A murmur of excitement and speculation spread through the room.
Lisa turned to Stevie with dismay. “We’re going to teach them to get ready for a show in only two weeks?”
“Isn’t it great?” enthused Stevie.
“Excuse me, Max!” Veronica diAngelo’s voice cut through the noise of the room. “What about Carole? She doesn’t have a Pony Partner. It hardly seems fair to her; she’ll have nothing to do at all.”
“What she really means,” whispered Stevie, “is that it’s not fair that Carole doesn’t have to work while she does.”
“Since I’ve already had a chance to work with May today,” continued Veronica sweetly, “maybe Carole would like to take over. I wouldn’t want her to miss out on such a wonderful experience.”
Max smiled. “That’s very generous of you, Veronica. I know just how much this experience means to you, so I wouldn’t have you miss it for the world.”
It was all The Saddle Club could do not to howl with laughter. Max had known exactly what Veronica was up to. There was no way for her to squirm out now.
“Still, you have a point about Carole,” he continued. “There is no reason why she should have to be the odd man out, so I am hereby appointing her as our official judge.”
At that the room really did buzz with excitement.
“She will be observing the young riders throughout the next two weeks, and especially at our show. She’ll be judging based on skills and growth on everything from grooming to jumping.”
“Way to go, Carole!” squealed Stevie, patting her on the back.”
“This is awesome,” agreed Lisa, beaming at her friend.
Carole found herself speechless. All she could do was shake her head and smile.
Stevie nudged them both in the ribs. “Hey, did you catch the look on Veronica’s face when Max made the announcement?”
“Absolutely priceless,” confirmed Lisa, grinning.
“She looked like she ate something that didn’t agree with her,” chuckled Stevie.
“A chunk of pride, perhaps?” suggested Lisa.
Max quieted them down and continued. “No matter who Carole decides the winner is, I expect to see you all improve your skills over the next two weeks. If you can do that, I know you’ll make me proud at the under-twelve rally, whether you win ribbons or not.”
That seemed to signify the end of class, and they all rose to leave.
“Carole,” Max called across the fast emptying room. “Can you come over here for a minute?”
“Sure, Max, be right there.” She turned to Stevie and Lisa. “You two go ahead. I’ll meet you in the locker room.” She hurried over to Max.
“I have some things here you’re going to need for the judging.” He handed her a large file folder and a clipboard.
“Max, I want to thank you for letting me do this.” Suddenly she felt tongue-tied. “I—I just want you to know, I won’t let you down.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Carole,” he said, giving her a solemn look. “No matter what Veronica may be thinking, this job is twice as difficult as any other, and you may regret taking it on before you’re through.”
Worried that he might be having second thoughts about her ability to carry out the assignment, Carole hurried to reassure him. “I know it’s going to be hard work, but I think I’m up to it and I promise to be completely impartial.”
“I’d expect nothing less from you,” he said with a smile. “Now, I think you better get started. After all, you’re on the clock starting right now, and who knows what your charges are up to?” With that he strode away like a man with a mission.
Before she got to work, Carole took a moment to see what the file folder contained. Attached to the top of the clipboard by a long string was a pencil. She smiled. Leave it to Max to make sure she would never be without a writing instrument. Inside the folder she found multiple copies of judging forms, one for each person in the group. They were divided into categories: horse care, tack care, attitude, appearance, and so on. Across from each category was a row of grading boxes ranging from ten to one. There was also a small pad for making notes and keeping records.
Carole hugged the items to her chest and took a deep, satisfied breath. She realized it was just a clipboard and some papers, but somehow it all made her feel very official. She was determined not to let anyone down. She would make The Saddle Club proud.
STEVIE AND LISA were sitting on benches in the locker room. “Well it’s about time,” Lisa said as Carole hurried in.
“Sorry,” Carole said. “Official business.”
“Ooooh, listen to Madame Judge,” teased Stevie.
“What did Max say?” Lisa asked.
