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It’s really his decision to make. Hey, Adds, I’ve been
thinking.”
    “Uh,oh, everybody stand back!”
    “No, really. I think maybe you should try
riding Dotty.” I was determined this time to get her on our
pony.
    “I really don’t want to. I told you that. I
can’t help it if she scares me.”
    “Seriously, you should try it and get in some
practice. We still need another horse so we can ride together, and
Nickel will be perfect for you. But it’s important for you to
practice.”
    “I don’t want to.” Addie put on her stubborn
face and crossed her arms.
    “Addie, you have to! She won’t buck, I’ll
make sure.”
    “I don’t have to,” she said. But then,
“How will you keep her from bucking?”
    “I’ll guide her with a lead rope at first.”
Addie got real quiet then and set her jaw. She looked at me with a
hard stare.
    “She’d better not buck, that’s all I’ve got
to say.” I could usually talk Addie into doing things, and she’d
give in, even if she didn’t like it. But she still had her arms
crossed tightly in front of her and her mouth pouted.
    So I turned around and pulled Dotty’s bridle
off its hook, then lifted the old saddle and saddle blanket down
and threw them over Dotty’s back.
    “I’ll show you how to do this. It’s
easy.”
    With me directing, we got Dotty’s saddle
cinched up, the bit in her mouth and the bridle in place. I showed
Addie how to lead her out into the corral and stand on Dotty’s left
side.
    “See, you always mount on the horse’s left.
That’s how they are trained.”
    “What would happen if I forgot?”
    “I don’t know, the horse might think you were
nuts and get scared or something. Left foot in the stirrup, that’s
right. Now bounce once or twice and swing your right leg over.”
    She had done this before, so this part went
pretty well. I was hopeful. I reminded Addie about neck-reining--
how you lay the reins against the horse’s neck to get it to turn.
She went in a slow circle around the corral, clicking her tongue
softly to Dotty. I had the lead rope attached to Dotty’s bridle so
I could help control her head.
    “This is okay,” said Addie. “You can take the
lead off now.” She walked around the corral again, once, then
twice.
    “This is fun!” said Addie. “I’m going to try
going faster.” She kicked her feet against Dotty’s sides and the
horse took off. She wasn’t going fast, but she was definitely
trotting. When she began to lope, I called “Pull back on the
reins!”
    “I dropped them!” Addie yelled back, as Dotty
headed straight toward some thorny-looking bushes that grew in the
corner of the corral. “What do I do?”
    I didn’t know what to tell her, but I didn’t
have to. Two things happened at the same time: Dotty planted her
front feet to stop and Addie kept going, right into the bushes.
     

Chapter Ten
    ~ Scrapes and Bruises ~
     
    Sending up
a silent prayer that Addie was all right, I ran across the corral
to where she lay on her side in the scratchy, thorny bushes. A
horseman’s first priority after they fell off was to catch the
horse, but we were inside a fenced area, so I didn’t worry about
catching Dotty yet.
    “Addie! Are you all right?” A groan came from
the form lying at my feet. “Addie?”
    “Whose idea was this? Oh, yeah, yours!” She
rolled over and sat up. Scratches covered her arms and legs, but at
least the thorns didn’t get her eyes. She looked around and took a
deep breath.
    “Whoa, things are spinning,” she said.
    “Did you hit your head?”
    “Yeah, I landed on a rock. Help me stand
up.”
    “Adds, maybe you should wait a minute.” My
best friend tried to get up, but sat back down, holding her
ankle.
    “Ow! My ankle hurts. Maybe it’s broken.”
    “Listen,” I said. “You sit still and I’ll
call my dad. I think he was going to be close.”
    So I pulled out my phone and called my dad,
mentally crossing my fingers that it would go through. Sometimes at
Miss