Gift Horse

  WHO IS NO-NAME’S REAL OWNER?

  A roar went up from the rest of the crowd, and Lisa quickly turned her attention back to the race, forgetting all about the girl who seemed so interested in Stevie and her horse. Joey Dutton was crossing the finish line yards ahead of his closest competitor. Lisa cheered, her voice almost lost among the others around her.

  But a moment later one voice could be heard above the rest, shrill and angry.

  “That’s my horse!” the blond girl cried, pushing her way to the front of the crowd and pointing at No-Name. “That’s my horse!”

  RL 5, 009–012

  GIFT HORSE

  A Bantam Skylark Book / January 1995

  Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.

  “The Saddle Club” is a registered trademark of Bonnie Bryant Hiller.

  The Saddle Club design/logo, which consists of a riding crop and a riding hat, is a trademark of Bantam Books.

  “USPC” and “Pony Club” are registered trademarks of The United States Pony Club, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1994 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  For information address: Bantam Books.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-82524-7

  Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

  Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

  v3.1

  Many thanks to Lisa Scott of Breyer Horses for her help and expertise, and to Sue Cook of Transworld, whose research inspired this story.

  I would like to express my special thanks to Catherine Hapka for her help in the writing of this book.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgement

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  About the Author

  “THE EYE PATCH, Veronica! Don’t forget the eye patch!” called Stevie Lake frantically.

  “Oops!” Veronica diAngelo took her foot out of the stirrup and headed back to the cardboard box on the ground. Veronica was one of the most stylish and fashion-conscious girls Stevie knew—but at this precise moment nobody would ever have guessed it. She had hurriedly pulled on loose red pants and a black vest over her riding clothes, and a black felt pirate’s hat was jammed over her hard hat.

  Stevie held her breath and glanced over at the other Pony Club teams competing in the costume relay race. This was the last leg of the race, and the top three teams’ scores were so close that the order of finish would decide which team won the day’s competition. She saw that two of the seven other racers were already mounted and riding toward the finish line. The crowd was cheering wildly. If Veronica didn’t hurry, Stevie’s team wouldn’t stand a chance of winning.

  Veronica grabbed the black eye patch from the bottom of the costume box and snapped it on over her head. “Sorry about that, guys,” she called to her teammates as she mounted her Arabian mare, Garnet, and took off.

  Stevie shot a surprised look at her other two teammates, who also happened to be her two best friends, Carole Hanson and Lisa Atwood. They returned the look. If there was one thing Veronica diAngelo was not known for, it was being a team player. If there was one thing she was known for, it was never apologizing for anything she did—or taking responsibility for it, for that matter. In fact, Veronica had been suspended several times from Horse Wise, the chapter of the U.S. Pony Club based at Pine Hollow Stable, where the girls all rode. Because the diAngelos were the wealthiest family in their hometown of Willow Creek, Virginia, Veronica thought she didn’t have to follow the same rules other people did. That attitude had gotten her in trouble more than once with Max Regnery, the owner of Pine Hollow and director of Horse Wise. As far as he was concerned, rules were made to be obeyed—even if you were Veronica diAngelo.

  Carole, Stevie, and Lisa couldn’t imagine ever being suspended from Horse Wise. Riding was very important to all of them. In fact, it was so important that they had formed The Saddle Club, which had only two rules: Members had to be horse crazy, and they had to be willing to help one another out in any way necessary. In addition to the three girls, there were several out-of-town members, including Stevie’s boyfriend, Phil Marsten, who lived in a nearby town and was a member of Cross County, one of the Pony Club teams competing today. According to Stevie, Carole, and Lisa, The Saddle Club was a perfect organization, since it was the perfect combination of horses and friendship.

  They all thought the U.S. Pony Club was a pretty great organization, too. One of the things the Pony Club did was sponsor rallies like the one that day. But the most important goal of the organization was to teach young members about every aspect of horse care. That meant riding, of course, but it also meant stable management, veterinary care, and all kinds of other things. Although some of the things they learned were definitely more interesting than others, The Saddle Club thought that learning everything they could about horses made riding even more fun.

  They wouldn’t have expected Veronica to agree with them, though. She was never very enthusiastic about Horse Wise, even when she wasn’t on suspension. Stevie, Carole, and Lisa had been dismayed when Max had assigned Veronica to their team for the two local rallies being held this weekend and the next. But much to their surprise, Veronica had been more bearable than usual. For some reason she didn’t seem interested in her two favorite activities—complaining and bragging. Instead, she actually seemed as eager to do well at the rally as her teammates were. Despite her faults, Veronica was a better-than-average rider. When she paid attention and did her best, she added a lot to the team.

  “She’s catching up,” Carole cried excitedly, jostling Stevie with her elbow.

  “Go, Garnet, go,” Lisa chanted.

