Free Carole by Bonnie Bryant Page A

hips and glared at John. “For your information, John Brightstar, Stewball is a very smart horse. He very well may be the smartest horse you or I have ever met. In fact, he’s a whole lot smarter than some wranglers I could mention. That means he’s more than capable of learning anything anyone tries to teach him. I’m sure he’ll make a great English riding horse.”
    John shrugged and turned to fiddle with Chocolate’s stirrups. “That’s probably true,” he said calmly. “I just wonder whether he’ll like it.”
    “Of course he will,” Stevie replied. “He’ll love it. And Iknow he’ll especially love being with me, just like I’ll love being with him.”
    John still didn’t quite seem convinced, but Lisa and I were happy to see Stevie so happy. She’s been wanting her own horse for a long time—just before we came out here, she was getting all grumpy because Polly Giacomin got her own horse, and she hasn’t been riding as long as Stevie has.
    Anyway, we spent a lot of the rest of today talking about Stewball—or, to be more exact, listening to Stevie talk about Stewball. When she’s really excited about something, it can be hard to shut her up. So we mostly didn’t even try.
    I spent a little time thinking about the steps Stevie would need to follow to retrain Stewball to be an English horse, since I figured she would need some help. It seemed like a pretty interesting challenge, and I was sure it would keep Stevie really busy for a while, maybe even busier than training Starlight keeps me. Sometimes it’s harder to teach a horse how to change something he already knows how to do (like switching from neck-reining to English-style aids) than it is to just teach him a brand-new skill.
    Anyway, Lisa disappeared after dinner, and Stevie was off talking to Frank Devine about the arrangements for shipping Stewball or something, so I was in our bunkhouse alone (rereading that silly story Stevie wrote in here, actually), when Kate came in, looking serious.
    “I’ve been wanting to talk to you and Lisa alone,” she said.
    I rolled over on my stomach and looked at her. “Well, since Lisa’s not here, you’ll have to settle for just me,” I said. “Talk.”
    Kate took a deep breath. “I don’t think Stevie should buy Stewball.”
    “What?” That made me sit up straight. “Why not?”
    “I just don’t think they’re a good match,” Kate replied.
    “Not a good match!” I practically sputtered. “What are you talking about? They’re the perfect match. That’s why she always rides him when we come out here, remember? Anyway, your father obviously thinks otherwise, since he’s the one who agreed to sell him to Stevie. Don’t you think he knows what he’s doing?”
    At that moment Lisa walked in. “What’s going on?” she asked, obviously noticing that I was kind of upset.
    “Kate doesn’t think Stevie and Stewball are a good match!” I exclaimed. “She doesn’t think Stevie should buy him. Can you believe it? I mean, I know Stevie has been driving us a little crazy by talking about Stewball all the time, but that’s only natural. They’re perfect for each other. Don’t you think?”
    Lisa sat down on the bunk beside me. “I’m not sure,” she replied quietly.
    My jaw dropped. “What do you mean, you’re not sure? What is everyone around here thinking?”
    Kate explained. “When I said Stevie and Stewball weren’t a good match, I wasn’t talking about their personalities,” she said. “But the fact is, Stevie’s interests and talents are in English riding. And Stewball just isn’t an English riding horse.”
    I wasn’t totally convinced by that. I mean, normally I respect Kate’s opinions when it comes to horses. But I was sure Stewball could be retrained, and I said so.
    Kate nodded. “There isn’t anything Stewball couldn’t learn and do pretty well,” she agreed. “The problem is that he’ll be a pretty good English horse instead of an outstanding Western