Free Keeker and the Horse Show Show-Off by Hadley Higginson Page A

dress, and every time they went over a jump, the dress fanned out behind them like a peacock’s tail. (Plum was very light and floaty, almost as though she was flying.)

    In another dream, Plum was walking around on her hind legs, talking just like Jane Louise. She even had Jane Louise’s sunglasses on!
    Over in the barn, Plum wasn’t getting much sleep either. But it wasn’t because she was nervous; it was because there was a barn owl up in the rafters, hooting away.
    “Hoo-hoo-HOO!” called the barn owl, peering down into Plum’s stall. “HOO!”
    “Shush!” Plum snorted. She tucked her head under her hay pile, but it didn’t do much good.
    The next morning Keeker felt GREAT even though she’d gotten barely any sleep. She took a shower and got dressed and ate breakfast as fast as she could. She was ready!
    Plum woke up groggy and grumpy, with hay in her hair. One of her legs was asleep, and she had a knot in her tail.

    When Plum realized she had to get on the horse trailer, she was doubly grumpy.
    “I’m not getting back on that old rattly clank,” Plum huffed.
    It took Keeker, her mother, her father, two of the dogs and a LOT of carrots to make Plum get on the trailer. But finally she was on.

    “Carrots make everything better,” thought Plum as she crunched.
    And they were on their way.

Chapter 5
    When they got to the fairgrounds, Keeker’s mom took Keeker and Plum to the barns where Plum would be stabled during the show.
    Keeker and Plum had stall number 37. Right next door to them, in stall number 36, was a shiny dapple gray pony.
    Sitting outside the stall on a hay bale was a girl dressed in fancy clothes.

    “Hi,” said the girl. “My name’s Tifni with an
i.
What’s your name?”
    “Ummm, Keeker,” said Keeker. “Keeker with two
e’
s.”
    “This is my pony,” said Tifni. “She’s SO new; I just got her last month. Her name is Lulu’s Li’l Windsong.”
    Windsong popped her head over the top of the stall door and sniffed delicately. She was very pretty, Keeker had to admit.
    “I’ve already won SO many ribbons this year, with my other pony,” said Tifni. “Wanna see?”
    She opened the top of her tack trunk and pulled out three ribbons and one shiny silver trophy.
    Keeker began to feel a little anxious. She had never won a single ribbon. In fact, all she had in her tack trunk was a sandwich her dad had made her (PB&J on white bread, no crust) and an apple for Plum.

    “Well, it’s time to start getting ready, so I guess I’ll see you in the warm-up ring,” said Tifni. “Byyyyyyeee!”
    Just then Jane Louise and Keeker’s mom showed up to help Keeker with Plum. They were in a very good mood; they laughed and chatted and seemed very excited.
    Keeker was suddenly not in a good mood. She kept sneaking peeks over to Tifni’s stall, and everything Tifni was putting on her pony seemed much fancier and shinier than what they were putting on Plum.

    Plum was not in a good mood either. Her leg was still asleep, and her saddle felt pinchy. Plus, she was hungry.
    In all the excitement of the morning, no one had remembered to feed her.
    “Harrumph,” groused Plum. Her stomach grumbled and rumbled, and no one—not Keeker, not Keeker’s mom, not even Jane Louise—seemed to notice.

Chapter 6
    When Plum was all tacked up, Jane Louise gave Keeker a leg up (for luck), and they all walked over to the warm-up ring.
    There were a zillion ponies there—Keeker had never seen so many ponies and kids all in one place in her life!
    But even in the crowd, it was easy to spot Tifni. She had blue velvet ribbons on the ends of her braids and blue yarn braided into Windsong’s mane.

    Keeker began to feel very sad. She didn’t have any ribbons in her hair, and she wasn’t wearing any new stuff.
    Plum’s mane wasn’t even braided—it was just sticking out like it normally did.
    “Everyone looks better than me,” Keeker thought miserably.
    “These ponies look ridiculous,” thought Plum.