She was still feeling bad about her performance with Ditto that day, but she was happy for her friend. Stevie had done well, and she deserved the prize. “I know why you won,” she teased. “You were so busy plotting how you’re going to win a blue ribbon in show jumping that you forgot to goof off in class.”

  “Well, maybe,” Stevie conceded with a wink. “Anybody hungry? I’ll split my prize with you. We’re one for all and all for one, right? Even when it comes to chocolate.”

  “Thanks anyway,” Carole said. “But I’m still stuffed from lunch. Even if I weren’t, that class would have made me lose my appetite. If I’m going to be riding Ditto for the next two weeks, I’ll have to figure out a better way to deal with him. He was a mess today.”

  “You’ll do it,” Stevie said confidently. “You’re the pride of Pine Hollow Stables, remember? No horse alive stands a chance against you.” She turned to Lisa and held out the candy bar invitingly. “How about you? I know you must be hungry, since I ate all your potato chips.”

  But Lisa shook her head. “No thanks,” she said. She was a little hungry, but the last thing in the world she wanted was to eat somebody else’s prize. She would just have to work harder in class from now on so she could win some candy bars of her own.

  Stevie shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “More for me.” Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Actually, make that more for me and Phil. We have a flat class together next.”

  “Lisa and I have a horsemanship lecture now,” Carole said. “I guess we’ll see you later.”

  “Bye,” Stevie said. She led Belle toward the water trough as her friends went inside to untack their horses.

  A few minutes later, Carole and Lisa were seated in the main room of the rec hall for the unmounted horsemanship course, which would cover all aspects of horse care and stable management. The instructor hadn’t arrived yet, and other students were still trickling in. Piper Sullivan entered and saw Lisa and Carole.

  “Hi,” she said, walking over to them. “Mind if I join you?” Lisa scooted aside to make room, and the older girl sat down next to her. “Whew! I’m glad the class hasn’t started yet,” Piper said. “I had to untack Tap after our last class, and I was sure I was going to be late.”

  “You had cross-country class before this, right?” Carole asked.

  Piper nodded. “How did you know that?”

  “I saw your class riding in while I was cooling down Ditto after our jump class,” Carole explained. “You and Tapestry look really terrific together—you really seem to be in synch.” Not like me and Ditto, she added silently to herself.

  “Thanks,” Piper said. She stared down at her hands, as if uncomfortable with the compliment. “I owe it all to Tap. She’s a really great horse.”

  Lisa had seen Piper ride in, too, and she thought the older girl was being too modest. It was clear that Piper knew what she was doing in the saddle. She had guided Tapestry without seeming to move while she did it. “You and Tap must be awfully good at dressage,” she said, continuing the thought aloud.

  “Not really,” Piper said. “I mean, Tap is talented enough to do it, but I don’t have as much time to work with her as I’d like, what with schoolwork and other stuff.”

  Lisa nodded. She understood that feeling very well. She couldn’t count how many times she had had to cut her time at the stable short because she had homework to do or dance or art lessons to attend.

  “What school do you go to?” Carole asked.

  “Willoughby Prep,” Piper answered. “It’s in Maryland.”

  “Wow,” Lisa said, impressed. Willoughby was a prestigious boarding school with a great academic reputation. Many of the students there were accepted at the top universities in the country.

  Piper shrugged. “I’m just a day student. My family lives right down the road from the school.”

  “Still, it must be tough to keep up there,” Lisa said. If she was worried about doing well at Willow Creek Junior High School, she couldn’t even imagine how much pressure she would feel at a place like Willoughby.

  “It’s no big deal,” Piper said, pushing her shoulder-length hair out of her face. “It’s just a school. But it helps to come from there if you want to get into a good college.”

  Carole was much more interested in talking about riding than about where people went to school. “So, have you had Tapestry long?” she asked.

  “About a year and a half,” Piper said, shifting to a more comfortable position. “She was a gift from my parents.”


  “A Christmas present?” Carole asked, remembering the Christmas when her father had surprised her by giving her Starlight.

  “No,” Piper replied without further explanation. “What about you two? How long have you been riding?”

