New Rider (5 page)

“I guess my cousin was holding out on me. Okay, if you guys will show me how, I’m game.”

The four of them removed their horses’ saddles and bridles and slipped on their halters. Over the next hour the girls proceeded to show Zach how to thoroughly wash a horse.

Carole watched the boy closely as he learned how to carefully sponge off Barq’s face. He was surprisingly gentle cleaning out the horse’s nostrils and the corners of his eyes. Although he was a bit clumsy with some of the equipment, dropping the hoof pick a couple of times, even Carole had to admit he seemed completely devoted to making sure Barq got the care the animal deserved.

By the time the four of them were finished, the horses were shining from head to toe and the humans were exhausted.

Zach sank down onto a hay bale. “I’m wiped. Please, please tell me we don’t have to do that every time we ride!”

“Nah,” Stevie assured him. “Only every other time.”

Zach looked dismayed.

“Actually it’s more like every now and then,” Lisa assured him. “Stevie’s pulling your leg.”

“Could you pull off my boots while you’re at it?” he asked Stevie. “My feet are killing me.”

Carole spotted Max coming across the stable yard. “Hey, guys, I suggest we beat a hasty retreat before Max assigns us chores.”

“Chores!” exclaimed Zach, jumping up. “Color me gone!”

As a rule Max took advantage of kids hanging
around the stable by putting them to work. This helped cut down on expenses so that he could keep his riding rates lower and more people could afford to learn. Usually The Saddle Club didn’t mind helping out, but just then they were exhausted.

Moving quickly to collect their things, they managed to slip out of Pine Hollow without Max spotting them.

“Don’t forget about the trail ride,” Lisa reminded Zach as they were about to part company.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Zach assured her. “Tomorrow I’ll show you some real riding!”

T
HE NEXT DAY
the weather was glorious, perfect for a trail ride. Carole watched as cotton-ball clouds drifted through the blue skies. “I can’t remember a more perfect-looking day.”

“It really is the best time of year for riding,” Stevie said from her place in line.

“I hope it’s like this for the day of the show,” Lisa said.

“Speaking of which …” Stevie turned in her saddle to look behind her. “What classes do you think you’ll enter, Zach?”

“Don’t know,” he replied thoughtfully. “All of them, I guess.”

From the moment they set out on their ride, Zach
had been smiling contentedly, and Carole could tell he was enjoying the informal atmosphere and the camaraderie. She also couldn’t help noticing that his heels were up and his elbows were sticking out. He really was going to need to put in some hard work before the competition.

“You can’t enter them all,” Stevie laughed. “Only the ones for your experience level.”

Zach frowned. “I wish I didn’t have to ride in the baby classes.”

“That’s
beginner
classes. Of which you are one,” Carole reminded him.

“But everyone keeps telling me I’m good,” he protested.

“Oh you are, Zach,” Stevie assured him. “I’ve never seen anyone as good as you with so little experience.”

“But in competition, details are hugely important,” Lisa said solemnly.

“Like heels and elbows,” Carole added pointedly.

Zach took the hint and corrected his posture. Carole smiled.

“Maybe you should start with the halter class,” Stevie suggested.

“What’s that?”

“That’s where you show your horse in only his
halter,” Lisa told him. “You’ll be judged on his conformation—”

“His what?”

“You know, how he’s built. Does he stand with his legs squarely under himself or is he slouching? When you ask him to move out do you have to tug on his lead line or does he obey you right away? That kind of thing.”

Zach made a face. “Boring!”

“What about dressage?” Stevie said. “That’s one of my favorites.”

“Go on…,” Zach said.

“It’s only you and your horse in the ring. You have to perform certain precise movements and the judges score you on how well you do them.”

Zach looked doubtful. “What kind of movements?”

“Side passes, moving from a collected trot to an extended one, that kind of thing. And the judges shouldn’t see you giving cues to your horse. It should almost look like you’re doing nothing and the horse is doing everything.”

