Free Secret Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page A

was, how she deserved to be the one to ride Samson in the Macrae! Hot tears came to her eyes, but she checked them. She wasn’t going to let herself cry, not now in front of Mr. Grover.
    Mr. Grover led Samson over. “He’s a little shaken, but you’ll calm him right down,” the trainer said kindly to Lisa. “Are you ready to get back on?”
    Panic seized Lisa at the idea of remounting. She had forgotten the necessity of getting back on a horse right after a fall. Otherwise, a rider could lose her nerve. Lisa nodded vigorously, hoping Carole and Mr. Grover wouldn’t notice. “Sure,” she said. “I’m just waiting for my leg up.”
    “You’re sure, now?” said Mr. Grover. “I don’t want to rush things.”
    “No, really—the sooner the better. Everyone takes a spill now and then, right?” Lisa said, making an effort to keep her voice light.
    “That’s a good attitude,” said Mr. Grover. He held out his hands for Lisa to step into.
    Once Lisa was on Samson’s back, she realized the saying “The sooner the better” was true. If she’d waited any longer, she would have been too scared.
    Carole went over to the vertical and dropped the top pole to the ground. That lowered the jump by six inches. “See how you feel, and when you’re ready you can finish the course.”
    “Okay,” Lisa said shakily.
    Ten minutes later she still felt nervous. But she couldn’t put it off any longer. Starting with the fence before the vertical, Lisa rode Samson around the course. This time she hardly even noticed the red-and-white fence. She hardly noticed anything. Her mind was set on finishing … finishing … finishing …
    When it was all over, Lisa rode to the rail and dismounted in a hurry.
    “You go ahead, Carole,” she said. “I don’t want to hog him.”
    “Okay,” Carole said readily. “You did a great job getting back on, you know.”
    “Thanks,” Lisa said wanly. “I’m going to go wait in the barn for a little while. I think the sun is getting to me.”
    At Carole’s and Mr. Grover’s concerned looks, Lisa tried to look more robust. “Be back soon!” she promised.
    Inside the cool of the barn, Lisa leaned against a stall door. Her head was throbbing. What had gone wrong?She had been riding along, completely confident, when all of a sudden she had hit the ground—hard. Sinking down onto a hay bale, she tried to tell herself it was no big deal. The truth was, every rider
did
fall now and then. If you didn’t, you weren’t a real rider. “But why did I have to fall today?” Lisa wondered aloud. Now she would never have the guts to ask if she could ride in the Macrae. It had been a wild dream, anyhow, she thought angrily. And it had ended the way wild dreams did: in disappointment.
    Lisa didn’t want Carole and Mr. Grover to worry, so after a few minutes she headed back out to the ring. She was just in time to see Carole finish what must have been a perfect course. Lisa could guess it was perfect based on Mr. Grover’s burst of applause and Carole’s ear-to-ear grin. Forcing herself to think of the team effort, Lisa strode forward, congratulations forming on her lips.
    “Y OU ’ RE OUR BIGGEST ally yet,” Carole said to Mr. Grover as he turned his pickup off the main road. The trainer was giving the three of them—two girls plus horse—a ride back to Pine Hollow.
    “I’m honored to be included in the plan,” Mr. Grover responded. “If you have trouble convincing Max, have him call me. I’ll vouch for Samson’s Macrae-readiness.”
    “We might take you up on that!” Carole said.
    So that Max wouldn’t suspect anything, the girls un-loadedSamson at the top of the driveway. That way Mr. Grover could turn around right there and they could walk Samson the rest of the way to the barn. Both Carole and Lisa thanked their driver profusely.
    “This was a great opportunity for Samson,” Carole said again. “And for us.”
    Mr. Grover waved off the thanks and climbed back into the