  Carole could tell that Piper was trying to change the subject, but she didn’t mind. Maybe her family was rich enough to buy her a horse for no occasion at all, and she didn’t want to sound as though she was bragging. “I’ve been riding since I was four,” Carole said quickly, hoping she hadn’t already embarrassed the other girl. “Lisa hasn’t been riding as long as me and Stevie and some of the other intermediate riders at our stable, but she’s really catching up.”

  Lisa gave Carole a surprised look. Was that really what her friends thought of her riding ability? Maybe she wasn’t yet as skilled as Carole and Stevie, but she had thought she was good enough to be considered as another member of the intermediate class at Pine Hollow, not as someone who was still trying to catch up.

  She glanced at Piper, hoping her cabin mate wouldn’t think she was a hopeless beginner because of Carole’s comment. But Piper and Carole were both looking at the door as the instructor entered the room.

  Good, Lisa thought. Maybe Piper didn’t hear. It was clear that riding and schoolwork both came easily to Piper, so easily that she seemed surprised when people complimented her on them. Lisa wanted to be like that someday. She wanted to be good at things without having to struggle, to be able to take good grades and intermediate riding for granted. In the meantime, she still had to work for everything she got. But she would keep on working, waiting for the moment when it all came together and she was as good as she could be at school, riding, everything. Just like Piper.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE Phil is going skateboarding again.” Stevie glared across the meadow. Phil and Todd were just disappearing behind the trees that hid the tennis courts from view.

  It was Tuesday afternoon. The last riding class of the day had just ended and the campers had an hour and a half of free time before dinner. The Saddle Club’s horses were back in their stalls, freshly groomed. The three girls had been filling their water buckets at the outdoor spigot when Stevie had spotted Phil hurrying off with Todd, skateboard in hand. She had called out to him, planning to invite him to come to the arts and crafts room with them. But Phil had just waved and continued on his way, not even waiting to hear what she wanted.

  “Try not to think about it, Stevie,” Lisa suggested with a sigh. She rubbed her eyes, which were red and sore.

  “Are you okay?” Carole asked Lisa. “You don’t look so good.”

  Lisa stifled a yawn. She had stayed up reading The Old Man and the Sea after lights-out the evening before, using a flashlight under her blanket. It was the second book of the twenty she was supposed to read. “I’m okay,” she said. But as she remembered how many books she still had to go, she felt an anxious knot form in the pit of her stomach. “Just a little tired. Maybe I’ll just head back to the cabin now and do some reading.”

  “No, you don’t,” Stevie said, turning away from Phil long enough to respond. “We’re going to try out the new arts and crafts room before dinner, remember?”

  “But I want to get started on The Great Gatsby, and—” Lisa began.

  Stevie cut her off. “Forget it,” she said firmly. “We haven’t had a real Saddle Club meeting since camp started, and we’re overdue for one.” She glanced toward the tennis courts again. “It just so happens I have a little problem I need some advice about.”

  Reluctantly, Lisa agreed. As soon as they had put the water buckets in their horses’ stalls, the three girls headed to the rec hall. As they walked there, Lisa kept glancing at her watch. But as soon as she entered the large, light-filled arts and crafts room, her eyes lit up.

  “Hey, look!” she exclaimed. “There’s a pottery wheel!” Lisa had used a pottery wheel in an art class once. “And nobody’s using it.” She gave her friends an eager glance. “Do you guys mind if I grab it?”

  “No problem,” Carole said, smiling at Lisa’s enthusiasm. She looked around at the other art supplies, which were stacked on the open shelves that lined two walls of the room. “I think I’ll try some of that modeling clay. Maybe I can make a sculpture of Starlight so I won’t miss him so much.”

  “Sculpting sounds like fun,” Stevie said. “Get some clay down for me, too, okay?” Soon she and Carole were settled at a table near the pottery wheel.

  A few other campers were also in the room, but all of them were concentrating on their own work, and the place was quiet. That made it easy for The Saddle Club to talk as they worked.

  “So, Stevie, about this problem of yours …,” Carole began.

  Stevie didn’t need any more of an invitation. “I can’t believe the way he’s acting!” she exclaimed. “Before we got here, he was gung ho about hanging out together, but he seems to have forgotten all about that. Half the time he doesn’t even remember I’m here.” Stevie looked down and realized that she was squeezing her clay so hard that she had obliterated all signs of the head she was trying to sculpt. She rolled the clay into a ball and started re-forming the nose.