Zach looked completely uninterested. “Or I could sit and watch cement dry.”

Carole saw Stevie was a little hurt. “It takes a great deal of skill to compete in dressage, Zach. As a matter of fact, Stevie is one of the very best at it.”

Stevie smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“I have a feeling Zach is looking for something with more action,” Lisa said.

“You should learn to jump, Zach,” Stevie suggested enthusiastically. “It’s absolutely the best. You canter up to a fence and the next thing you know you’re soaring over it. It’s awesome.”

That seemed to get his attention. “Now we’re talking!”

“Of course it will be a little while before you’re ready for that,” Carole cautioned. “Not in time for this show, certainly.”

Zach looked discouraged. “Do they have anything with galloping?”

Carole shook her head. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Most saddle classes are restricted to walking, trotting, and cantering, although sometimes they ask for a hand gallop.”

“What’s a hand gallop?”

“That means it’s very controlled,” Lisa told him. “Anyway, I wouldn’t count on it. They don’t usually ask for it in the novice classes.”

Carole considered the possibilities the show would offer. “The serpentine class is ridden at a canter.”

“That sounds cool.”

“Can you do a flying lead change?” Lisa asked.

“What?”

Stevie smiled knowingly. “The class is about weaving your horse through a series of standing poles while at the canter, but the really tricky part is getting the horse to change leads every time he goes around one. We call that a flying lead change.”

“And a lead would be
what
, exactly?”

“When a horse canters, one of his front legs strikes the ground first,” Carole explained. “If it’s his right leg, then he’s on a right lead; if it’s his left leg, then he’s—”

“On his left lead,” Zach finished for her. “I think I could handle that.”

“We can go over the list of classes when we get back to the stable,” Carole offered. “Maybe then you’ll get an idea of what you’re interested in.”

“Oh, I know what I’m into,” he said, grinning. “I feel the need for speed. Wouldn’t this be a perfect place for a gallop?”

They were entering a grassy open field. The Saddle Club had been through it dozens of times, so they knew it was perfectly safe to let the horses out.

“We usually stick to a canter when we’re on a trail ride,” Carole said cautiously.

“Oh come on, C, lighten up,” he coaxed.

“I think it would be okay for a little bit,” Stevie said.

“Are you up for it, Lisa?” Carole asked.

Lisa nodded.

“Okay,” Carole agreed.

Even as the words left her mouth, Zach yelled, “Yahoo!” and kicked Barq into a gallop. The three girls were a little startled. Since Zach wasn’t familiar with the terrain, it would have been wiser for one of them to lead the way. With no alternative, the three of them went after him.

Feeling the rush of the wind in her face, Carole leaned forward, urging Starlight to go faster. He snorted and responded with a burst of speed. Up ahead she could see Zach as he raced along. His riding showed not a drop of style, but she had to admit that he had a great seat and seemed absolutely fearless.

Stevie pulled even with her and the two of them shared a smile. Galloping was fun but it could also be dangerous, and a fall at this speed could have serious consequences. Carole decided they had better slow down. She managed to close the distance between her and the racing boy. “Zach!” she yelled. “Hold up!”

With obvious reluctance Zach reined Barq to a halt. The horse bounced around on his feet, too wound up from the run to stand completely still. Carole noticed Zach was having a hard time holding him in place.

Smiling and breathless, Stevie and Lisa joined them. Their faces were flushed and their eyes glittering from the sting of the wind.

“That was great!” Zach enthused.

Stevie smiled happily and flicked a strand of loose hair from her eyes. “We should do that more often.”

“No time like the present,” Zach yelled, and before the girls could protest, he was galloping away.

Carole was dismayed. “This is not good.”

Lisa looked anxious. “That field gets rough farther on. He could get hurt.”

“Not to mention Barq,” Stevie added. “Come on!”

