Horse Feathers (12 page)

Carole shrugged. “No idea. The only thing I do know is that she asked Max for warm-up time before taking her turn.”

“Warm-up time?” Stevie watched Veronica bend at the side and stretch, her arm curved above her head. She had never seen the other girl warm up in her life. What was even odder was that Veronica seemed in no hurry to take her turn, which was even more out of character than the stretching.

“Maybe she’s so terrible she’s hoping that Max will forget about her,” Carole suggested hopefully.

Before Stevie could think further about it, she heard Max calling her name. “You’re up, Stevie!”

Lisa jogged over to them, ecstatic. “Did you see that? I held the Stand at the canter!”

“I’ll be lucky if I can hold the Basic Seat,” Stevie laughed as she raced off to join Max.

Stevie accepted Max’s leg up as Clara walked past, then quickly got into the Basic Seat position. She tried a few moves at the walk before signaling to Red that
she was ready to canter. Stevie relaxed, enjoying the smooth feel of Clara’s canter. After a moment she swung her legs up and moved into the Flag position. It was the first time she’d tried it at the canter and noticed immediately that she needed to balance herself differently than at the walk.

“Stevie, remember to keep your back straight and your head up,” Max offered as Stevie momentarily lost her balance and had to pull her knees back underneath her. “Just get the feel of Clara’s stride,” he continued.

Stevie closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on the gentle rise and fall of the canter. It was as natural to her as her own walking. She shifted her knees slightly, relaxing her body. Then she opened her eyes and slowly tried the position again. Releasing one handle, she raised her left hand and right leg, holding the position for one full circle around Red.

“Very good, Stevie,” praised Max. He indicated for her to hop down as he turned to Veronica. “Your turn, Veronica.”

Stevie slipped gracefully off Clara’s back. As she rejoined Carole and Lisa, Max offered Veronica a leg up.

“I think I’d like to try the Flank,” Veronica informed Max. “I’ve been working on it all week with my coach.”

Max nodded as the girls shared a surprised look. “The Flank?” mouthed Lisa. Carole and Stevie shrugged.

Gripping the surcingle handles, Veronica confidently swung her legs forward and then back, using the momentum to push herself up into a handstand, keeping her legs straight and firmly together, her toes pointed up. She held the position for two canter strides, then lowered herself gently to Clara’s back in a side-seat position.

“Life can’t be this unfair,” grumbled Stevie. “Tell me I’m just having a bad dream.”

“If you are, I’m having the same one,” Lisa said, frowning.

“Maybe that’s the only thing she’s learned,” said Carole, trying her best to sound positive.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The girls watched as Veronica completed the second half of the Flank, in which she once again swung her legs back and up, pushing herself up into a handstand. This time, instead of lowering herself into a side-seat on Clara’s back, she used her arms to push herself away from the handles and vaulted backward, landing neatly on the ground behind Clara just to the outside of the longeing circle.

“Excellent, Veronica,” Max said as Veronica jogged over to join the other vaulters.

“How could she possibly have learned that in a week?” asked Lisa.

“Let’s see. Private coach. Two-hour lessons every day. Hmmm …” answered Stevie, now feeling that her accomplishment of performing the Flag at the canter was no longer much of an accomplishment at all. Especially since Veronica’s performance had seemed as effortless as if Clara had been standing still.

“She’s going to cream us at the competition,” said Carole, echoing what Lisa and Stevie were already thinking.

“We’re not giving up yet,” Stevie said firmly. “There’s still time.”

With renewed determination, the girls took another turn on Clara. But after Veronica’s stunning performance, it was difficult if not impossible to stay positive about the progress they’d made since Clara’s arrival. Lisa and Carole did well, but not as well as Veronica.

“So much for that,” grumbled Stevie. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to beat her in the competition.”

Lisa was just as bummed out. She released a long sigh, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “This stinks.”

“Guys, we can’t let her get to us,” said Carole. “Look, I know what will help.”

“A private coach?” suggested Stevie.

