New Rider Read online

  CATCH UP WITH THE SADDLE CLUB!

  #1 Horse Crazy

  #2 Horse Shy

  #3 Horse Sense

  #4 Horse Power

  IS CAROLE PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE?

  “We won again!” crowed Stevie, bouncing up and down.

  Lisa playfully punched a flushed Zach in the arm. “You rock!”

  “Zach, that was fantastic,” Carole admitted. Actually she was a little concerned about the possible injury to Barq’s ankles from the sliding stop, but she didn’t want to belittle the boy’s amazing performance. After all, if it hadn’t been for him, they wouldn’t have won.

  I doubt Barq knew what was coming, Carole thought, but before she could respond, the other riders rushed up to congratulate Zach. She found herself bumped out of the way by his crowd of newfound admirers.

  Other books you will enjoy

  CAMY BAKER’S HOW TO BE POPULAR IN THE SIXTH GRADE by Camy Baker

  HORSE CRAZY (The Saddle Club #1) by Bonnie Bryant

  AMY, NUMBER SEVEN (Replica #1) by Marilyn Kaye

  PURSUING AMY (Replica #2) by Marilyn Kaye

  ANASTASIA ON HER OWN by Lois Lowry

  THE BOYS START THE WAR/

  THE GIRLS GET EVEN by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

  RL: 5, ages 009–012

  NEW RIDER

  A Bantam Skylark Book / January 2001

  “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 Clubs, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462.

  All rights reserved.

  Text copyright © 2001 by Bonnie Bryant.

  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: 978-0-307-82601-5

  * * *

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  * * *

  Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

  * * *

  Bantam Skylark is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. SKYLARK BOOK and colophon and BANTAM BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

  * * *

  v3.1

  Special thanks to Sir “B” Farms

  and Laura Roper

  My special thanks

  to Cat Johnston for her

  help in the writing of

  this book.

  And thanks also to

  Dr. Michael Thompson

  for his wisdom

  and inspiration.

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  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

  About the Author

  AS STEVIE LAKE hurried across the yard of Pine Hollow Stables, late as usual, it was all she could do to keep from breaking into a run. She spied her two best friends, Lisa Atwood and Carole Hanson, standing next to a horse trailer and jogged over to join them.

  “Did I miss anything?” she called anxiously.

  Carole gave her a disapproving look. “I can’t believe you could be late on a day like today.”

  Lisa chuckled. “Remember, this is Stevie you’re talking about.”

  Carole smiled ruefully. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “It’s not my fault,” Stevie insisted.

  Lisa slipped an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Never is, never will be.”

  “Oh come on, guys, give me a break. You know what Saturday mornings are like at my house.”

  “Brothers?” Lisa asked sympathetically.

  Stevie grimaced. “Lisa, you should wash your mouth out with soap for using that word.” She had three brothers, one younger, one older, and a twin. As much as she loved them, there were times she felt they had been put on the planet for the sole purpose of her personal torture. Of course, she was not about to admit that her own love of practical jokes sometimes justified their actions.

  Stevie was the practical joker and the most high-spirited of the three friends. But right now she wasn’t thinking about revenge on her brothers. Instead she craned her neck, trying to see into the trailer. “Have they even unloaded her yet?”

  “Not yet,” Carole answered, almost in a whisper.

  “It seems Sunset is being a little shy about viewing her new home,” Lisa told Stevie. “And, of course, Mr. Wooten has to be extra careful.”

  There came the sound of scuffling from inside the vehicle.

  “You’d be surprised how many horses are injured getting out of a trailer,” Carole said, watching anxiously. “The extra weight on their ankles from backing down a ramp can cause a sprain or stress fracture, not to mention the possibility of falling off the edge.” She shuddered at the thought. “If that’s not enough, there’s the added danger of rupturing the uterine artery during transportation of a mare as pregnant as this one.”

  Of the three girls, Carole was the most knowledgeable about horses. She had made up her mind that whatever she did with the rest of her life, it was going to involve these wonderful animals. She was seriously considering becoming a veterinarian, so she had spent a lot of time making rounds with Judy Barker, the local equine vet.

  “Look, I think Max is coming to the rescue,” Stevie said.

  The owner of Pine Hollow, Maximilian Regnery III—whom everybody called Max—strode up the loading ramp and disappeared into the trailer. He was an expert horseman, as well as the instructor for the girls’ Pony Club, Horse Wise. Right now he was supervising the arrival of the new mare.

  “If anyone can coax her out, it’s Max,” Lisa said with certainty.

  Sure enough, a few moments later the girls saw the rump of the animal as the mare backed cautiously but steadily down the ramp. When she reached the ground, she threw her head up and snorted as though she’d been offended.

