Pony Tails 04- Jasmine's Christmas Ride Read online

  Jasmine’s Christmas Ride

  Pony Tails, Book Four

  Bonnie Bryant

  1 Pony Tails in the Ring

  “There! I felt another one!” Jasmine James cried, looking at the sky. “It’s snowing! I’m sure of it. We’re going to have a white Christmas this year!”

  Jasmine and her two best friends, Corey Takamura and May Grover, were all riding their ponies. They were in the practice ring behind May’s house. They were trying to work on the exercises they’d learned at their Pony Club meeting the day before. But it was hard to concentrate on perfect riding form when Christmas was less than two weeks away.

  May looked up at the sky, too. She wasn’t as sure as Jasmine about the snow. She stuck out her tongue to try to catch a flake.

  “Nothing,” she announced. “Not yet.”

  “You’re just not patient enough,” Jasmine told her. “It is snowing. I’m sure.”

  “Even if it snows now,” Corey reminded them, “the snow might be gone when we go on that Christmas Eve ride—what’s it called?”

  “The Starlight Ride,” Jasmine and May told her.

  Corey sighed. “I can’t wait. Tell me more about it,” she pleaded.

  “Well, it takes place on Christmas Eve night,” May began, “and all the riders from Pine Hollow leave from the stable and take a trail ride through the woods.”

  “We end up in the middle of town, singing holiday songs,” Jasmine added. “Everything is decorated with red and green and there are lights and horses and ponies. It’s so much fun!”

  “Anything to do with Christmas is fun,” May reminded her.

  “And anything that has to do with both ponies and Christmas is double-fun,” Corey pointed out.

  Her friends weren’t about to argue with that! Ponies were what the three girls liked the best. Each of them had her own pony that lived in a stable in her backyard. And they all took riding lessons at Pine Hollow Stables and belonged to a Pony Club called Horse Wise. Whenever the girls got together, their favorite subject was ponies. In fact, they were so pony crazy, they’d decided to call themselves the Pony Tails. It wasn’t exactly a club. It was best friends. That was even better than a club.

  “Now I think we’re supposed to circle right,” Corey called out. Jasmine and May followed her. Jasmine tried hard to keep exactly one pony length between her pony, Outlaw, and Corey’s pony, Samurai. That was what Max, their riding instructor and Pony Club leader, had told them to do. But Outlaw wanted to catch up with Samurai. Jasmine held him back.

  Jasmine’s pony was named Outlaw because he had a white face that looked like an outlaw’s mask. Jasmine loved him more than she could say—even when he acted up, which happened a lot. Outlaw knew how to hold his breath so that Jasmine couldn’t tighten the girth on his saddle. He knew how to hold his mouth closed to make it hard to put the bit behind his teeth. He knew just which pockets to sniff to find carrots and apples.

  He usually did what Jasmine asked him to do when she was riding him, but sometimes he got other ideas in his head. Like deciding on his own that he wanted to go back to his stall. One thing was for sure—his personality was very different from Jasmine’s. But that was true of all three ponies; they were nothing like their owners.

  May’s pony was named Macaroni. He was yellow, the color of May’s favorite food, macaroni and cheese. Macaroni was a very sweet pony. He had the gentlest and politest disposition of all the ponies. He almost never gave May any trouble. That was different from May, who sometimes liked to make trouble!

  Corey’s pony, Samurai, was named for the curved blaze on his face, which was shaped like a sword blade. Sometimes Samurai was a very nervous pony. When he’d first moved to Corey’s new house—and his new stable—the girls had needed to show him every inch of the place before he felt comfortable. And then, one time not too long ago, he had run away and hadn’t come back for a week. With such an unpredictable pony, it was lucky that Corey was a calm person. She was very good at fixing things and solving problems—especially the ones her pony caused!

  As the three girls and three ponies circled the ring, Jasmine was concentrating very hard. The Starlight Ride wasn’t the only exciting thing coming up for the Pony Tails. In just a few weeks their Pony Club was going to do a drill team demonstration. The drill team was a little bit like a marching band on horseback, only the riders didn’t have to play instruments. They had to make sure their horses walked properly in a procession. The Pony Club was performing with another club called Cross County.

