Yankee Swap Read Online Free PDF Page B

two fences without trouble, though his form wasn’t as controlled as it should have been.
    White-faced, Merrill brought him to a stop in front of Max. Her hands were shaking as they held the reins. It was obvious to everyone that she hadn’t had an easy time.
    “All right, Merrill. You finished,” Max began. “But there’s one important thing you should have done at the start. Yourhorse was nervous; he could have used a half turn around the ring to calm him down. Instead, you made him begin right away.”
    Merrill nodded mutely.
    “But don’t be discouraged,” Max said gently. “You did some good things, too, like correcting your hand position after the first jump. And your seat was quite good.” He turned back to the group. “All right, Betsy, you’re next.”
    Merrill rode back to her place beside Carole. “I was terrible, wasn’t I?” she moaned. “I’m so embarrassed.”
    “Don’t be,” Carole told her. “You heard what Max said. You did a lot of things right.”
    “I did more things wrong,” Merrill said. “I’m the worst rider here. I shouldn’t even be in this class. It’s obvious I’m not ready to start jumping.”
    “That’s ridiculous,” Carole said firmly. “Just remember, the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and try to correct them the next time around. That’s what this clinic is all about, for all of us. And like Max said earlier, you’ve got to be able to recover from a mistake, or from a bad round, or even from a bad day. Everybody has them.”
    Merrill nodded but didn’t reply. Carole just hoped her words had made sense to the other girl.
    After everyone’s turn, Max spoke about some of the more common errors people were making and how to correct them. “Now, with those things in mind, let’s all try it again,” he said. “Carole, go ahead.”
    Most of the students learned from their first attempt. Carolecompleted an almost flawless ride, as did Veronica and Stevie. Even Simon seemed a little more confident.
    Then it was Merrill’s turn again. She glanced at Carole and gulped, but she looked a little calmer than she had at the beginning. Carole hoped that meant Merrill was feeling more confident. She crossed her fingers just in case.
    Merrill rode forward and took Patch in a circle at a brisk trot before aiming him for the first fence. She was sitting well, her hands steady and light on the reins. Patch seemed relaxed but alert. His ears pricked forward, and his trot was even as he got closer to the low fence.
    Then it happened.
    With a loud caw, the crow, which had been perched on the fence of the ring watching the people and horses, launched itself into the air and circled above the riders.
    Patch, who had just reached the first fence, was startled by the sudden noise and motion. Instead of jumping up and forward, he wheeled around and shied sideways, crashing into the fence. Scared even more by the impact, he reared up and twisted around, ending up straddling the remains of the jump. Merrill had barely managed to keep her seat and was clinging to Patch’s mane, her stirrups swinging free of her feet. Max was already hurrying forward to catch the panicky horse, but Patch was too quick for him. He reared again, unseating Merrill completely, and then darted away as the girl tumbled off and landed hard on her backside.
    Lisa slid out of the saddle and tossed Barq’s reins to Carole. She ran to Merrill’s side.
    “Are you okay?” she asked anxiously.
    Merrill shook her head, tears running down her face. “I think I’m okay,” she said in a shaky voice.
    “Hey, are you all right, Merrill?” Joe Novick asked, joining them. There was a look of real concern on his face. “That was quite a tumble.”
    Merrill quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, which only succeeded in leaving a trail of dirt mixed with the tears on her face. “Um …,” she said.
    “Here.” Joe reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a crumpled but clean