Riding Class Read Online Free PDF Page A

is my favorite competition riding—my favorite stuff to do in a ring. This is real riding, out here. Remember all the neat trail rides we’ve had? The mountain rides and the bareback rides at dawn?”
    Carole and Lisa nodded. “Being out in the open on a horse,” Stevie continued, “is the best thing in the world. It makes you feel
free
.”
    “I agree,” Lisa said. She reached forward to give Prancer a pat. Prancer had a wild streak because of her racehorse breeding, but even she seemed to find the trails calming. They rode in silence for a while.
    “I wonder if Emily has ever ridden on a trail,” Carole said suddenly.
    The three girls looked at one another. “Do you thinkshe could?” Lisa asked at last. “It can be a lot harder than riding in a ring. If the horse decides to run, there isn’t a fence or anything to stop it.”
    “And it takes more balance, and more strength, because the ground is uneven,” Carole said. “I don’t know if Emily could do it.”
    “We haven’t seen her ride,” Lisa reminded her friend. “We don’t have any idea what she can do.”
    “P.C. could do it, though,” Stevie said.
    There was another silence. Stevie’s joy was not quite as complete as it had been. If she felt this free on a trail ride, she could imagine how free Emily, who could hardly walk, might feel. “She sure acted like she knew her way around a horse,” she said.
    Carole repeated, “We just don’t know.”
    W HEN THEY CAME back from their ride, the girls dismounted outside the stable and walked their horses in the driveway to cool them off. They hadn’t ridden fast, but the warm day and the horses’ thick winter coats had combined to make the horses damp with sweat. They had to be walked until their coats were dry so that they wouldn’t get chilled and then sick.
    As Carole walked Starlight past the door of the indoor arena, she looked inside. Veronica was riding Danny alone over a grid of poles on the ground. Carole watched inappreciation as Danny naturally shortened and lengthened his trot stride over poles that were spaced different lengths apart. Veronica sat quietly on his back. She wasn’t getting in his way at all, which was, Carole realized, the best way for Veronica to ride him. Danny knew how to do everything without any help from Veronica.
    Stevie and Lisa brought their horses up beside Carole. “What’re you watching?” asked Stevie. “Ohhh,” she added when she saw Veronica. Veronica nodded curtly in The Saddle Club’s direction, then turned Danny down the diagonal and let him lengthen his stride. His legs flashed forward, elegantly and beautifully. Veronica turned at the far end and rode him back across the other diagonal. This time she shortened him; instead of becoming slower, his stride became more upright, his legs moving up and forward with precision.
    “I can’t stand it,” Stevie groaned. “She’ll have that horse doing a
piaffe
next. It’s not fair.” The
piaffe
, an elevated trot in place, was one of the most difficult and advanced dressage moves. Only the most athletic horses could even attempt it.
    “She’s riding well,” Lisa said reluctantly. “It’s not like her to be here on a Sunday, though. She must be practicing for Max’s surprise.”
    “Of course she is.” Stevie’s voice was bitter. “Miss Upper Class on her high-class horse. It’ll be Danny’s first showsince she got him, and Veronica wants to be sure they’ll win so she can prove how superior they are to the rest of us. And I’m sure they will win. Look at that horse.” Danny was cantering in beautiful balance and control down the long side of the arena.
    “Don’t be sure,” Carole said gently. She laid her hand on Stevie’s arm. Carole always wanted Starlight to do his best, but she honestly didn’t care if his best was a blue ribbon. Stevie was much more competitive: She really wanted to win. Carole and Lisa sometimes felt Stevie wanted it too much. “You love your horse and