  “If it’s so dangerous to move a pregnant mare, why don’t they let her give birth at her home stable and then bring her here?” Lisa asked. Although she was a year older than Carole and Stevie, Lisa was the newest to the sport of riding. She had natural talent but wasn’t yet as knowledgeable about the animals as her two friends were.

  The three friends loved spending their time learning about horses almost as much as they loved riding and being with horses. In fact, together the three girls had formed The Saddle Club. It was a club with only two rules: First, you had to be head over heels in love with horses, and second, you had to be willing to help the other members out, no matter what.

  “That’s a good question, Lisa.”

  The girls turned to find Judy Barker standing behind them.

  “Mr. Wooten wants to get as many foals out of Sunset as he can before she gets too old, and the next best time for getting her pregnant will be immediately after she gives birth, because mares go into heat about
a week after they foal. Also, it’s a lot less dangerous to move her now than it would be to transport a nervous mother and a fragile newborn.”

  The horse was covered with a light blanket to keep her warm during travel, so the girls couldn’t see her conformation. They waited expectantly as Mr. Wooten stripped the cover off.

  “What a looker!” Stevie exclaimed.

  “She obviously has excellent bloodlines,” Carole observed.

  “You’re right, Carole,” Max said, striding toward the group. “Sunset’s a very valuable broodmare, and many of her offspring have been quite successful. Let’s hope Geronimo can add quality.” Geronimo was Pine Hollow’s stallion. Mr. Wooten was paying to breed Sunset with him.

  Lisa was puzzled by Max’s last remark. “If she’s as valuable as you say, what makes you think she doesn’t have quality?”

  Max smiled at her. “Adding quality is a horse breeders’ term for a stallion’s ability to pass on his best traits to his offspring. It doesn’t mean Sunset’s aren’t good, but we hope to make them even better in her next foal.” He turned to Judy. “Would you like to look her over now?”

  “Absolutely,” said the vet, moving toward the animal.

  “In the meantime I’d like the three of you to double-check the foaling stall for me. We want to make sure our new tenant is absolutely comfortable and safe, right?”

  “You got it, Max,” Carole said, throwing him a playful salute. They headed inside the stable.

  “I wish they wouldn’t put the foaling stalls so far from the regular ones,” Lisa said. “It’s going to make it harder to keep an eye on Sunset.”

  “They have to,” Stevie replied, grabbing a handful of hay and banking it a little steeper against the foaling stall’s rounded corners. “Horses are pretty nosy creatures, so all the ones that don’t have babies will want to meet the new one. That might upset the dam.”

  “There’s also a small chance that the foal might get confused and think a different animal was its mother,” Carole offered as she checked the water supply and manger. “It’s called imprinting. Foals need to imprint on the right mother.”

  A few moments later, Max and Judy arrived leading Sunset. On either side of them, curious horses peered out from their stalls, watching the newcomer. Max and Judy took her into the stall and stayed with her to make sure nothing in the unfamiliar surroundings alarmed her.

  To Stevie, Sunset appeared completely indifferent to both Max and her new surroundings. Instead she seemed more interested in going outside to her private little paddock.

  “What do you say, Judy? Is it okay to let her go?” Max asked.

  “She’s fit and healthy, Max. I don’t think you’ll have any excitement around here for at least three weeks.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said, unclipping Sunset’s halter and allowing her to move outside. “Unless I’m mistaken, there’s a mounted Horse Wise meeting in a few minutes.” He looked pointedly at Lisa, Stevie, and Carole. “Not to mention that we have a new member starting today. Don’t you girls have some getting ready to do?”

  “In all the excitement I almost forgot,” admitted Carole.

  “We’d better get moving,” Stevie urged.

  Lisa hurried after her friends “Hey, do you two know who this new rider is?”

  “I haven’t got a clue,” Stevie said as she entered the locker room.

  “Why should today be any different?” said a haughty voice from the corner. Veronica diAngelo was putting on lip gloss.

  Stevie glared at her. “Oh, terrific, it’s Pine Hollow’s answer to the Wicked Witch of the West. Exactly what I need.”

  “I’d say what you need is someone to dress you in the morning,” Veronica smirked. “Nice shirt, Lake. Hah!” She strode out the door.

  Veronica diAngelo was a thorn in the side of The Saddle Club. She was rich, and she never let anyone forget it. She was also spoiled and lazy, and she tried to get everyone else to do her work. She and Stevie especially seemed to rub each other the wrong way.

  Stevie looked down at her shirt. Okay, it was a little wrinkled, but outside of that what was wrong with it? She was about to go after Veronica and give her a few choice words, but Carole blocked her path.

  “Let it go, the meeting’s going to start in a minute.”

  “I know who it is,” Lisa suddenly volunteered.

  “Who what is?” Stevie asked, confused by Lisa’s abrupt change of subject.

  “I know who the new rider is,” Lisa insisted.

  “Who?” cried Carole.

  “How long have you known?” demanded Stevie.

