Saddlebags Read Online Free PDF Page A

said Kate as John walked to one end of the corral and started backing Tex up. “Looks like normal dressage backing, right?”
    “Yeah, it does,” said Lisa.
    “Just watch,” said Kate.
    John slowly and patiently backed Tex up one, two, three, four, five, six, seven paces and kept on going.
    “He’s backing him practically the whole length of the ring!” Stevie said in awe.
    “In a Western reining show class, sometimes that’s what you have to do,” Kate explained.
    When John and Tex reached the far end of the corral, the four girls burst into applause. John tipped his hat and trotted toward them. “You don’t know how long it took us to get that right,” he said.
    “I believe it,” said Carole.
    Lisa was speechless, just grinning at John.
    “Now I’ve got to work on these pivots.” John rode to the fence opposite them.
    “A pivot is different in a reining class than in a dressage class,” Kate explained. “You’ll see right away.”
    John brought Tex to a lope at the far end of the corral, parallel to the fence.
    “He’s really close to the fence, isn’t he?” said Stevie.
    A second later she gasped. John had stopped Tex on a dime. Tex pushed off with his right foreleg, reared up a bit, turned ninety degrees, and landed—facing the girls.
    Finally John rode over to his audience.
    “You were great!” Lisa beamed.
    “You two really look like you know what you’re doing,” said Kate.
    John patted Tex’s neck. “Thanks. Tex and I’ll be entering some shows in a few months, and I guess if we work every day—”
    “You’ll be ready,” Carole finished for him.
    “She’s right, John,” Kate added. “And Carole ought to know. She’s ridden in some pretty tough shows.”
    Carole blushed and glanced at her watch. “Do you think these lazy parents of ours are still asleep?”
    “Nope,” came Walter’s deep voice. “They’ve been up longer than you. I put them all on their horses at seven-thirty this morning.”
    “What?” Stevie blanched. “All five of them?”
    “All five,” Walter confirmed. “Carole, your dad said they’d have no problem. Said he’s a volunteer at your Pony Club. Seems he knows the ropes.”
    “
Seems
is right.” Carole hopped down from the fence. “He doesn’t have a clue.”
    “Neither do any of the others!” Stevie practically shouted.
    Walter stared at the girls with a lopsided grin. “I’ve watched your folks ride. I’m sure they’ll be okay.”
    Lisa shook her head. “You don’t know our parents, Walter. They don’t understand that riding is serious business—not just fun.”
    “We’d better go find them,” said Carole.
    Walter shrugged. “If that’s what you want to do.”
    As the girls headed toward the barn to collect their horses, Walter called after them. “I gave your parents directions for the little loop. They headed north first, then they ought to turn east at the edge of the first field, ride to the end of it, and head back south by southwest.”
    “Gotcha,” called Kate. The foursome saddled up their horses, mounted quickly, then headed out. Kate led the girls along the path Walter had mapped out, only she started at the end and went in the opposite direction.
    “If we go this way, we can head them off,” Lisa commented, realizing what Kate was up to. “I hope they’re okay.”
    They started trotting.
    “They’ve been gone over two hours on a ride that should take less than one,” said Stevie.
    “Could they have gotten lost?” Lisa asked.
    “What if one of them fell?” Carole bit her lip. “And got badly hurt?”
    They broke into a lope, then a gallop.
    But there was no sign of the parents.
    Kate slowed Moonglow. “If your folks are off the trail, we may miss them,” she said. “Let’s trot for a while.” The others followed.
    Stevie gazed around at the desert brush.
    “Are there rattlers during this time of year?”
    “There are always rattlers,” Kate said.
    This time they all panned the