  A lot of people would be coming to the demonstration, and they would actually be paying to watch the Pony Clubbers ride! It was to raise money for CARL, the County Animal Rescue League, which helped animals in trouble.

  Jasmine wanted to raise a lot of money for CARL and perform well in the drill. As she practiced, she kept her eyes straight ahead. Her back was straight. Her legs were in perfect position. Her heels were down, her toes pointed in. She was balanced in the saddle. She held her hands just the way Max had taught her, and she used the reins and her legs to keep Outlaw going at a steady pace. It took him a couple of strides, but once he knew what she wanted him to do, he did it. She was pleased.

  “And now to the left!” said Corey.

  Jasmine and Outlaw circled to the left. May and Macaroni followed them.

  While Corey and Jasmine concentrated on the drill, May was still thinking about the Starlight Ride. She was distracted and let Macaroni speed up. In a drill team all the horses were supposed to move at exactly the same speed. They had to keep the same distance between them.

  “May!” Jasmine cried. May reined Macaroni in. He slowed down.

  “I think I’m ready for a rest,” May decided. “But that doesn’t mean you guys have to stop.” She rode Macaroni over to the side of the ring and sat comfortably in the saddle. Jasmine and Corey were much more interested in the drill work than she was. Right now she’d rather watch from the sidelines than practice. That way she could keep daydreaming about the Starlight Ride and how wonderful it would be!

  2 Drill Practice

  “Why don’t you go first this time?” Corey suggested as May and Macaroni rode off.

  “Me?” Jasmine said.

  “Sure. You can do it,” Corey said.

  Jasmine patted Outlaw and told him it was time to get back to work. His ears flicked eagerly. He swished his tail. He was ready.

  Jasmine nudged him and they began the exercise. They had to ride a long and complicated pattern. She remembered when to turn and when to change gaits. Once she forgot she was supposed to make a circle to the left. She went to the right. Corey reminded her, so they reversed their direction and finished the circle correctly.

  May clapped for her friends when they finished the exercise. “You’re both so good at this!” she said. “Maybe Max will ask both of you to lead the whole drill team!”

  Jasmine didn’t think Max would ever ask her, but it was nice of May to say so.

  “Hey, didn’t Max say something about a small group of riders doing a special show?” May asked.

  “He sure did,” said Corey. “He’s going to pick the best riders.”

  “That means you’ll both be on it,” May said.

  “No way,” said Jasmine.

  “Just wait and see,” said May.

  The ponies were tired by then; it was time to untack and groom them. The girls liked to do that together so that they could talk as they worked. They each cross-tied their ponies in the Grovers’ stable.

  The Grovers’ stable was much bigger than either Corey’s or Jasmine’s. That was because May’s father was a horse trainer. The Grovers owned three horses and a pony, a
nd Mr. Grover’s student horses usually stayed there during their training period. Their stable had room for eight horses. Corey’s stable had room for two ponies. Jasmine’s stable was more like a shed and had been built just for Outlaw.

  As Corey rolled up her sleeves, Jasmine noticed that she was wearing a colorful bead bracelet with her name woven into it.

  “Oh, that’s pretty!” Jasmine said.

  May looked at it, too. She agreed with Jasmine. “It’s got a sword on it. That’s for Samurai, isn’t it?” she said.

  “Of course. That way Samurai is always with me.” Corey smiled.

  “Neat,” said May.

  “Thanks,” said Corey. “I made it myself.”

  “Well, you did a good job,” said Jasmine, wishing she had such a nice way to have Outlaw with her all the time.

  Then she picked up her currycomb and dandy brush and set to work. Some people didn’t enjoy all the work that went with owning a pony, but Jasmine and her friends liked everything that had to do with ponies—and that included the hard parts.

  Jasmine looked out the window of the stable as she worked. There was no sign of snow now. Maybe she’d been wrong earlier in the day.

