Free Starting Gate by Bonnie Bryant

burst out laughing.
    “That’s a great idea, Stevie,” chuckled Skye. “But this is really a horse problem more than a people problem. Pretty soon I’m going to have to ride Mabel in a race. Not only will I have to stay on, but I’m going to have to win, and win convincingly.”
    “But nobody else in the movie will really be trying to beat you, will they?” asked Carole.
    “No,” Skye admitted. “We’ll all be pretending. But I will have to get Mabel to gallop without throwing me. Maybe I should just give up and get them to use a stunt double instead of trying to ride in the race myself. But I hate to do it—it feels like cheating somehow. And I
know
I can ride convincingly if I could just get the chance.”
    “Of course you can,” Lisa said firmly. “And we were making some progress today. I mean, Mabel did let you snap a line on her and lead her out of her stall.”
    “Yeah, and then George stormed in and scared the poor horse half to death,” said Carole. “Mabel probably doesn’t know what to think, now.”
    “Are you sure you don’t want to try my shove-everybody-in-an-In-Transit-van scheme?” Stevie asked hopefully.
    “Sorry, Stevie.” Skye gave a sad sigh. “As much as I would like to, I just don’t think it’ll work.”
    “Well, then.” Stevie looked at Carole and Lisa. “I guess The Saddle Club will just have to put our heads together and come up with another plan.”

“G OOD GRIEF , S TEVIE !” Carole said, looking at the bowl of multicolored food on Stevie’s breakfast plate. “That looks as strange as what Veronica ordered the other night.”
    “It’s my own creation,” replied Stevie, stirring the stuff with her spoon. “It’s granola with yogurt and different kinds of jam.” She took a bite and grinned. “I’ve got blueberry and strawberry and apricot all mixed up together.”
    “And it tastes okay?” Lisa asked as the waitress brought her a simple plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.
    “Tastes great,” Stevie mumbled, her mouth full. “I may write this recipe down and have it for breakfast every morning at home.”
    “Whatever.” Carole looked at Lisa and shook her head.
    “Morning, girls,” a familiar voice called. Everyone looked up as Max pulled out the chair beside Stevie. He carried Maxi and a cell phone in his arms. “How is everybody this morning?”
    “Oh, fine.” Lisa smiled. “We’re just watching Stevie eat. It’s gotten to be one of our favorite pastimes.”
    Max didn’t even bother to glance at Stevie’s bowl. He looked at the girls and started talking.
    “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. Our horses have not arrived.”
    “Not arrived?” cried Carole. “What do you mean?”
    “Well, both Deborah and my mother have been on the phone with these jokers for the past twenty-four hours. They’ve learned that the horses are in good condition, but there was a rock slide on the interstate in Arkansas and some kind of huge traffic jam in Oklahoma. The horses are definitely late, but nothing has been the van company’s fault.”
    “But won’t it be their fault if Veronica doesn’t get to ride this afternoon?” asked Lisa. “She can’t ride if her horse isn’t anywhere in sight.”
    “I wouldn’t worry about it, since Veronica isn’t anywhere in sight, either,” said Stevie. “By the way, where is she?”
    “She’s still holed up in her room.” Max shiftedMaxi to his other knee. “She finally saw the hotel doctor last night. He said she had nothing serious, just a touch of the stomach flu.”
    “More like a touch of sweetbreads,” chuckled Stevie as she stirred her yogurt again.
    “It’s just too bad that we’ve come all the way across the country and poor Veronica can’t even compete,” said Lisa. Then she frowned. “Wait! It’s not only Veronica today. It’s Carole, too! You were signed up for the same hunter-jumper class as Veronica, weren’t you?”
    Carole sighed and nodded.
    “And now you won’t be able to