Free Horse Trade by Bonnie Bryant

duet—it’s a new dressage concept.”
    “Can you come over early?” Phil said. “We’ve got a lot to do.”
    “Sure,” Stevie told him. Her mind was back on No-Name and her mysterious allergies. “Isn’t it strange that at your place No-Name is always fine, but whenever we take her somewhere, she breaks out? Maybe she hates traveling.”
    “I don’t think so,” Phil said. “She doesn’t seem like the type. If it were Teddy, I could believe it. No-Name is like you. Nothing fazes her.”
    “I’m fazed, believe me,” Stevie said. “I’ll see you in an hour and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
    When Phil met Stevie at the bus stop, he looked glum. “My parents are coming to the exhibition—if there is one. We’ve got to make sure No-Name doesn’t have an allergy attack today.”
    “I thought about it all the way over,” Stevie said. “No-Name always seems to break out when she goes to Cross County. But when she’s there, she doesn’t even go into the stable. She waits outside, tied to the hitching postwith a lead line. What could possibly be the problem? She just stands there and munches grass.”
    “Can horses be allergic to grass?” Phil said.
    “Maybe,” Stevie said, “but if she was allergic to grass, she’d be covered with hives all the time because she’s
always
eating grass.”
    “It’s a bummer.” Phil shook his head.
    Stevie reached out and caught the fuzzy end of a foxtail plant from the side of the road and pulled it from the ground. She nibbled on the tender white end of the stalk. “It can’t be impossible. There’s got to be a way to figure this out.” She blinked. “Maybe there is a way.”
    “What?” Phil said.
    “I’ve got to be sure,” Stevie said. “Come on, let’s get over to Cross County.”
    The two riders had to groom their horses extra carefully for the exhibition. In dressage, it was essential for a horse and its rider to look their best. In fact, points could be lost if riders and horses looked less than perfect.
    An hour later Stevie and Phil finally hit the trail for Cross County Stables.
    Teddy was frisking along, his head held high. “He can tell something special’s going on,” Phil said. “That extra grooming always gets him going.”
    “Is he all right with crowds?” Stevie asked.
    “He hasn’t had a lot of experience with shows,” Philadmitted. “But if he gets nervous, I can always talk to him in horse latin.”
    Stevie grinned. Phil’s method of dealing with Teddy actually seemed to work.
    When they got to Cross County, bleachers had been set up outside the fence of the ring. A few younger riders who wouldn’t be participating were setting up a table with cookies and lemonade.
    Suddenly Stevie’s stomach lurched. There were so many things that could go wrong. The duet could turn out to be a big flop, and everyone could laugh. Or Teddy could be spooked and run wild. Or, as she had been thinking all morning, No-Name could break out in hives. More than anything, Stevie wanted to do well in front of Mrs. Marsten, who must think she was a nut after hearing her sing the other day. Ever since that embarrassing moment Phil and Stevie had practiced to a tape of Lisa singing “Almost.”
    Phil waited for Stevie to tether No-Name in her usual spot outside the ring. Stevie shook her head and said, “We’re going inside with you guys.”
    Once No-Name was hitched to a post where there was no grass or weeds in eating distance, Stevie went to check on that delicious patch of greenery where No-Name usually liked to munch.
    Just as she thought. There was grass in No-Name’s patch, but also several varieties of weeds. A horse will avoid poisonous weeds, like deadly nightshade, Stevie knew, but they will eat other weeds. Stevie examined a plant with curly green leaves and a pale-yellow flower. Could this be the culprit?
    Unfortunately, Stevie decided, the only way to handle the situation was by waiting—something Stevie hated doing. The