Blue Ribbon Summer Read Online Free PDF

Thanks.” Brooke peered into the trailer through the slats. Now that Foxy was aboard, she didn’t seemnervous at all. She was already nosing at the hay Brooke had stuffed into the hayrack earlier.
    Brooke sighed. It was a good thing she and Foxy were going to camp, because they both obviously needed some work.

CHAPTER
4
    â€œOH, THIS AREA IS SO lovely.” Brooke’s mother peered out the front windshield. “Isn’t it nice, Brooke? You’re just a few miles from Pocomoke Sound here. Look, there’s the sign. Turn here, Roger.”
    Brooke glanced back to check on Foxy, though she couldn’t see much from the truck—just the tips of the mare’s ears between the slats of the trailer. Then she leaned forward to check out the sign. It was fancier-looking than she’d expected, with the words POCOMOKE STABLES spelled out in fancy gold letters. Below that, smaller letters read BOARDING TRAINING SALES . The driveway was lined with twin rows of tall shade trees, beyond which Brooke caught aglimpse of sleek horses grazing in large, grassy pastures.
    â€œNice place,” her stepfather said approvingly as they rounded a curve in the driveway and the rest of the farm came into view.
    Brooke nodded. Off to the left was a huge riding ring with neatly raked footing and a course of colorful jumps. A woman was riding a tall, glossy chestnut horse in circles at the far end. Just past the ring was the barn, which was long and low and at least twice the size of the one where Brooke had taken riding lessons. One end opened onto a large paved courtyard, and on the far side of that stood the main house, a two-story brick Colonial with tidy black shutters and a deep front porch. There were several smaller outbuildings scattered around, but Brooke didn’t take in the details.
    â€œYes, very nice,” her mother was saying. “I didn’t realize it was such a fancy place.”
    â€œOnly the best for our girl, eh?” Brooke’s stepfather tossed Brooke a wink in the rearview, then returned his focus to driving. “Suppose I should pull up over there, near the barn?”
    â€œUm, I guess so.” Brooke was watching as the woman in the ring turned her horse and sent him over one of the jumps, which the horse cleared easily. Nearby, Brooke noticed a second woman watching from the rail. She was on foot but dressed in riding clothes that matched those of her friend—beige breeches, tall boots, and a polo shirt.
    Brooke swallowed hard, feeling intimidated. What kind of place was this? It certainly didn’t look anything like the summer camps she’d seen in the movies. It wasn’t anything much like the camps her Pony Post friends had described either. So far, she didn’t even see any other kids!
    As her father pulled into the courtyard, a woman hurried out of the barn, waving and smiling. She looked to be in her early fifties, with chin-length brown hair, and she was dressed in jeans and paddock boots. “Hi, I’m Robin Montgomery,” she called. “You must be the Rhodeses.”
    Brooke’s stepfather leaned out the truck’s open window. “That’s us,” he replied cheerfully. “Where do you want the pony?”
    The next few minutes were so busy that Brooke barely had time to breathe, let alone worry about what she wasin for. Robin directed them to park at the end of the barn near a pair of sliding doors, then helped unload Foxy, who was wide-eyed and alert as she took in her new surroundings. After a moment the pony whinnied loudly, then spun around at the end of the lead rope.
    â€œSorry,” Brooke said breathlessly, doing her best to hang on to the prancing pony. “She’s not usually like this. She doesn’t go new places very often.”
    â€œIt’s all right. Here, let me help.” Robin took the lead from Brooke’s hand, talking soothingly to Foxy. The mare remained alert, but stopped jumping