  Stevie just held her breath and watched as eight horses cantered toward the finish line at the other end of the ring. Seconds later the race was over. Veronica and Garnet had done their best to make up ground, but they ended placing third in the race—which meant the Horse Wise team finished third overall. A team called Fairfax came in first, and Cross County was second.

  “Oh well,” Lisa said philosophically as the girls waited for Veronica to rejoin them. “Third out of eight teams isn’t bad at all.”

  “And we weren’t bad at all, either,” Carole added. “In fact, we were pretty great.”

  “But Cross County was a little greater, weren’t they?” Stevie said, frowning just a little as she patted her horse, a spirited, part-Arabian bay mare her parents had recently bought for her. Stevie hadn’t decided on the perfect name for her new horse yet, so for the time being she was calling her No-Name. No-Name tossed her head and snorted, staring across the ring at the finish line. “See? No-Name agrees,” Stevie said. “She thinks we should have w
on.”

  Carole and Lisa exchanged glances. They could guess what was on Stevie’s mind. Stevie and her boyfriend, Phil, had a lot in common—including a competitive streak a mile wide. Once Stevie got it in her head that Phil thought he might be better than her in some way—especially if that way involved riding—she wouldn’t rest until she’d proven him wrong. Her competitiveness had come between them more than once. It had come between Stevie and her friends a few times, too.

  Lisa decided it was time to change the subject and take Stevie’s mind off Phil. “No-Name sure was wonderful today, Stevie,” she said. “Especially considering it was the first time you two were competing together.”

  “She was great, wasn’t she?” Stevie agreed, suddenly all smiles again. She gave the mare a hug. No-Name snorted and nibbled on Stevie’s long dark-blond ponytail. Even though she’d owned No-Name for only a few weeks, Stevie couldn’t imagine how either of them had ever gotten along without each other. They had similar personalities, mischievous and independent. It made No-Name a challenge to ride at times, but it also meant that Stevie could usually figure out the best way to handle her. “It feels as though I’ve been riding her for ages. And she’s good at these games. She really seems to like them.”

  Just then Veronica trotted up on Garnet. She dismounted and pulled off the pirate hat and eye patch. “Hey, don’t you think you guys are a little overdressed for this occasion?” she remarked as she stepped out of the loose red costume pants and tossed them into the box.

  Stevie, Carole, and Lisa glanced at one another and burst out laughing. In the excitement of Veronica’s finish, none of them had bothered to remove the costumes they’d put on for their legs of the race. Carole was wearing a red clown nose and a baggy spotted jumpsuit. Stevie was outfitted as a baby, complete with a bib and a frilly white bonnet. And Lisa wore the hat, bandanna, and chaps of a cowgirl.

  “Thanks for the fashion tip, Veronica,” Stevie said, pulling off the bib. As the words left her mouth, she thought they sounded familiar, and she thought she knew why. She had said the same thing to the spoiled rich girl plenty of other times when Veronica had made fun of Stevie’s faded jeans or dusty riding boots. But this time Stevie wasn’t being sarcastic—at least not in the same way. Because this time she knew that Veronica was laughing with her rather than at her.

  Once all four girls’ costumes were back in the box, they led their horses toward their temporary stalls in Linton Stables’ big barn. Different local Pony Clubs took turns hosting the rallies. Today’s it was at Linton. Cross County was hosting a larger rally the following Saturday. No-Name pranced along the whole way to her stall, her intelligent eyes taking in everything around her.

  As soon as all the horses were comfortable, Stevie, Carole, Lisa, and Veronica rejoined the rest of the Horse Wise team. It included several other members of the girls’ intermediate riding class, as well as a team of younger riders known as the Pony Tails. Right now, all the riders were milling around the grassy area behind the barn where Pine Hollow’s horse vans and cars were parked. Max was standing near the open back door of his station wagon with his mother, universally known as Mrs. Reg. The two of them were doing their best to hand out the sandwiches and sodas they’d brought, but they were having a hard time keeping up with the demands from the hungry riders.

  Once Stevie, Carole, and Lisa had received their food, they found a shady spot away from the others and sat down to eat.

  “We’ve got to think of ways to improve before next week’s rally,” said Stevie. She was still thinking about their third-place finish—or more accurately, their second-to-Phil finish.

  Lisa swallowed a bite of peanut-butter sandwich. “We didn’t really make any bad mistakes,” she pointed out. “I mean, I did drop my egg once in the egg-and-spoon race, and Veronica forgot her eye patch, but those weren’t major errors.”

  “True,” Carole agreed. “Cross County was just a little sharper, that’s all.”

  Stevie nodded. “That’s why we have to get sharper before next weekend,” she said firmly. “We’ll have to put in some extra practice time. I hope Veronica’s agreeable mood continues for a while.”

  “Me, too,” Carole said. “And not just because of the rally. She’s really a lot more pleasant to be around when she’s not being snotty and superior every second. I haven’t seen her act this nice since Thanksgiving.” Veronica had spent the holiday with Carole and her father the year before when Veronica’s parents had had to leave the country on business. Carole had been surprised to discover that the spoiled little rich girl actually had a human side. Unfortunately, as soon as the visit had ended, so had Veronica’s friendly mood.

