Free Horse Tale by Bonnie Bryant

“Dude!” she cried happily as the young dog leaped toward her and covered her face with affectionate kisses.
    “He remembers you,” Christine commented.
    “Of course he does,” Stevie said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure he also remembers that I’m the one who introduced you two.” Stevie had been the one who had matched Dude with Christine after Christine’s old dog had died. Stevie knew that Christine had appreciated her bringing them together—and she strongly suspected that Dude felt the same way.
    They set off, with Christine in the lead and Dude frisking along beside them. As they rode, Stevie found herself thinking how absolutely perfect everything was. Not only was she having a fantastic vacation with her very best friends, but she was going to have the greatest horse in the world when she got home. She leaned forward to give Stewball a pat on the neck. Then she looked around at the gorgeous desertscenery surrounding her on all sides, and sighed in contentment.
    “It doesn’t get any better than this, boy,” she told Stewball happily.
    T HEY ARRIVED AT the campsite early in the evening. Christine had led them there by what she called the “scenic route,” and it had certainly been scenic. The trail had taken them across the desert, then along the edge of a deep canyon with a river roaring in the bottom of it. They had followed the canyon as it made its way toward the foothills of the mountains; then they had veered off across a pinedotted hillside to reach a trail that led them between two steep foothills and into the valley where the campsite was located. Every inch of the trail was breathtaking. But as soon as they saw the campsite, the girls were convinced that it was the most scenic spot yet.
    “This is terrific!” Carole exclaimed as she dismounted.
    “Definitely,” Stevie, Lisa, and Kate added in one voice.
    Christine smiled. “I knew you’d think so,” she said.
    The campsite was in a wide, shallow arroyo that meandered through the valley. The arroyo had obviously been dry for a long time, but a clear, fast-moving stream tumbled along not far away. The valley itself was grassy and sprinkled with colorful wildflowers. On previous trips Christine’s family had built a stone fire pit in the arroyo, and a temporary corral fenced with rocks and logs on the grassy plain nearby. As the valley sloped gently up to meet the surrounding hills.the grass and flowers were replaced by a deep forest. And beyond the hills the rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains were visible to the west.
    After admiring the spectacular scenery for several more minutes, the girls unsaddled the horses and turned them loose in the corral. Then Christine demonstrated how to set up the tents they had borrowed from her parents. Dude frisked around the girls as they worked, trying to be helpful. They managed to get everything done in spite of him.
    “Now what should we do?” Stevie asked when the campsite was set up. “There are a couple more hours until dark.”
    “I have an idea,” Kate volunteered quickly. “Why don’t we have an English riding demonstration? Christine was asking me just the other day what English riding is all about.”
    “What? I mean, oh yeah,” Christine said. “That would be cool.”
    “Oh, yes!” Carole chirped. “It will be
so
much fun!”
    “Definitely!” Lisa added enthusiastically.
    Stevie shrugged. “Okay, that sounds like fun, I guess.” She glanced at Stewball and grinned. “Actually, it will be terrific. This will be my first chance to see how Stewball takes to English riding. I know he’ll be a natural!”
    As she hurried over to the temporary corral, Stevie didn’t notice the triumphant look that passed among her friends.
    S TEVIE GREW MORE worried by the second as she watched Kate and Carole put their horses through some basic dressagemoves. Or, rather, as she watched Kate and Carole
try
to put their horses through some basic dressage moves.
    Kate went first. Spot fought