Horseshoe Read Online Free PDF Page A

would never have left us alone. They used to hire college students to watch us every day after school, and then they’d hire another student to take care of us during the summer. We did all the normal stuff—went swimming, played with the neighbors. My brothers were all in Little League, and I rode. I could always walk to Pine Hollow if I wanted to.” She took a long sip of lemonade. “It’s not that I didn’t notice that my parents weren’t there, but they made sure we were well taken care of. We always had plenty of stuff to do.”
    “That’s the problem with Jessica, I think,” explained Carole. “She doesn’t have neighborhood kids to play with, and she doesn’t have anything else to do. She comes here once a week to ride, plus she’s joined Horse Wise. That’s all she has. I think we should try to be nice to her, and help her make some friends.”
    They all agreed. “Poor kid,” Carole continued, “she seemed so upset about Veronica too.”
    “Speaking of Veronica,” Lisa cut in, “you know how Michael Grant seemed entirely oblivious of her presence in class?”
    “Uh-huh,” said Stevie. “I took it as a sign of true intelligence. It’s about time we got some decent boys around here.”
    “Not so fast,” said Lisa. “I’m afraid he wasn’t as oblivious as he seemed.” She described her conversation in the tack room. When she mimicked Michael, saying, “It’s just as easy to love a rich girl as a poor girl,” The Saddle Club hooted with laughter.
    “That’s rich,” gasped Carole. “I’m out of the running, then. I spent most of this month’s allowance on polo wraps for Starlight.”
    “And I,” said Stevie, “don’t have any snap left in my wardrobe!” She waved her ragged shirttail at her friends, and they all howled again. Stevie liked to wear old jeans and battered cowboy boots when she rode, and no one had ever seen her in designer clothes.
    “I decided that Michael and Veronica might actually deserve each other,” Lisa said.
    “Well, I hope Veronica doesn’t get him,” Stevie said, suddenly fierce. “She’s so lazy and stuck-up that she shouldn’t ever get anything she deserves—not even a dweeb like Michael Grant. First she was mean to Jessica, then she pulled that stunt, pretending to fall off, then she left Garnet tacked up in her stall! She didn’t even loosen the girth!”
    Carole flinched. Veronica’s first horse, Cobalt, whom Carole had loved, had died because Veronica had jumped him carelessly. “She’ll cause another accident,” Carole said.
    “I wish she’d
have
an accident, like in front of a speeding truck,” Stevie said. “She makes me so mad. I’d like to teach her a lesson.” The others nodded in agreement.
    They spent another pleasant half hour basking in the sunshine and watching some of the horses turned out in the paddock nearby. Carole had brought some of her father’s chocolate chip cookies, and Stevie split her orange three ways. When they saw May Grover come out of the stable and wave her arm at them, they knew it was time for the Horse Wise meeting to resume.
    Max started by going through a list of all of the equipment they would need to bring with them for the drill next weekend. “Red will bring the horses in the van,” he said. “And I think it would be best to ship them with their saddles on, to save confusion at the start of the parade. Fly sheets on over the saddles, halter, and lead ropes—we’ll bridle them after they’re unloaded, okay?”
    Carole, to Stevie’s and Lisa’s amusement, was takingnotes. She could be very organized where horses were concerned.
    “I don’t know what the facilities for water will be,” Max continued. “So, to be on the safe side, we’ll want all our five-gallon jugs filled and in the van. This means water buckets too, and I think you riders should bring something to drink for yourselves as well. You might get pretty thirsty after the parade. We’ll have several hours between the