  “Definitely,” Stevie said. “I wonder what’s up with her these days.” She took a long swig of soda.

  “I think I may have an idea about that,” Lisa commented. “I overheard my father telling my mother that Mr. diAngelo’s bank is in some kind of serious trouble.”

  “What does that mean?” Carole asked.

  Lisa shrugged. “From the way my dad was talking, it sounded as though it might have to shut down.”

  “Wow. That would mean Mr. diAngelo would lose his job,” Carole said slowly.

  “And all his money,” Stevie added, with just a hint of a smirk. “Can you imagine that? Poor Veronica would have to give up her weekly trips to the mall.…”

  “And her chauffeured Mercedes,” Lisa put in.

  “And her designer riding clothes,” Carole finished. “Then she’ll have to start dressing like you, Stevie.”

  Stevie and Lisa laughed. Even if Veronica had been acting nicer lately, they couldn’t work up much sympathy for her predicament.

  “Hey, is there room for one more at this table?” Phil Marsten asked, walking up to them.

  “Sure,” Stevie said with a smile. “Pull up a chair.”

  “Thanks.” Phil dropped to the grass beside Stevie and began unwrapping his sandwich. “You all did great today,” he told the three girls.

  “Not as great as you did,” Lisa replied honestly. “But thanks.”

  Carole nodded in agreement. But out of the corner of her eye she could see Stevie’s face, and she didn’t like what she saw. There was a definite competitive glint in Stevie’s eye.

  Luckily Phil changed the subject to ask about No-Name, who had been a temporary boarder in his family’s barn before moving to Pine Hollow. Soon he and Stevie were chatting easily together about how much the mare had seemed to enjoy the day’s events.

  But Carole couldn’t help remembering some of the times Stevie’s competitive nature had gotten her in trouble in the past. Once Max had decided to teach them to play polocrosse, a combination of polo and lacrosse. Stevie had ended up practicing so hard for a game against Phil’s team that she’d injured her ankle. Still wanting to be a part of the competition, she’d volunteered to coach the team. But she had been so demanding that the whole team was ready to quit before long.

  That experience had turned out just fine in the end, Carole reminded herself. Once Stevie had figured out how impossible she was being, she had turned into an excellent coach. Maybe by next weekend, Stevie would realize coming in first wasn’t important and forget all about coming in third today.

  After lunch it was time for the younger riders to compete. Stevie had volunteered to coach the team made up of Pine Hollow’s youngest riders. She knew she’d done a good job, too. The team was enthusiastic and well prepared for every race. Stevie watched from her position on No-Name’s back, shouting encouragement and advice the whole time. Under Stevie’s expert guidance, the team came in first or second in almost every event, from the water-balloon toss to the blindfolded relay race.

  Carole and Lisa cheered from the sidelines as the competitors lined up for their last event, the classic egg-and-spoon relay. All around them the other spectators were just as enthusiastic. It was fun watching the young riders, because they were so obviously having fun themselves. But no one seemed to be having more fun than S
tevie and No-Name.

  “Go, May!” Stevie shouted from the sidelines as the race started. She bounced up and down excitedly in No-Name’s saddle. “You can do it!”

  May Grover didn’t look around at Stevie—that would have broken her concentration—but Lisa saw the young girl nod with determination. Lisa smiled. Stevie really was a good coach. It was obvious that the team wanted to do well for her as well as for themselves. Lisa started cheering even louder as May reached the end of the ring and carefully handed her spoon to the next rider, Jasmine James. The pass-off went effortlessly, and Jasmine rode her pony back across the ring at a smooth walk, well ahead of the other teams.

  Just then Lisa noticed one person in the crowd who wasn’t cheering. A girl was standing silently nearby, staring intently at something in the ring. She was a little older than Lisa, with short blond hair, and she was wearing riding clothes. Lisa recognized her as a member of the Mendenhall Stables’ Pony Club, but she didn’t know her name. When Lisa followed her gaze, she realized the older girl was staring at Stevie and No-Name with a decidedly odd look on her face.

  A roar went up from the rest of the crowd, and Lisa quickly turned her attention back to the race, forgetting all about the girl who seemed so interested in Stevie and her horse. Joey Dutton was crossing the finish line yards ahead of his closest competitor. Lisa cheered, her voice almost lost among the others around her.

  But a moment later one voice could be heard above the rest, shrill and angry.

  “That’s my horse!” the blond girl cried, pushing her way to the front of the crowd and pointing at No-Name. “That’s my horse!”

  OUT ON THE field, Stevie was vaguely aware of the blond girl in the crowd, who was pointing at her and shouting something about No-Name. It almost sounded as though she was yelling that No-Name was her horse. But Stevie didn’t pay much attention—she was too busy congratulating her victorious team.