  “Who?” repeated Carole.

  Lisa laughed. “You sound like an owl.”

  “Who, who, who?” Carole said, playing along.

  “Zach,” Lisa declared triumphantly.

  “The new boy from school?” squealed Carole.

  “You got it in one,” Lisa confirmed.

  “Excuse me,” said Stevie.

  “I didn’t know he was into horses,” Carole said.

  “Excuse me,” Stevie said louder. “I seem to have had a flat tire on the information highway.”

  “Sorry, Stevie. I forgot you don’t go to our school. Zachary Simpson just moved here, but I’m not sure from where.”

  “He’s kind of cute, too,” added Carole.

  “Cute and into horses…,” Stevie speculated. “Sounds promising.”

  “Hey, you’re booked, remember!” Lisa reminded her.

  “Booked, yes. Embalmed, no,” Stevie declared with a grin.

  “What does Phil think about this liberal attitude?” asked Carole, crossing her arms.

  “Just kidding.” Stevie looked anxiously from friend to friend. “You do know I’m kidding, right?”

  Phil Marsten was Stevie’s steady boyfriend. Because he lived about twenty minutes from Willow Creek, they didn’t get to see each other very often, but they called each other almost every day and got together whenever they could.

  Lisa laughed. “Don’t worry. We know you’re devoted to Phil.”

  “Come on, you two, we’ve got to scoot or we’ll be late for the meeting.”

  THE SADDLE CLUB girls were among the last to enter the room. Stevie spotted the new rider immediately. He was lounging against a wall. Tall and slender, his hair was almost white-blond, and long bangs hung over his eyes. His shirt sleeves were rolled back, and Stevie could tell by his muscles that he exercised. “Hey, Carole,” she whispered. “You were right, he is kind of cute.”

  “Okay, everyone, settle down,” Max called. “We have a busy day ahead of us. As you all know, today I’ve planned a gymkhana.”

  A buzz of excitement swept the room. Everybody loved games on horseback.

  “In a few minutes I’m going to divide you up into teams, but first I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our Horse Wise group, Zachary Simpson.” He gestured to the boy. “I know you’ll all do your best to make him feel welcome. Zachary, would you like to say a few words?”

  Stevie thought the boy looked a bit self-conscious as he moved toward Max. He pushed his bangs to the side and gave a shy grin.

  “Well, first of all, you can call me Zach. My family just moved here from California.” He slipped his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “I’m new to all this horse stuff. I mean really new. I went to stay with my cousin in Texas for a while and he took me riding, which turned out to be pretty awesome, so I decided it would be cool to learn more about it.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s why I’m here.”

  “I’d like to think you came to the right place, Zach,” Max said. “That’s what Pine Hollow is all about. Learning.”

  There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room.

  “I’ve posted a list outside showing who’s on which team for the gymkhana. Everyone tack up and meet me in the outdoor ring. Pronto.”

  “Come on, you two, I’ll introduce you to Zach,” Lisa offered.

&nb
sp; Carole agreed. “Yeah, like Max said, we should make him feel welcome. Maybe show him the ropes.”

  The girls trooped outside to find Zach waiting his turn to see the list.

  Lisa joined him. “Hi, Zach. I’m Lisa. We’re both in Mrs. Mathios’s social studies class.

  “Sure, I remember,” he responded with a smile.

  “These are my friends, Carole and Stevie. They’re the best riders at Pine Hollow.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” Veronica diAngelo snorted.

  “That’s Veronica,” Stevie said. “Feel free to ignore her. Everybody else does.”

  “Do you know which horse Max assigned you?” Lisa asked.

  “Yeah, his name is Barq. I got to see him when Max gave me the grand tour.”

  Stevie was surprised. “I guess Max has confidence in your riding abilities then. Barq is pretty spirited.”

  “I like that in a horse,” Zach assured her.

  “Hey, guys,” Carole called. “I checked the list and guess what? We’re all on the same team!”

  “You mean all three of us?” asked Stevie excitedly.

  “Nope.” Carole shook her head. “All four!”

  “I’m on your team?” Zach asked.

  “That definitely puts you guys out of the running,” crowed Veronica. “With a beginner on your team, I suggest you don’t even bother to play.” With a laugh, she flounced away.

  Stevie bristled. “I’ve got a few suggestions I’d like to share with her, too!”

  “She’s probably right,” Zach said. “I may tank the whole thing for you.”

  “Look, you do your best,” Carole told him. “That’s all we want.”

  “Come on. We’ll help you tack up,” Lisa offered.

  WHEN CAROLE WAS finished saddling Starlight, she went to talk to Stevie. “What did you think of Zach’s saddling technique?” she asked, careful to keep her voice low.

  “He’s kind of rough around the edges,” Stevie chuckled. “But you can’t fault him on his enthusiasm.”