Back in the Saddle (11 page)

Haley chuckled and nodded. She'd ridden show hunters for a year or so before discovering eventing, and she knew that those horses had to look calm and easy to ride, neither of which was true of the big gray gelding. But it was just as obvious that Cancun had scope to spare for the small fences he'd just jumped.

“I wonder why she's starting at BN instead of novice or even training,” Haley said, her eyes never leaving the trainer as Cancun cantered around the far turn
before coming back to a smooth, collected trot.

Kyle shrugged. “Like she said, she doesn't want to overwhelm him,” he said. “It'll be easier to help him get used to the commotion if she doesn't have to worry about him actually, you know, getting over the jumps.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Haley bit her lip. “Anyway, I bet they're going to win our division.”

“Probably,” Kyle agreed, and Andrew nodded.

But that doesn't mean Wings and I can't try to beat her,
Haley thought.
And even if we don't, there's no shame coming in second to someone like Jan. That'll be just as good as winning, right?

“Toss me that hoofpick?” Kyle called.

Haley grabbed the pick she'd just used to clean out Wings's feet after the lesson. Ducking under her pony's neck, she handed it to Kyle, who was in the next set of ties in the wash rack.

“Thanks,” Kyle said. “So anyway, I hope you guys'll still talk to me at the event even though I'll be a lowly tadpole-level rider.”

Andrew laughed. “We'll see,” he teased.

“What about you, Haley?” Kyle turned to grin at her.

“Of course.” She rolled her eyes, then returned to rubbing the sweat marks off her pony's girth area. “So do you think the lower jumps will help Augie, like Jan said?”

“Hope so.” Kyle leaned over, grabbed one of Augie's hooves, and ran the pick around the frog. “But I'm sure it's mostly my fault he's so lazy in stadium. So I'm actually hoping it helps me.”

“It will,” Andrew told him. He smiled and patted his horse, who was on the other side of Augie. “I'm hoping Turbo and I have another good day and maybe improve our dressage score a little. Jan thinks we might be able to move up to novice by the end of the summer if we keep on the way we've been doing.”

“Really?” Haley felt a pang of unease as she flashed back to Jan's suggestion earlier about her moving down a level. “Um, Wings and I have already competed at novice, so I'm sure we'll be back there soon. You know, after we get over whatever happened last time. Which I'm thinking was probably a farrier thing, by the way.”

“Really?” Kyle looked up from his horse's hoof. “What kind of thing?”

“I don't know yet—the farrier's coming on Tuesday. But there was obviously some reason Wings stopped at that jump.” Haley laughed self-consciously. “You know, other than my distracted riding, I mean. He's gone ahead and jumped lots of times when I wasn't paying attention. That's half the reason I fell off so much when we first started eventing.”

Both boys laughed, though they looked a little confused. “Okay,” Kyle said. “Anyway, you guys might not want to rush getting to novice, or you'll have to compete against that Riley girl and her fancy schmancy horse.”

“True,” Andrew agreed with a smile.

“No way. I can't wait to face her again,” Haley said. “When we're on our game, Wings the super pony can totally beat Riley and her horse any day of the week.” She stared at the boys as if daring them to argue. “You'll see.”

CHAPTER

“IS IT FRIDAY
yet?” Tracey asked with a groan.

Haley took the seat beside her friend and dropped her schoolbag at her feet. “Nope. Only Tuesday,” she said. “Good thing too, because Wings and I still have a ton to do before our event on Saturday.”

“Good thing for you, maybe, but I'm already brain-dead after that test we just had in science.” Tracey opened her purse and dug out a lip gloss. “Talk about brutal!”

“I know, right?” Emma was sitting behind Haley. She leaned forward, her pale hair falling over her forehead as she stared through her glasses at their English teacher,
who had just come into the room. “And now it looks like we're getting our English tests back.”

Haley felt a quiver of anxiety as she watched Ms. Reyes grab a stack of papers from her desk. They'd had an essay test the previous Friday, and Haley had been so busy with Wings all that week that she hadn't quite finished the reading.

Ms. Reyes started calling each student to the front of the room to get his or her test. When it was Haley's turn, the teacher looked worried.

“Oh, Haley,” she said with a sigh. “I know you can do better than this.”

Haley winced as the teacher handed her a paper with a big red C-minus scrawled at the top. “Um, sorry,” she said. “I'll do better next time.”

“I hope so.” Ms. Reyes shook her head. “In the meantime I'd like you to have your aunt or uncle sign this and bring it back.”