“That it’s going to be harder work than I think. Considering all the paperwork he handed me, he may be right.”
“What have you got there?” Lisa eyed her folder curiously.
Carole moved the papers out of reach. “Sorry, Lisa, for my eyes only. At least for the next two weeks,” she added apologetically.
Lisa looked disappointed. “I’ve always wanted to see what a judging sheet looked like.”
“Me too,” Stevie sighed wistfully. “Every time I compete at a show and a judge scribbles something on one of those pieces of paper, I want to see what they’re writing.”
“I know how you feel,” agreed Carole. “I’ve always been curious about it, too. Tell you what, when the competition is over we’ll all sit down and go over my notes together.”
“I guess then we’ll find out what Carole really thinks about our riding and teaching skills, won’t we, Lisa?”
“I can hardly wait,” Lisa answered somewhat glumly.
Seeing her friend’s worried face and knowing how insecure Lisa could be about her riding, Carole tried to lift her spirits and reassure her. “Oh come on, you guys, you already know what I think. You’re both light-years ahead of the competition.”
“How very interesting,” came a chilly voice from the doorway. To Carole’s dismay, Veronica and her pal Betsy Cavanaugh had just come in the room. “I guess we might as well withdraw from the competition right now,” said Betsy. “Don’t you think?”
“I’m sure you’re right,” snipped Veronica. “As May’s trainer, how could I in good conscience let her compete for third place?” She eyed The Saddle Club trio with malice. “It’s obvious first and second have already been decided.”
“That’s not fair,” said Carole, coming to her feet.
“That was what you were implying, though, wasn’t it? You did say Stevie and Lisa were better than all the rest of us.”
“I—I didn’t mean it that way,” stammered Carole.
“That’s what you say, but I wonder how everybody else will see it?” She turned to leave. “Come on, Betsy, we might as well break the bad news to the others.”
At the sound of their retreating footsteps, Carole sank on to the bench and covered her face with her hands, groaning.
“Hey, Carole, it’s okay,” said Lisa. “It’s just Veronica. Who cares what she thinks?”
“Yeah,” agreed Stevie. “We know you would never play favorites, and so does everyone else in the stable. That’s one of the reasons Max picked you.”
Carole was grateful for her friends’ loyalty, but the thought of Veronica and Betsy running around blabbing to everyone what she had said filled her with dismay. Maybe she should resign the judging position.
Stevie knelt in front of her. “You’re going to be the best judge ever. Veronica is jealous and will do anything to make you look bad, you know that.”
“Yeah,” agreed Lisa. “But she’s going to have to work a lot harder than this to do it.”
“And we all know how Veronica feels about hard work!” laughed Stevie.
Carole mustered a weak smile.
“Hey,” said Lisa, jumping to her feet. “I promised Jasmine I would show her some of the finer points of mucking out a stall. I gotta get moving.”
“I didn’t reali
ze there were finer points to shoveling horse manure,” Carole said.
“Then you’ll just have to stop by and see a professional at work,” Lisa answered grandly.
“Corey needs me, too,” said Stevie, moving toward the door. “After all, I do hold the fate of the finest equestrienne in the world in the palm of my hand.” She paused for a moment. “How about a Saddle Club meeting at TD’s later?” TD’s was their name for the Tastee Delight Ice Cream Parlor, the site of many of their get-togethers.
“Sounds great,” said Lisa.
“Count me in,” said Carole, pulling herself together.
With that, the others left her alone. Her thoughts returned to the scene with Veronica. How could she have been so careless? She’d have to be more cautious in the future, watch every move and word, so that absolutely no one, including Veronica diAngelo, could accuse her of being the least bit biased toward her friends or against anyone else.
Right then, however, the best thing for her to do was to get to work and see what was going on around the stable. She took a moment to organize her grading papers and left the locker area. As she made her rounds she found herself trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, still self-conscious about what Veronica and Betsy might have told everybody. She got a few sharp looks but in general everyone seemed too busy to pay much attention to her. Or were they ignoring her intentionally?