  Still, she told herself, it might not be snowing yet, but Christmas was almost here. She felt a shiver of excitement. Christmas meant trees, presents, songs, cookies, parties, the Starlight Ride. And maybe snow.

  3 Tryouts

  “I’ve decided to pick a small group—just six of you—to perform a mini-demonstration. That will come right after the regular drill team demonstration.”

  Jasmine, Corey, and May were sitting next to one another on the floor of Max’s office at Pine Hollow. They were having a Pony Club meeting before the regular Tuesday class. Max had just announced that he was going to pick three pairs of riders to represent Pine Hollow in the special show.

  “But first we’re going to have our regular class,” Max went on. “Then any riders who want to try out for the special demonstration should be prepared to stay a little later. Okay, now, class will begin in fifteen minutes!”

  That didn’t give the riders much time. They had to hurry to tack up their ponies.

  The Pony Tails didn’t have even a minute to talk about Max’s announcement before class. Nor did they when class began. Max kept them too busy.

  The riders were working on what Max called manners. That meant being sure the pony or horse was well trained and polite. A pony with manners always stood still when the rider was mounting. He followed obediently on a lead rope. He didn’t fight with other ponies. These were important things, but they didn’t have much to do with drill skills. Jasmine wished Max had them practicing starts, stops, turns, and gait changes instead. She was afraid she’d forget everything she knew before the tryouts!

  At last the class was over. Tryouts would begin in fifteen minutes.

  Jasmine and Corey waited by the side of the ring. May had decided not to try out for the small team.

  “You look so nervous!” May told Jasmine.

  “I am nervous,” Jasmine told her.

  “You don’t have anything to be nervous about. You two will definitely make it,” May replied.

  Jasmine hoped her friend was right.

  Max stood in the middle of the ring and asked who was trying out. Twelve riders raised their hands. Jasmine looked at the twelve hands, and one thought came into her mind:

  Only half of us will make it.

  “Okay, mount up,” said Max. And the tryouts began. Max had them ride in circles, he had them turn corners, and he had them change gaits. He paired them up, then split them to singles. He made two lines cross at an X in the middle of the ring, and he made pairs split to make opposite circles and meet together again. He took a lot of notes.

  Then he asked each rider to follow a pattern he showed them. It wasn’t easy for any of them.

  Carole Hanson, one of the best older riders in Horse Wise, did a pretty good job of it. So did her friend Stevie Lake. Adam Levine got all messed up and forgot which way he was supposed to go. Betsy Cavanaugh remembered everything she was supposed to do, but she didn’t do most of it very well. Her circles were too small, and her turns were more like bends. Jasmine didn’t think Betsy would be invited into the small group.

  Then it was Corey’s turn. Jasmine was proud of her! Corey did everything right. She didn’t forget anything. Her corners were sharp; her circles were smooth.

  “Slow down, Corey,” Max said once. Corey and Sam slowed down immediately.

  “Nice, but keep it even,” Max added.

  Corey nodded and then tried to keep her pace even. And when Corey was done, Max said, “Good.” Then he said, “Jasmine?”

  It was her turn. Jasmine tried to smile, but she was too nervous. She could see Max. He was making a note on his clipboard. Then she could see eleven other riders. They were all good. In fact, she thought they were all better than she was. For a moment Jasmine thought everybody in the world was better than she was. Then she remembered Betsy’s mistakes. Maybe she’d be better than Betsy Cavanaugh. Maybe.

  “Okay, go,” Max said. “Remember, keep an even pace.”

  Jasmine went. She kept an even pace. That was one thing she and Outlaw were really good at. She imagined that there was a pony in front of her, and as she rode through the exercise she always kept Outlaw exactly one pony length behind the imaginary pony. She smiled to herself, thinking how nice it was to have a perfectly behaved pony in front of her to follow. Unfortunately, that imaginary pony didn’t have a very good memory, because he turned the wrong way a few times.

  “No, no, Jasmine. Go left there!” said Max.