“No,” Carole responded. “A trail ride.”

“I don’t know …” Stevie was thinking that the longer she was away from her goslings, the bigger the mess she’d have to clean up. And then there was all that laundry she had to do.

“Come on, Stevie,” Carole encouraged her. “We won’t go for too long. And besides, if you don’t ride Belle soon, she’s going to forget what you look like.”

Carole had a point. She’d been so busy with the goslings that she hadn’t had much time for Belle. “I guess a short ride wouldn’t hurt,” Stevie said, grinning.

“And while we’re out,” added Lisa, “maybe we’ll come up with a way to beat Veronica.”

The girls nodded in agreement and quickly went to get their horses.

A short while later, Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were galloping their horses across a large open field. They slowed to a walk as they approached a small water hole Max had dug in the middle of the field.

Lisa stroked Prancer’s sweaty neck. She was still pumped from the excitement of the run. “That was great!” she exclaimed. “Way to go, girl.” Prancer tossed her head and nickered, apparently understanding the praising tone of Lisa’s voice.

Carole hopped off Starlight, leading him to the edge
of the water hole for a drink. “Too bad we’re not as good at vaulting as we are at galloping,” she joked.

But Stevie wasn’t really paying attention. Instead she was watching a large crow as it circled the pond. After a moment it swooped down, landed gracefully at the edge of the water, and took a drink. Then it was off again, soaring across the sky.

“That’s it!” declared Stevie, startling Lisa and Carole.

“What’s it?” asked Carole.

“I don’t have to sell my goslings. Or even give them away, for that matter. They can live at Pine Hollow, right here in this field. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before!” Stevie exclaimed. “They’ll love it!”

Lisa and Carole weren’t quite so sure. “What if they don’t?” asked Carole. “I mean, right now they’re enjoying the comforts of your bedroom.”

“Not to mention your swimming pool,” added Lisa.

Stevie stared at them for a moment as if they’d each grown two heads. “What’s not to love? It’s water and they’re geese, right? Plus there’s all the grass and weeds they can eat. Sure, they’re not old enough yet to be on their own, but they will be soon. Until then, I’ll just bring them over for visits so that they can get used to their new home.”

“Sorry, Stevie,” said Lisa, “but this sounds like another one of your harebrained ideas.” Carole was wearing a look of agreement.

“Not at all,” Stevie assured them. “I’ll bring the babies over for class on Tuesday. You’ll see. They’ll love it here.”

“Yes, but will Max love it?” Lisa asked doubtfully. “You know how he gets about your ideas.”

“But this time it’s a
good
idea,” stressed Stevie. Although, truthfully, she thought all her ideas were good ideas. It was just that some of them weren’t as well executed or as appreciated as others.

Stevie turned Belle around and urged the mare into a trot. “Come on, I’ve got to go talk to Max and Mrs. Reg!” Mrs. Reg, Max’s mother, was the stable manager.

Lisa and Carole quickly mounted and followed Stevie back down to the barn.

Stevie found Max and Mrs. Reg in the stable office. She explained about the eggs (now goslings) and her dilemma about where to keep them once they got too big to be in the house.

“Well, there’s certainly plenty of room here for them,” Mrs. Reg said thoughtfully.

Stevie immediately launched into the goslings’ finer attributes. “They’re really very nice. We’ve been working on
their ground manners and their swimming. And they don’t eat much,” she rushed on. “Or not too much, anyway. Plus, as an added bonus, they’re great for weed control.”

Max held up his hands, laughing. “You don’t have to convince me, Stevie. I’m fine with the idea. As long as you can convince Numbers One through Eight to stay at Pine Hollow, they’re welcome to make this their new home.”

Stevie practically ran out the door, forgetting in her excitement to thank Mrs. Reg and Max. She did a quick U-turn and popped her head back in the office door. “Thank you!” she said before darting back down the hall.

C
LASS ON
T
UESDAY
was a little strange. Eight quacking goslings were swimming around the horses’ water trough while the girls had their regular lesson in the outdoor ring.