This is ridiculous, she finally told herself. I have a job to do and I’m not going to get it done this way. She moved on with new purpose. Rounding a corner, she was in time to watch Stevie instructing Corey on the best way to use a hoof pick. She leaned against the stall door to better observe the procedure.
“… and when you’re sure it’s all clean and healthy, you gently put his foot back on the floor and give him a pat on the neck to tell him how good a pony he’s been.”
“I think you covered all the important points, Stevie,” Carole said, as she scribbled on her notepad. “I know you’ve been cleaning hooves forever, but Corey may want to run her hand down Samurai’s leg a little slower, to signal him that she wants to pick up his foot. That would help to build up his trust.”
Stevie seemed to consider her words, then nodded thoughtfully. “You may be right. Belle and I are so used to each other, she almost seems to know what I want before I ask her. I forgot Corey and Samurai might still have some bonding to do. Thanks for the reminder.”
“No problem.” She almost added, You guys are going to do great, then thought better of it. “See you later.”
Not long after, she came across Lisa and Jasmine, who were getting ready to feed Outlaw. “Stable horses like eating,” Lisa was saying, “not only because it tastes good, but it breaks up the boredom of having to stand around most of the day. But remember, he needs to be watered a full half hour before you give him his oats.”
“It smells good, don’t you think?” Jasmine said, taking a deep whiff of the mixture of molasses, corn, and oats in the bucket she was holding. “Have you ever tasted it?”
“Oh sure, once or twice,” Lisa assured her. “Want to try?”
Jasmine took a tentative taste. “Ewww!” she cried, spitting it out.
Lisa couldn’t help laughing at the face the girl was making. “That’s exactly how I felt about it, too,” she said between giggles.
Jasmine also started laughing. “You did that on purpose!” she accused. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
Lisa shrugged. “Some things you have to learn for yourself. Besides, sooner or later every rider tries it.”
Jasmine had started to pour the bucket into the feed bin when Carole stepped forward. “Don’t forget, Lisa, it’s not good to feed an animal too much after a lot of exercise. Four times a day is best because horses have a small digestive capacity.”
Lisa looked up, frowning a little. “I think I already mentioned that to Jasmine.”
“Did you remember to mix some chaff in?” Carole asked, peering into the feed bin, then scribbling away in her notebook. “A ratio of three-to-one is best because it makes the horse chew his oats better.”
“Yes, we took care of that, too,” Lisa replied, a bit defensively.
Carole was caught up in her note taking. “Great, looks like you don’t need me here, then. See you at TD’s.” She moved on. After all, she had a lot of other people to grade.
Carole found herself completely absorbed by her task. She was about to call it a day when she spotted May grooming Macaroni. Veronica was seated comfortably nearby, applying yet another new coat of red nail polish.
Tired though she was, Carole decided to help the younger girl a little. After all, it wasn’t May’s fault she got stuck with Veronica.
Trying to appear casual, she approached. “Hi, May. Hi, Veronica.”
“Hi, Carole,” May called back. She flicked a dandy brush over the pony’s rump, raising a small puff of dust.
Veronica glanced up and grunted before returning to her manicure.
Carole watched May’s grooming technique. The girl was actually quite efficient and doing a decent job, but Carole’s trained eyes noticed things an amateur might miss. “Hmmm, it looks like Mac’s had some visitors.”
May stopped what she was doing. “What do you mean?”
“Has anyone ever told you about botflys?”
“I don’t think so. At least, not that I can remember.”
Carole decided to be diplomatic. “Veronica, do you mind if I show May how to take care of bot eggs?”
This time Veronica didn’t even bother to look up. “If it helps your conscience, who am I to stop you?”
