Free Secret Horse by Bonnie Bryant

to jump.
    “We don’t want to overdo it, Lisa!” Carole called. “So if I were you, I’d take him over those little jumps down at the end and then go ahead and jump the course.”
    Lisa nodded. “Sounds good!”
    A few practice fences later, she was ready to try the set of eight fences. Carole came into the ring to give her some advice. “That one vertical is pretty big, so make sure you set him up right for it,” she said.
    Lisa almost had to feign seriousness. The jump that Carole was talking about was nowhere near as big as the Pine Hollow brush!
If she only knew
 …, Lisa said to herself with a smile.
    As was customary at the beginning of a jump course, Lisa trotted in a circle and picked up a canter. At Pine Hollow Samson had mellowed slightly, now that he had jumped the fences there several times. But today he was raring to go. He felt just the way he had the first day Lisahad jumped him. Lisa didn’t mind; she was glad the horse’s spirits were up. Her own were soaring!
    The first few jumps went by in a blur. Dimly Lisa was aware that Samson was getting a little strong. She knew she ought to check him, but she almost hated to. Why not let him have his fun? What harm could come of it? None of these fences was big enough to bother a horse with his ability.
    Midway through the course, the vertical that Carole had mentioned loomed ahead. A vertical was simply an upright fence with one layer of poles. Verticals could look less solid than other kinds of fences—less inviting, in horseperson’s terms. Lisa saw Samson prick up his ears at the red-and-white poles. He weaved underneath her. Prancer did this sometimes, too, if a fence looked spooky. Lisa sat up in the saddle and urged the young horse on. Despite his curiosity, Lisa knew there was no question of his stopping in front of the fence. Samson didn’t have a refusing bone in his body. In fact, he did just the opposite: He took off early—a stride too early. Completely unprepared for the huge jump, Lisa lost her balance. She expected to be tossed back into the saddle by the natural motion of the jump. Instead she was thrown farther forward. Dismayed, she felt her feet come out of the stirrups. She clutched desperately at the black mane. It was no use. With the impact of Samson’s landing,Lisa was tossed into the air. She felt the dread of falling hit her. Then she hurtled toward the ground. She wanted to shriek—but it was too late. With a sickening crunch, the wind was knocked out of her.
    At the rail Carole cried out. She charged toward her friend. “Don’t move, Lisa! Don’t try to get up!” she commanded. After a fall, a rider’s instinct was to jump to her feet. But it was important to lie still, right where she had fallen, in case of broken bones or concussion.
    For a few minutes Lisa concentrated on breathing slowly and answering yes-or-no questions about her condition. When she sat up, she saw Carole peering down at her. “Are you okay? Anything hurt? Can you talk?”
    Lisa nodded as a feeling of shame overtook her. “I’m fine,” she mumbled. The physical shock had been such that the mental shock was coming only now, a few minutes later.
    Eventually Lisa was helped to her feet. “That was a real cruncher,” Carole said sympathetically.
    “I should have made him wait another stride!” Lisa said. “It was all my fault!” She stared numbly at the ground, reliving the last moments before the takeoff. “I let him get fast. I didn’t even try to slow him down—”
    “Oh, come on,” Carole said, gently brushing the dirt from Lisa’s shirt and breeches, “he’s green! That wasbound to happen. I’m just glad it happened now so that we can correct it. I mean—I’m not glad you had to fall, but just think, next time you’ll know what to do.”
    “I guess,” Lisa mumbled. Now that she knew she wasn’t hurt, her disappointment was enormous. She could barely look Carole in the eye. Here she’d been out to prove how great she