The three girls urged their horses back into a gallop using all their skills to shorten the distance between themselves and Zach. Fueled by the possible urgency of the situation, Carole managed to coax some extra speed from Starlight. Finally she found herself within earshot to the speeding rider. “Zach, stop!” she shouted.

Zach looked surprised to find her so close to him.

“Pull up!” she cried urgently.

Something in her voice must have got through to him because he immediately slowed Barq down and gradually came to a halt.

“Phew, that was close,” Stevie said as she rode up on a winded Belle.

“What’s up?” Zach asked impatiently. “How come we’re stopping so soon?”

“Zach, you can’t simply go galloping through places
you don’t know!” Carole scolded him. “It’s not safe for you or your horse.”

“It looks fine,” he protested.

“Well it’s not,” Lisa assured him. “A couple of yards from here the field gets bumpy and rocky. You can’t see it because of the grass, but the horses could easily hurt themselves.”

“Not to mention you could take a serious dive,” Stevie added grimly.

Zach looked contrite. “Sorry. Guess I got carried away.”

Carole sighed. After all, he was new to the rules of riding. “Never mind. Let’s go on to the creek.” Then she added firmly, “At a leisurely walk.” Although he was obviously disappointed, Zach obeyed and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Once down by the creek the girls immediately stripped off their boots and socks and dangled their feet in the cool water. As usual the talk drifted to the subject of horses.

“Hey, Zach, come and join us,” Lisa called.

Zach sat in the grass beside them.

“Take off your boots,” Stevie urged. “The water’s great.”

“Nah, then I’d have to wait for my feet to dry before I could put them back on.”

“So?”

“I didn’t think we were going to be here that long.”

Carole saw his eyes stray longingly toward the horses. The beauty of the spot was wasted on him. It was obvious he was eager to get back in the saddle, not sit and talk. “We have to give the horses a chance to cool off, Zach,” she said, “but then we can get going.”

Stevie also seemed to have picked up on his restlessness. “Why don’t you go see how they’re doing while we dry our feet,” she suggested.

Zach jumped up eagerly. “Okay.”

“Do you know how to tell if Barq is cooled down?” Lisa asked before he could run off.

Zach shrugged. “If he’s not sweating?”

“Actually, you put your hand on his chest. If it’s not hot then he’s ready to be ridden again.”

“You guys sure do know a lot about horses,” he said as he moved off.

Carole shook her head and reached for her socks. “I’ve never seen anyone so keen to be in the saddle.”

“He’s definitely eager to learn,” Stevie agreed.

That wasn’t what Carole had meant at all. While Zach obviously loved riding, he didn’t seem to enjoy the process of learning what went with it. Still, he was new to the sport and probably overwhelmed by all the
information he was getting, so she decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

“Barq is nice and cool, guys,” he called, “and so are your horses.”

Lisa laughed. “I think that’s a hint.”

“Come on, girls,” Stevie said, standing up. “This kind of devotion to horses should be nurtured.”

“But my feet aren’t even dry,” Lisa protested.

“Dry them with your socks,” Stevie suggested. “I did.”

Lisa wrinkled her nose. “Then I’ll have wet socks. It’ll feel like my feet are all sweaty.”

Stevie shrugged. “What’s your point?”

“It’s gross, that’s my point!”

“Come on, Lisa,” Carole coaxed. “If we don’t get Zach back on his horse soon, I think he’ll go into withdrawal.”

Lisa looked over to where the boy was pacing back and forth and throwing the girls anxious looks. “Okay, okay,” she relented.

The girls quickly finished getting ready, and the four of them mounted up to continue their ride. Stevie was in the lead, Lisa right behind her, Zach next, and Carole brought up the rear.

Carole thought the new rider might be a little anxious
about the upcoming show, so she decided to give him some reassurance. “You know, Zach, even though you only have a few weeks of riding experience, I think you’re going to do fine at the show. It really isn’t all that important, anyway.”