Yankee Swap Read Online Free PDF

gelding a pat.
    Soon Max finished talking, and it was time for the students to try the course. Carole went first.
    “Nice work, Carole,” Max said when she had finished. “Your form was almost perfect. The only thing I noticed was that you looked off to one side between the second and third fences, and that made Starlight waver for a second.”
    Carole apologized. “A crow landed on the fence, and then I saw it in the corner of my eye.”
    Max nodded, glancing at the large black bird, still perched on the fence. “Well, at least you and Starlight recovered well. It didn’t affect your last jump at all.” He turned to the rest of the class. “That’s an important thing to remember, not just in jumping, but in all riding. If something unexpected happens, a good rider must adjust and work through it. That’s what Carole did. She made a mistake, but instead of letting that throw off her whole performance, she corrected herself. But let’s also remember that your head is fairly heavy. When you turn it, your horse feels that.”
    “I didn’t even know Carole made a mistake,” Merrill said quietly to Lisa, her eyes wide. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
    “Don’t worry,” Lisa said. “Simon’s going next, and he’s not as good a rider as you are.”
    The class watched as Simon Atherton bumbled his way over the obstacles. His horse, Bluegrass, was a very steady and obedient mount, but Simon’s flopping arms and legs and his awkward riding posture threw off the horse’s stride. Bluegrass refused the first fence, and stopped and stepped over the second one instead of jumping it. Simon managed to get him to jump the third fence, but as soon as he was over, Bluegrass stopped short and refused to move for several seconds. Finally, the flustered Simon managed to bring his horse back into line with the others.
    Max shot a stern look at Meg and Betsy, who were giggling at Simon’s performance. They quieted down immediately. Then Max explained to Simon what had gone wrong. But he did it in a constructive way, so he sounded less critical of Simon’s major mistakes than he had been of Carole’s relatively minor error. Carole knew that that was what made Max a good instructor—he could be stern and strict, but he also knew when to encourage and comfort his students.
    Veronica diAngelo went next, and she jumped the course very well. She was a better-than-average rider when she put her mind to it, and her horse was extremely talented and well trained. Max gave her a few pointers and then nodded to Joe Novick, who was next. But as Veronica returned to her place, she brought Danny a little too close to Meg’s horse, Comanche, who snorted in annoyance and kicked out. Comanche didn’t hit Danny, but the big Thoroughbred shied to one side,bumping into Patch, who threw up his head and danced sideways nervously.
    “Don’t drop your reins,” Carole called to Merrill anxiously. “Don’t let Patch forget you’re in charge.”
    Merrill had been taken by surprise, but she tried to do as Carole said. Luckily Patch was too even-tempered to act up any more, but Carole thought he still seemed a little skittish. She hoped he would calm down soon.
    Joe and the next few riders did fairly well over the course. Most of them had been jumping for some time, and the course wasn’t very challenging. Max watched them all carefully and instructed them on ways to improve their jumping positions to make their rides cleaner.
    When Max nodded to Merrill, she nodded back grimly. Carole, Stevie, and Lisa could see that neither she nor Patch had quite recovered from the scare Danny had given them. But Merrill quickly urged her horse into a trot and sent him toward the first obstacle. Patch shook his head, annoyed by the overly tight hold Merrill had on the reins. He pranced sideways a little on the approach, but made it over the first fence. Merrill gave him a little more freedom with the reins. Patch settled down and went over the next