Stevie had tried taking the goslings to the water hole. That had started out fine. The goslings had quacked excitedly at the sight of water and immediately dived in, swimming in little circles as they checked out the pond. However, the moment Stevie tried to sneak back to the stable, Number One honked at his siblings and soon had them in an orderly line, following Stevie.

“No, no, no, guys,” said Stevie, gently turning them
back around to the pond. “You stay here and I’ll be back after my lesson.”

The flock of goslings sat at Stevie’s feet, gazing up at her expectantly. She dipped her fingers in the pond and played with the water. “See? Water. Bath time for goslings.”

The goslings quacked and jumped back into the pond, but as soon as Stevie took a few steps backward, out they came, right on Stevie’s toes. Stevie gave a frustrated sigh. She could see that it wasn’t going to work. And if she didn’t get back to the barn, she was going to be late for her lesson.

“All right,” she said, giving in. “Let’s go.”

The eight little goslings marched behind Stevie to the barn, quacking excitedly at their new surroundings.

Number Eight began to dawdle as usual, so Stevie scooped him up and carried him in her hands. He quacked happily as if that had been his plan all along.

“Freeloader,” Stevie scolded gently, not really minding at all.

Back at the barn, Stevie quickly helped the goslings into the trough, then ran to fetch Belle. She groomed and tacked her up outside, where she could keep an eye on the goslings. And as long as Stevie was within their sight, they seemed content to remain in the water trough.

Stevie did fine in her lesson, even when distracted by
the goslings. Max had the class work on basic balancing exercises that would help them with their vaulting skills. Lisa, especially, threw herself into the exercises, hoping it would increase her chance at beating Veronica in the upcoming vaulting competition. And Carole, on her own horse and in her own saddle, did much better with the exercises and didn’t even mind when Max had them repeat the exercises over and over.

After the lesson the goslings followed Stevie and Belle into the barn. Stevie was careful to make sure that they walked well out of reach of Belle’s hooves. The impatient octet stood outside the stall door (at Stevie’s insistence) and waited expectantly while Stevie untacked and groomed Belle.

With a quick good-bye to Lisa and Carole, Stevie made her way outside, goslings in tow, to her mom’s waiting car. Since she had thought it’d be too far a walk for the young goslings, she’d asked her mother to drive them over and pick them up.

“How’d it go?” Mrs. Lake asked hopefully as Stevie opened up the rear door of the car and loaded the goslings, one at a time, into a large cardboard box.

“Well, they liked the pond,” said Stevie.
For the short time they stayed in it
, she added to herself.

“That’s good news, dear.” Mrs. Lake smiled at her. “Your father will be relieved to hear it.”

Stevie crawled into the backseat beside the goslings and smiled at her mom through the rearview mirror.
They liked the water
, thought Stevie. Now all she had to do was get them to like it when she wasn’t around. As Mrs. Lake shifted the car into gear, Stevie protectively dropped her hand inside the box, absentmindedly stroking the little birds’ soft feathers.

D
ETERMINED TO MAKE
the goslings adjust to Pine Hollow, Stevie enlisted her mother’s help to take them over daily for a quick swim in the pond. Mrs. Lake was more than happy to oblige, especially since Stevie’s little charges were growing at an alarming rate and were beginning to get more than slightly underfoot around the house. Stevie had narrowly rescued Number Six from getting flattened when Mrs. Lake went to take a seat on the sofa after dinner, not realizing that Number Six had taken a liking to her favorite spot. And the day before, Number Four had left a calling card in Michael’s sneaker, which of course sent Michael into near hysterics when he realized that the warm, gushy feeling he was experiencing as he made his
way out the front door was
not
related to the fact that he was wearing brand new gel-padded air treads.

With each visit to the pond, Stevie attempted moving farther and farther away from the goslings while they played contentedly in the water. It was a strategy that had some success, as she was now able to disappear for very short periods of time before the goslings hopped out of the water to come looking for her.