New Rider
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
#1
Horse Crazy
#2
Horse Shy
#3
Horse Sense
#4
Horse Power
“We won again!” crowed Stevie, bouncing up and down.
Lisa playfully punched a flushed Zach in the arm. “You rock!”
“Zach, that was fantastic,” Carole admitted. Actually she was a little concerned about the possible injury to Barq’s ankles from the sliding stop, but she didn’t want to belittle the boy’s amazing performance. After all, if it hadn’t been for him, they wouldn’t have won.
I doubt Barq knew what was coming
, Carole thought, but before she could respond, the other riders rushed up to congratulate Zach. She found herself bumped out of the way by his crowd of newfound admirers.
CAMY BAKER’S HOW TO BE POPULAR IN THE SIXTH GRADE by Camy Baker
HORSE CRAZY (The Saddle Club #1) by Bonnie Bryant
AMY, NUMBER SEVEN (Replica #1) by Marilyn Kaye
PURSUING AMY (Replica #2) by Marilyn Kaye
ANASTASIA ON HER OWN by Lois Lowry
THE BOYS START THE WAR/
THE GIRLS GET EVEN by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
RL: 5, ages 009–012
NEW RIDER
A Bantam Skylark Book / January 2001
“The Saddle Club” is a registered trademark of Bonnie Bryant Hiller.
The Saddle Club design/logo, which consists of a riding crop and a riding hat, is a trademark of Bantam Books.
“USPC” and “Pony Club” are registered trademarks of The United States Pony Clubs, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462.
All rights reserved.
Text copyright © 2001 by Bonnie Bryant.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82601-5
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v3.1
Special thanks to Sir “B” Farms
and Laura Roper
My special thanks
to Cat Johnston for her
help in the writing of
this book.
And thanks also to
Dr. Michael Thompson
for his wisdom
and inspiration.
A
S
S
TEVIE
L
AKE
hurried across the yard of Pine Hollow Stables, late as usual, it was all she could do to keep from breaking into a run. She spied her two best friends, Lisa Atwood and Carole Hanson, standing next to a horse trailer and jogged over to join them.
“Did I miss anything?” she called anxiously.
Carole gave her a disapproving look. “I can’t believe you could be late on a day like today.”
Lisa chuckled. “Remember, this is Stevie you’re talking about.”
Carole smiled ruefully. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“It’s not my fault,” Stevie insisted.
Lisa slipped an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Never is, never will be.”
“Oh come on, guys, give me a break. You know what Saturday mornings are like at my house.”
“Brothers?” Lisa asked sympathetically.
Stevie grimaced. “Lisa, you should wash your mouth out with soap for using that word.” She had three brothers, one younger, one older, and a twin. As much as she loved them, there were times she felt they had been put on the planet for the sole purpose of her personal torture. Of course, she was not about to admit that her own love of practical jokes sometimes justified their actions.
Stevie was the practical joker and the most high-spirited of the three friends. But right now she wasn’t thinking about revenge on her brothers. Instead she craned her neck, trying to see into the trailer. “Have they even unloaded her yet?”
“Not yet,” Carole answered, almost in a whisper.
“It seems Sunset is being a little shy about viewing her new home,” Lisa told Stevie. “And, of course, Mr. Wooten has to be extra careful.”
There came the sound of scuffling from inside the vehicle.
“You’d be surprised how many horses are injured getting out of a trailer,” Carole said, watching anxiously.
“The extra weight on their ankles from backing down a ramp can cause a sprain or stress fracture, not to mention the possibility of falling off the edge.” She shuddered at the thought. “If that’s not enough, there’s the added danger of rupturing the uterine artery during transportation of a mare as pregnant as this one.”
Of the three girls, Carole was the most knowledgeable about horses. She had made up her mind that whatever she did with the rest of her life, it was going to involve these wonderful animals. She was seriously considering becoming a veterinarian, so she had spent a lot of time making rounds with Judy Barker, the local equine vet.
“Look, I think Max is coming to the rescue,” Stevie said.
The owner of Pine Hollow, Maximilian Regnery III—whom everybody called Max—strode up the loading ramp and disappeared into the trailer. He was an expert horseman, as well as the instructor for the girls’ Pony Club, Horse Wise. Right now he was supervising the arrival of the new mare.
“If anyone can coax her out, it’s Max,” Lisa said with certainty.
Sure enough, a few moments later the girls saw the rump of the animal as the mare backed cautiously but steadily down the ramp. When she reached the
ground, she threw her head up and snorted as though she’d been offended.
“If it’s so dangerous to move a pregnant mare, why don’t they let her give birth at her home stable and
then
bring her here?” Lisa asked. Although she was a year older than Carole and Stevie, Lisa was the newest to the sport of riding. She had natural talent but wasn’t yet as knowledgeable about the animals as her two friends were.