  “Maybe he’s still getting used to his new cabin mates and his riding classes and stuff,” Carole suggested.

  “So am I,” Stevie pointed out. “And I still have enough time left over to spend with him. At least I would if he were ever around.”

  Lisa smoothed the sides of the graceful vase that was forming between her hands. “I think Carole has a point,” she said. “There’s an awful lot to do here, and hardly enough hours in the day to get it all done.”

  “He might have a little more time to spend with me if he didn’t waste so much skateboarding …,” Stevie began. Just then her gaze fell on Carole’s clay. Her voice trailed off, and she started to laugh. “What is that supposed to be?”

  Carole looked at her piece. She couldn’t help laughing, too. Despite her best efforts, her sculpture of Starlight resembled nothing so much as a huge, lopsided pinecone with legs. “What do you mean? It’s a masterpiece.” She glanced at Lisa’s clay. “How do you do it, Lisa? Your vase looks great.”

  Lisa stopped her wheel and gave her piece a critical look. “Not really,” she said. “It’s crooked, see?”

  “It doesn’t look crooked to me,” Stevie said.

  But Lisa crushed the vase back into a ball. “I’d better start over,” she said. Within moments, another slender vase was taking shape under her skilled hands.

  Stevie shrugged. She hadn’t seen anything wrong with the first vase, but she knew Lisa was a perfectionist. She turned her attention back to Carole. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think all your hand-eye coordination must be dedicated to your riding,” she said, as Carole tried to reshape Starlight’s head. Or was it his tail? Stevie couldn’t tell. “It’s a good thing you’re a better rider than sculptor—for Starlight’s sake, that is.”

  “Please, don’t mention Starlight and riding in the same sentence,” Carole replied. “You’ll just remind me of how much I miss having him here. The real him, that is.” She gazed at her clay and sighed.

  “You and Ditto still aren’t getting along, huh?” Stevie said. She stuck a couple of pieces of clay onto her piece to form a mouth. They looked more like a pair of wilting string beans than human lips, but she liked the effect, so she decided to leave them exactly as they were.

  “That’s an understatement. Every time I think I’m making progress, he does something wrong again. Half the time he doesn’t even seem to understand my aids.” Carole sighed again. “It’s such a big change from Starlight—he’s always so responsive. Even when he doesn’t understand exactly what I’m asking of him, he always tries his hardest.”

  “I’m sure you can get through to Ditto if you just keep trying,” Lisa said. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  “I’m just not sure I have the will this time,” Carole said, frowning. “I wish I’d never let Max
talk me into this stupid plan. I miss my horse.”

  “So I guess we’re all missing someone right about now,” Lisa commented, smoothing the sides of her new vase. “You miss Starlight, Stevie misses Phil, and I miss you guys.”

  Carole gasped, at the same time accidentally demolishing three of her sculpture’s legs. “Oh, Lisa!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry. We haven’t even asked you how it’s going in Cabin Six. Are you completely miserable?”

  “It’s actually not that bad,” Lisa said. “I mean, I see you guys during the day, and at night I mostly concentrate on my reading. Besides, the other girls in my cabin are pretty nice. Especially Piper. She’s terrific—she’s really got it all together.”

  Carole nodded as she reshaped her clay. “She’s a wonderful rider,” she said. “She’s in my equitation class, and it’s a good thing there’s no candy-bar prize there. If there was, she’d embarrass the rest of us by winning it every day. That mare of hers never puts a foot wrong.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Stevie said, carefully arranging long, spaghetti-like pieces of clay on her sculpture’s head to form hair. “We’d better watch out, or the two of them will ride off with all the blue ribbons at the horse show.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Carole said with a grin. “I’ll be back on Starlight by then, remember? We’ll give them a run for their money—especially in the show-jumping event.”

  “Does that mean you’ve decided to enter?” Lisa asked.

  “Definitely,” Carole replied. “I think it’s going to be really exciting. What about you, Stevie?”

  Stevie nodded. “I think so, as long as Belle seems ready. I don’t want to push her too hard, but I’m dying to enter.”