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on behalf of the woman’s horse. The tour guide must have felt sorry for the horse, too, because she quickly brought them all back to a walk. The Saddle Club resumed their conversation with Drew.
    “I understand what you’re saying,” Stevie told him. “But I also know that trying to make a horse learn too fast can really slow its training down or even ruin the horse in the long run, because it could get scared and nervous.”
    “I’ve always thought that Dorothy and Nigel were two of the best trainers ever,” Carole added.
    “Oh, I agree,” Drew said. “They are great, but even they don’t agree about Southwood. It’s hard to know what’s best in this case. I think Nigel’s concern for Southwood is wonderful, but I also think that Southwood really wants to win.” Drew smiled wistfully. “Southwood reminds me of Prospero in that way,” he said.
    “Tell us about him,” Lisa said. They all wanted to hear the story.
    “He had a heart of gold,” Drew said. “Talking about him brings back so many memories. He was the only horse I’ve ever owned.”
    “Why did you have a horse if you didn’t ride?” asked Stevie.
    “I did ride, I just gave it up,” Drew explained. “I took lessons for a long time. Prospero loved to jump, but he was also gentle and obedient. I competed him in preliminary-level events—and given how awfully I ride, that should tell you something about what kind of horse he was. He really took care of me, and he never, ever gave up. He had a champion heart.” Drew laughed suddenly. “I taught him to shake hands, too, for a carrot—just like a circus horse! I’d whistle and he’d hold his hoof up, then I’d give him a carrot.”
    Lisa remembered the difficult event in England that Nigel had told them was “preliminary” level. Looking at the way Drew rode now, she could hardly imagine him galloping over solid fences on any kind of horse. “Prospero really must have been super,” she said. “Why did you sell him?”
    Drew smiled another sad smile. “He was too good a horse for a rider like me,” he said. “He was capable of so much more than I was ever going to be capable of. I loved him, but I knew I was holding him back, so I sold him to a professional rider who could take him to higher levels of competition.”
    “Then what happened?” Stevie said. “Where is he now?”
    Drew shook his head. “That’s the worst thing,” he said. “I don’t know where he is. I tried to keep in touch with him—I wanted to know everything about him—but first he injured a tendon in his leg while galloping in his pasture, and he couldn’t be ridden for a year. Then he was sold to a rider in California. I think they must have changed his name, because I never heard a word about him again. It was years ago that I rode him. He could be dead.”
    Drew looked anguished. “I don’t want Nigel to push Southwood,” he said, “but I want him to have a chance. What if something happens to him, like it did to Prospero? Prospero should have had a chance.”
    Lisa looked at her friends. They all felt enormously sad for Drew, who obviously loved Prospero very much.
He loved Prospero enough to sell him to a better rider
, Lisa thought, realizing how much courage that had taken. She remembered when her old beloved lesson horse, Pepper, had grown old and sick. She had made the decision to end Pepper’s suffering, and it was one of the hardest and best decisions she’d ever made. Drew’s selling Prospero sounded like the same kind of choice.
    “I’m so sorry,” Carole said softly. “Maybe Prospero’s doing really well in California. Maybe he’s a champion event horse.”
    Drew shook his head. “I subscribe to a magazine thatcovers all the show results. They publish photographs of the winners. I’d recognize him if I ever saw him. Whatever he’s doing, he isn’t winning.” He tightened his reins involuntarily, and his horse tossed its head. “I don’t want that to happen to