  Jasmine went to the left, but then she couldn’t remember what came next. When she hesitated, Max helped her again.

  “Circle, Jasmine. To the right,” said Max.

  Jasmine circled to the right. Finally it was over.

  “Nice job of keeping a steady pace,” said Max. “That’s not easy to do.”

  “Thanks,” said Jasmine.

  When the last rider had tried out and Max had made the last note, he gathered everyone together.

  “I’ll be calling the team later this week,” he said, “but whether you made it or not, thank you all. You worked hard. I can’t ask for anything more.”

  Corey and Jasmine ran their stirrups up and loosened their ponies’ girths.

  “You were both great,” said May. “You’ll both be on the team.”

  Jasmine wasn’t so sure. She crossed her fingers for good luck.

  4 The Call

  Corey chewed on the end of her pencil. It tasted awful, and it didn’t help her think. She was supposed to be writing a story about rain forests. It was her last assignment before Christmas vacation started. She didn’t want to write about rain forests. She wanted to think about ponies. She wanted the phone to ring, too.

  Corey’s parents were divorced. She spent half of her time at her father’s apartment. She loved being with her father. He had a nice apartment, and they always did their school-work together. Her father taught French and Spanish at Willow Creek High School. The only thing she didn’t like about being with her father was that she couldn’t bring Samurai with her.

  The phone rang. Corey jumped. Her father answered it. Somebody wanted to sell him life insurance. He didn’t want to buy it. He hung up the phone and returned to his desk.

  Corey picked up her pencil again. “Once there was a parrot who lived in a rain forest,” she wrote. “He liked to be with the other parrots. They would all fly together in formation, like a marching band.” No they wouldn’t, Corey said to herself. She knew parrots didn’t do anything like that. But ponies did. She sighed. She tore up the paper to start fresh.

  The phone rang again. Corey jumped again. Her father answered it.

  “Corey, it’s for you,” he said. “It’s Max.”

  She gulped and reached for the phone. “Hello?”

  “Congratulations,” Max said to her. Corey hardly heard anythin
g he said after that. He’d chosen her for the small drill team! She’d done it! She was grinning so hard that her cheeks hurt. Luckily, she did hear Max say she’d have to work very hard over vacation. They would start with a practice the next day, right after school. Could she get Samurai to Pine Hollow then?

  “I’ll ask if Mr. Grover can bring him,” she said.

  “He can come over anytime tomorrow,” said Max. “And then I’ll see you by four o’clock. Right?”

  “You bet!” she said. Then she said good-bye and hung up the phone.

  For a second she didn’t move. She just felt. And the feeling was wonderful. She’d known she wanted to make the team, but she hadn’t known how much until it happened. She couldn’t remember ever feeling better than she did right then.

  “Honey?” her father said.

  “I made the team!” she said breathlessly. Then she yelled. “Yahoooooo!”

  Her father hugged her and congratulated her and then hugged her again.

  “And what about your friend Jasmine? Did she make it, too?” he asked.

  Corey had been so excited she’d forgotten to ask Max about Jasmine. But what was there to ask? Jasmine had been in Horse Wise much longer than Corey had been. She’d been riding longer than Corey. Of course Jasmine had been chosen. Corey punched in the digits of Jasmine’s number, but the line was busy. She quickly called May.

  May was thrilled for her. “I knew you would do it, I just knew it!” she said. “I’m so excited for you both!”

  Then Corey talked with Mr. Grover. On school days the girls didn’t usually bring their own ponies to Pine Hollow. It was a lot of work to transport them there for a short class, especially when all the work had to be done by Mr. Grover, who had a horse trailer. But Mr. Grover always brought the horses over to Pine Hollow on Saturdays and special occasions.

  Corey asked May’s father to help her take Samurai over to Pine Hollow after school the next day.

  “I can’t do it in the afternoon,” he said. “But I can in the morning. Why don’t I just drop him off for you there so he’ll be waiting for you? You can go to Pine Hollow straight from school.”