That really made Carole steam, but she was determined not to let May and Macaroni suffer just because their Pony Partner was a jerk. She spent the rest of the afternoon teaching May about botfly eggs and how to use a block of wood wrapped in sandpaper to remove them from where they liked to attach themselves to horses. By the time she was finished she was past worrying about what Veronica and Betsy might have told the others. She could hardly wait to get to TD’s and tell Lisa and Stevie about her amazing day.
STEVIE AND LISA were already tucked into their favorite booth at TD’s when they spotted Carole coming through the door.
Stevie waved. “We were about to give up on you.”
“Sorry. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.” She sank into a seat. “I’m dying for a sundae. Have you ordered yet?”
“Not yet,” said Stevie, flagging down the waitress. “We were waiting for you.”
“Besides, Stevie couldn’t make up her mind,” Lisa added.
Stevie smiled and rubbed her hands together. “I have now,” she said gleefully. “Watch the master at work.”
When the waitress approached their table, she kept her eyes on Lisa and Carole, almost as if she were trying to avoid Stevie. Lisa ordered peppermint with hot fudge. Carole went with strawberry and whipped cream. “Hold the cherry, please.”
All eyes turned to Stevie, whose creations were legendary. Lisa and Carole were of the opinion that she ordered the most revolting combinations so that nobody would ever ask for a taste. Still, they had to admit she had elevated it to an art form. Stevie cleared her throat. “I’d like a scoop of rum raisin and a scoop of bubble gum. I want marshmallow fluff on the raisin, and pineapple sauce on the gum.” She put down the menu.
Looking relieved, the waitress turned to leave, but Stevie continued. “Of course, I’ll be needing a few other toppings, as well.” The woman stopped and sighed. Stevie paused for effect. “I’m thinking … whipped cream, Gummi Bears, and pistachios.”
The waitress swallowed hard. “Will that be all?”
“Hmmm, have I forgotten anything?” Stevie looked at her friends, her eyes twinkling. “Oh yes, of course, silly me! Chocolate sprinkles, and cover it all with cherry juice but,” she winked at Carole, “hold the cherry.” Stevie saw the waitress’s hand actually tremble as she wrote down the last of the order.
Lisa tried to suppress a fit of giggles. “You are
going to drive that poor woman to a nervous breakdown.”
Stevie was about to reply when she saw Alex coming through the door. “Uh-oh.”
“What is it?” Carole asked, concerned.
“I forgot that I promised to meet my brothers at the mall.”
“Still haven’t figured out a present for your mom and dad?” Lisa asked sympathetically.
“Not even close,” Stevie said, discouraged. “The more we talk about it, the more we fight. It’s making me crazy.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one,” Carole said, noticing the look of annoyance on Alex’s face.
“Stevie!” he snapped, stalking up to their table. “I’ve been waiting almost half an hour for you. Come on, the next bus is due any minute!”
“Hi, Alex,” Lisa said.
Alex acknowledged their presence with a distracted wave but kept his eyes on his sister. “Will you move it? We’re supposed to meet Chad and Michael at the pizza parlor.”
Stevie rose to her feet reluctantly. “Sorry, guys, duty calls.” She made a mock salute and started to leave.
“What about your sundae?” Lisa asked.
“Oh! I almost forgot.” She turned to her brother. “Meet me at the bus stop. I’ll be right out.”
“You better, because I’m not gonna ask them to hold the bus for you.”
As Alex left, Stevie hurried over to the waitress, who was now working behind the counter. “Excuse me, but have you started making my sundae yet?”
“No, I was saving that for last,” she said glumly. “In case you changed your mind.” She brightened suddenly. “Have you?”
“Not exactly. I’m afraid I have to cancel the order. Something came up.”
The waitress visibly cheered up further, looking like a death row inmate who had gotten a last-minute pardon. “Oh, what a shame.”
“Yeah, I know, but my friends will be staying.”
“Well that’s good, because I’m almost finished with theirs.” She topped off some pink ice cream and juicy-looking red strawberries with a generous squirt of whipped cream.
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