Silver Stirrups by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

excitement. Young riders hurried to and fro, carrying tack, brushes, and hard hats. The show was divided into two broad divisions: under eighteen and eighteen and over. The juniors would ride in the morning; there would be a break for lunch, with a discussion led by the judge; and the adults would ride in the afternoon. To keep it simple, there were only two classes for each group: equitation over fences and equitation on the flat.
    “Why couldn’t Max have thrown in a jumper division?” Stevie complained. “Then Belle and I would have a chance.”
    Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were standing by the ring watching the first rider make a circle before jumping. By watching the first few rounds, they could find out if there was a problem area on the course—a fence or acombination of fences that was particularly tricky. Then they would know where to pay extra attention when their turns came. It was one of the advantages of riding in the second half of the rotation. All three of The Saddle Club girls had drawn spots late in the order.
    “You do have a chance, Stevie,” Lisa told her. “You have good equitation when you try.”
    Carole nodded in agreement. “Just make sure you keep your elbows in and don’t let Belle get strong after the first jump.”
    Stevie nodded, listening. She and Lisa were used to getting advice from Carole at shows. They paid attention because it worked. Yesterday and this morning Stevie had noticed that Andrea seemed to have good pointers, too, from her years of showing. That reminded Stevie of one she wanted to share with the other two. “Andrea said it helps to think of the next jump when you’re in the air over the one before it.”
    “That makes sense,” said Lisa. “Preparation always saves you from—”
    Carole didn’t let her finish. “Obviously,” she broke in scornfully. “What else would you be thinking of when you’re jumping?”
    Stevie grinned. “Oh, I don’t know—bacon cheeseburgers and fries? How to get back at my brothers?”
    “Or Monday’s math test?” Lisa joked.
    But Carole went on in a serious voice: “Preparation is everything in jumping. If you don’t start thinking about fence two until after you’ve landed from fence one, you’ll be halfway there before you can actually do anything. Then it’ll probably be too late to make an adjustment, to shorten or lengthen stride, so, chances are, you’ll end up meeting the jump at a bad position.”
    “Kind of like that?” Lisa asked, pointing.
    Out on the course, Betsy Cavanaugh had put her horse into a fence so awkwardly that the horse ran out at the last minute. The girls watched as she circled and reapproached the jump, a vertical comprised of alternating red and white poles. This time the horse took the fence in stride.
    “Exactly like that,” Carole said. “The turn to the vertical is tight. I’ll bet a lot of people make that mistake.”
    “Too bad. Otherwise it was a good round,” Lisa commented.
    Watching a few more riders made it clear that Carole was right. There was one more run-out at the vertical and a couple of close calls where the horse jumped but very awkwardly. Other than that, the course seemed to be fairly straightforward. After the fifth rider, Lisa went to warm up Prancer. Stevie leftafter the sixth rider. “Shouldn’t you come, too, Carole?” Stevie asked. “You ride before me.”
    “I’ll be there in two secs,” said Carole distractedly. She watched another course. Then she really had to go if she wanted to give Starlight a proper warm-up. She turned away from the ring when, out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a bright chestnut horse waiting at the gate. Andrea Barry was on deck. A little voice inside Carole’s head told her to keep walking, to march straight to Starlight’s stall and get on. But she couldn’t move. She just had to see Andrea go.
    Before the new pair entered the ring, Carole stole a glance at Andrea’s face. It was the picture of calm composure.