Blue Ribbon Champ Read Online Free PDF

and Bucky stood in the practice field, getting ready to work on Joey’s routine.
    After she cleaned the horses’ hooves and helped Joey mount, Skye climbed onto Champ. Chad was in the paddock teaching another student how to tack a horse when he and Skye caught each other’s eye.
    “Hey, Skye,” Chad yelled, “how’s Bucky’s thrush? I see you’re still pouring peroxide on that bad foot.”
    “We just have to keep after it,” Skye yelled back. “It flared up, but I think as long as we keep the peroxide on it, he’ll be okay.”
    “Good,” Chad said. “Oh, I wanted to tell you that I have the evening free. I’d like to stay and shoot some pool. Do you think Mr. and Mrs. C. would mind?”
    Well, I sure wouldn’t! Skye’s face glowed with delight. “Of course they wouldn’t mind. You’re always welcome here.”
    “Great,” he said. “I’ll see you later then.”
    “Later,” Skye said, turning Champ toward the open field. With her heart racing and her brain exploding with thoughts of Chad, she forced herself to refocus. “Joey, just like we’ve done so many times before, we’re going to practice what you’ll be doing in the horse show. I want you and Bucky to follow Champ and me.”
    “Okay, Cloud.” Joey turned Bucky and lined up behind Skye and her horse. “But I wanna ride Champ today. Could I please ride Champ? I’ve always wanted to ride Champ.”
    Skye took a deep breath, ready to give Joey a blast. Then she remembered Hannah. “Well,” she said politely, “maybe sometime you can ride Champ, but not today. You have too much to teach Bucky. He needs you. Okay?”
    “Okay, Cloud,” Joey conceded.
    For the next hour, Skye and Champ rehearsed with Joey and his horse. Around the practice field they went, starting, stopping, dismounting, and mounting. Although Joey listened well, the practice was far from what Skye had planned. For the umpteenth time after he got offBucky, Joey asked the same old question, “Kin I ride Champ now?”
    Patience was never one of Skye Nicholson’s virtues, and after an hour of Joey’s nagging, the whole humorous Hannah incident had disappeared into thin air. By the time the session ended, Skye was fuming big time.
    At the paddock fence, Skye stopped Champ abruptly, jumped off the horse without even bothering to use her stirrup, and ripped off her helmet. “Joey, park Bucky right here next to Champ and dismount. Your lesson for today is over!” Lost in her own selfish thoughts, she barely noticed Chad still working with another student in the small corral.
    “Okay, Cloud.” Joey got off Bucky and tied him to the fence. “Now kin I ride Champ?”
    Boom! Skye’s temper erupted like a volcano. In a flash, she whirled around at Joey and shoved her index finger right into his face, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
    “He can’t help it.” Mrs. Chambers’ words from a counseling session flashed in Skye’s mind, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
    “Ooh, you look mad, Cloud,” Joey said, backing away. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’m sorry.”
    Skye took a deep breath and gave Joey her best smile. “Nah, Joey, that’s okay,” she said sincerely. “But you can’t ride Champ today. He’s tired. Okay?”
    “Okay, Cloud,” Joey said, beaming his best smile back. “But kin I ride him now?”

Chapter six
    A ll right!” Morgan cheered. “I sank one of her subs!” While Joey and the other students played table games with Mr. and Mrs. Chambers in the dining room, Skye, Morgan, and Chad played computer games in the basement. The walls vibrated with the noise of electronic laser blasts and explosions. Tippy and Ty lay on the floor, totally engrossed in chewing their own play toys.
    You lost! You lost! A sinister voice declared as Chad’s screen flashed the words in brilliant colors. Wanna try again or are you CHICKEN?
    “Give me a break,” Chad said to the screen and then turned to Skye. “Hey, how about a game of pool? This Chicken