“What?” Haley blurted out, alarmed now. Aunt Veronica and Uncle Mike took school very seriously. If she showed them this grade, they might make her skip the
event on Saturday! And she couldn't let that happen. She had to prove that she and Wings had what it took to win—and the sooner the better.

“Yes, but you can tell them you still have a chance to bring the grade up.” Ms. Reyes grabbed another sheet of paper out of a drawer. “Here's an extra credit worksheet. Write at least three paragraphs for each question and turn it in on Monday, and if you do a good job, I should be able to bump that test score up at least one full grade, if not more.”

“Oh. Um . . .” Haley took the paper, mentally calculating how long it would take her to complete the extra credit work. Once Saturday's event was over, she could probably spend most of Sunday on homework. That should be long enough. “Okay, thanks. I will.”

She slunk back to her seat. “Well?” Emma said, holding up her own B-plus test. “How'd you do?”

Haley showed her and Tracey the test paper. “Ouch,” Tracey said, glancing at the C-plus on her own sheet. “You did even worse than me.”

“I know.” Haley stared at the ugly red letter. “I just
hope my aunt and uncle don't make me back out of my event on Saturday.”

Emma's eyes widened. “Do you think they might? But Tracey and I were going to come cheer you on and everything!”

“Yeah.” Tracey shrugged and tugged on her bangs. “We still feel guilty for missing the last one.”

“It's okay.” Haley had been disappointed about that, but given what had happened, things had turned out for the best. It had been embarrassing enough being eliminated in front of her fellow riders, without having to explain the rules of eventing—again—to her non-horsey best friends as well. “But yeah, I'll let you know what happens.”

She tucked the test and the extra credit sheet into her bag, trying not to worry about it. She'd talk her aunt and uncle into letting her compete this weekend, no matter what it took. She had to. Her pride as a rider was at stake.

That evening Haley helped her aunt load the dinner dishes into the dishwasher even though technically it was Danny's turn. Once that was finished and her uncle was halfway
through his second cup of decaf, she finally pulled out the test paper.

“Um, Ms. Reyes wanted you guys to sign this,” she said, handing it to her uncle.

Aunt Veronica hurried over to glance at the paper over his shoulder. “Oh, Haley,” she said, her voice sharp with disappointment.

“I know, I know,” Haley said quickly. “But don't worry. Ms. Reyes said I can bring up the grade with extra credit work. See?” She showed them the sheet.

Her aunt examined it. “Well, good,” she said. “But you shouldn't need extra credit to keep your grades up, Haley.”

“Right.” Uncle Mike gazed at Haley, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. “Your aunt and I have noticed you've been working extra hard with Wings lately. I hope you're not letting that affect your studies.”

“I'm not.” Haley gulped, telling herself it wasn't exactly a lie. Okay, so she'd been letting a few things slide lately, school-wise. For instance, she hadn't even started tonight's homework yet, since she'd spent all afternoon waiting for the farrier, who'd been running late. She was sure she
could make up for all of it after the event, though. “I mean I won't. Don't worry.”

Her aunt and uncle traded a long look. “Haley,” Aunt Veronica said, sitting down and patting the chair beside her. “We know you take your eventing very seriously, and we've always supported that.”

Haley sank into the chair and nodded wordlessly. It was true—her aunt and uncle were both horse people themselves, and they'd always done whatever they could to help Haley improve her riding, from gifting her with lessons for all her birthdays and Christmases when she'd been younger, to letting Wings come live at their place when the neighbors had offered Haley that free lease. Aunt Veronica was always willing to meet the vet or farrier when their appointments fell during the school day, and Uncle Mike had hauled Haley and Wings to more lessons, shows, and events than she could count. She'd never be able to thank them enough for all they'd given her.

“I know,” she said. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome. But at your age, school is your most important job,” Uncle Mike said gravely.

“That's right,” his wife agreed. “We know you can do the work, Haley. You just need to make it a priority.”

“I do,” Haley blurted out, afraid of what might be coming next. She couldn't help flashing back to the time when they'd made Jake quit the baseball team after he'd flunked a school project. “I swear. I—I just had a bad day, that's all. It won't happen again. Please, just give me a chance to prove that, okay? I'll show you guys I can handle school
and
riding.”

Her aunt and uncle traded another long look. “Weeeeell . . . ,” Aunt Veronica said, drawing the word out so long that Haley could hardly stand it. “When is your extra credit work due?”