Free Silver Stirrups by Bonnie Bryant Page A

she may have everything that money can buy, but I’ll still beat her.”
    “There’s the spirit, Carole!” said Stevie.
    Lisa remained quiet for a moment. Then she said, “You know, Carole, Andrea’s life isn’t as perfect as you think.”
    “Oh, really? What, she got a second place once?” Carole could hear how sarcastic she sounded, but she didn’t care. She was not going to let Andrea Barry make her feel second best.
    “No,” said Lisa. “It’s something very serious.”
    “What?” said Stevie, all ears.
    “I can’t tell anyone. I promised not to,” Lisa replied. If only there were some way she could make Carole understand that Andrea was dealing with a lot more than equitation over fences. But she couldn’t go back on her word. That would be a betrayal of Andrea.
    “Look, let’s just drop the subject, okay?” Carole said. The last thing she wanted was to get in a fight with one of her best friends about her new rival. It would be a huge waste of time and energy before Briarwood.
    “Okay,” said Lisa.
    W ORKING STEADILY FOR an hour, Lisa, Stevie, and Carole managed to check off almost the entire list. Some things they wouldn’t do until closer to the show, such as polishing their boots. Feeling incredibly virtuous, Stevie suggested they adjourn to TD’s for a treat. TD’s was the local ice cream parlor and a favorite meeting spot for the girls. “We definitely deserve it. After all this work and no riding,” Stevie said.
    “Count me in!” said Lisa, giving a final sweep to the tack room.
    “Carole?”
    “I wish I could come, but I want to lunge Starlight. Maybe I’ll meet you there later.” The night before, Carole had promised herself that nothing, but nothing,was going to get in the way of her final week of preparation. That included trips to TD’s.
    Lisa and Stevie were disappointed, but they set off alone, urging Carole to hurry and try to join them there. When they were gone, Carole took a lunge line and lunge whip and went to get Starlight. On the way to his stall, she passed the indoor ring. She could hear Max instructing Andrea.
    “Good. Good. Now bring him down to a walk.”
    Carole peeked into the ring.
    “And tr-rot!” Max commanded.
    Andrea leaned forward the slightest bit as Doc moved fluidly into the faster gait.
    “Fine.”
    Carole glanced at Max’s face. It was glowing with approval. “You ride this nicely on Saturday, you’ll have the judges eating out of your hand,” said Max.
    Carole felt yesterday’s jealousy hit her like a brick. Max had found himself a new star pupil!
    It was funny, though: Andrea didn’t look very happy. Her expression showed confusion—nervousness, even. “You really think so?” Andrea asked.
    As they moved around the ring, Carole slipped away toward Starlight’s stall.
“You really think so?”
she mimicked in a whining voice. “Just wait till Saturday,” Carole said. “I’ll show you exactly what I think!”

 

    T HE S ADDLE C LUB had gotten TD’s down to a routine. They always sat in the same booth. Stevie always ordered a disgusting-sounding sundae. And they always seemed to get the same grumpy waitress. When anything changed that routine, it didn’t feel right. Today, two things were off. One was that Carole weren’t with them. Minus a third of The Saddle Club, Stevie and Lisa felt like a skeleton crew. As if that weren’t enough, the rude waitress was nowhere to be seen. Instead a polite older man came to take their order.
    “Good afternoon,” the man said. “What can I get you today?”
    Lisa and Stevie looked at one another in surprise. Common courtesy? At TD’s? They were so surprised, they forgot their orders.
    “Have you girls been riding?” the waiter continued.
    Lisa found her voice first. “Uh, sort of. How’d you guess?”
    The man pointed to his nose. “Sensitive sense of smell—at least when it comes to horses.”
    Stevie and Lisa grinned sheepishly. They were used to hearing their friends,