Free Show Jumper by Bonnie Bryant

know.”
    “Lisa’s hardly a green rider,” Stevie began angrily, but Veronica had already lost interest in the conversation. She tended to lose interest in any conversation that didn’t concern her. Bored, she waved good-bye and walked off, once again forgetting about Danny and the obvious fact that he needed to be untacked, groomed, fed, and watered for the night.
    The three girls made their way back to the Pine Hollow stalls. They were uncharacteristically quiet—Carole and Stevie because they were hungry and tired, and Lisa because she was smarting inside from Veronica’s remarks about the green horse and green rider. Although Veronica had seemed fooled about the extent of Samson’s talent, she had still taken the opportunity to ridicule Lisa for competing in a show like the Macrae.
    True, Lisa had started riding and showing well after Carole, Stevie,
and
Veronica. But Carole and Stevie were always telling her how good she was.
And Max wouldn’t have let me ride Samson in the Macrae Valley Open if he hadn’t trusted me
, she told herself.
    The more Lisa thought about it, the more focused her anger at Veronica became. As she untacked Samson and sponged him off, she vowed to beat Veronica in the jumping competition.
I’ll show her
, she thought.
Won’t she be surprised when Samson and I walk off with the blue ribbon?
she asked herself, forgetting, for the moment, that her goal at the show was to gain experience.

    A FTER GIVING THE horses measures of grain and hay and making sure they had enough water for the night, the girls closed the stall doors and went in search of Max and Mrs. Reg. They found both of them leaning against the Pine Hollow van, talking merrily to an older man they all recognized—Jock Sawyer, a former USET member and an old friend of Max’s and Mrs. Reg’s. Jock had been a judge at a Pine Hollow schooling show in which The Saddle Club had taken part.
    “Girls,” said Mrs. Reg when she caught sight of them, “you remember Jock Sawyer, don’t you? Jock, here are three representatives from Pine Hollow—Carole Hanson, who will be riding Starlight; Lisa Atwood, who will be riding Samson; and Stevie Lake. Stevie’s one of our best riders, especially in dressage, but for this occasion she generously volunteered to be our tack manager. And I must say,” Mrs. Reg added, smiling, “she’s done a wonderful job so far.”
    “Good for you,” Jock said approvingly, shaking Stevie’s hand. “I learned a lot about horses that way, volunteering to be tack manager.” Stevie glowed with pride at his approval and at Mrs. Reg’s praise. They had all liked Jock—and he looked like their idea of a horseperson, with a tanned face and an easy smile and big hands. Even now, out of riding clothes, he still looked horsey. He was wearing a soft shirt and a worn tweedy jacket with leather patches on the elbows, and his legswere muscled and fit. He looked ready to jump on a horse at any second.
    “Oh, and here’s Veronica diAngelo, another young rider from Pine Hollow,” said Mrs. Reg, catching sight of Veronica walking toward them. The Saddle Club almost groaned, but since Jock was present, they restrained themselves and waited politely for her to join them.
    “Max! Mrs. Reg! Isn’t this all just marvelous?” said Veronica, gesturing vaguely at the show grounds. She gave them a dazzlingly bright smile, which she then turned full force onto Jock Sawyer. “And who’s this distinguished friend of yours? I
insist
on an introduction.”
    Mrs. Reg made the introductions with an expression of mild amusement. “You remember Jock,” she said dryly. “He judged that event for us a while back.”
    “Oh, of course I remember you,” said Veronica, wrinkling her forehead in concentration. “How nice you were to judge our little show! Especially,” she added, glancing around, “since you obviously have much more important things to do.”
    Stevie, Lisa, and Carole all rolled their eyes at each other. The