Free New Rider by Bonnie Bryant Page B

Zach,” Stevie said gently. “That didn’t go exactly according to plan.”
    Zach spun to face them. “I can’t believe he gave me last place!” he fumed. “Didn’t that guy see how good Iwas at cantering? I was the best one in the ring. He must be totally blind!”
    “You did keep going after he called for a walk,” Carole reminded him gently.
    “I know. I wanted to make sure he saw how good Barq and I were.”
    Stevie could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Zach, it’s a terrible breach of etiquette to ignore the judge’s instructions.”
    “Even if you think you have a good reason to,” Lisa added.
    “I only wanted to show him that we were the best,” Zach grumbled. “That’s no reason to give me last place. That old dude obviously doesn’t like me.”
    Carole frowned. “Judging isn’t personal, Zach, and I’ve never heard anyone accuse Mr. Baker of being biased before.”
    “There’s always a first time,” he said grimly. “Lots of those other kids made mistakes. It’s not like I was the only one.”
    Stevie was concerned by his attitude. Instead of learning a lesson from the experience, Zach was letting it make him bitter. Apparently he thought losing was anybody’s fault but his own. A big mistake. She considered pointing this out but then decided not to; he still had more classes to compete in and she wantedto help him focus on them in a positive manner. “Yes, there were other kids messing up,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Maybe Mr. Baker didn’t happen to see them when they did it. He hasn’t got eyes in back of his head.”
    Zach seemed to brighten at that. “Yeah. You’re right, Stevie, I didn’t think of that. You know what they say: Timing in life is everything. I was unlucky, that’s all. You guys wait till the next class. I’m going for gold!”
    “Blue,” Lisa said.
    “Huh?”
    “The first-place ribbon is blue,” she told him.
    Zach smiled. “Whatever. This time it’s got my name on it for sure!”
    Later in the morning, Stevie, Lisa, Phil, and Zach cheered Carole on from the sidelines as she competed in the jumping class. Watching her friend soar gracefully over the barriers made Stevie itch to get back in the saddle. Not being able to ride was killing her, and, worse, she still had another week to go.
    “That looks really fun,” Zach said enthusiastically. “I’ve got to get in on that.”
    “You can,” Lisa assured him. “But you’ve got to conquer the basics first.”
    Zach made a face. “I hate all this technical stuff. Seems like a waste of time to me.”
    “You have to walk before you can run,” Stevie reminded him.
    Zach grinned. “If you can already run, why bother to walk at all?”
    Stevie shook her head and focused on the ring. Carole had done an excellent job, not only going clean but doing it with impeccable style. At the end of the class she was the only one to have completed the course with no faults, which meant that she wouldn’t even have to compete in a jump-off. She had won first place hands down.
    The group hooted and hollered as Carole graciously accepted her ribbon, then rushed to congratulate her.
    “Nice riding, Carole,” Phil told her. “I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
    “That’s for sure!” Stevie told him with a twinkle in her eye.
    “Hey, I’ve got a dressage class in a few minutes. What about my morale?” he mockingly complained. “You’re supposed to be rooting for me!”
    Stevie punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Don’t be silly, you do enough of that for both of us.”
    “We’d better get going, Phil,” said Lisa, who was riding in the same class. “The event is scheduled to start soon.”
    As the two of them headed off to get their horses, Stevie returned to her place at the rail, but this time with Carole and Zach beside her.
    “So, who are you going to cheer for?” Zach asked.
    Stevie was torn. “My boyfriend and one of my very best friends in the world going