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  SCARED TO TRY AGAIN

  With a loud caw, the crow 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, then darted away as the girl tumbled off and landed hard on her backside.

  RL 5, 009–012

  YANKEE SWAP

  A Skylark Book / January 1996

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

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1996 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller.

  Cover art copyright © 1996 by Paul Casale.

  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: 978-0-307-82547-6

  Published simultaneously in the United Stales 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

  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

  Acknowledgements

  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

  “OH, THERE YOU ARE!” Lisa Atwood exclaimed. She looked up as her two best friends, Stevie Lake and Carole Hanson, hurried across the indoor ring to join her. It was Saturday morning, and that meant it was time for their Pony Club meeting. All three girls rode together at Pine Hollow Stables and belonged to Horse Wise, Pine Hollow’s branch of the United States Pony Club.

  “Hi, Lisa,” Carole and Stevie said in one voice. Lisa was leaning against the wall, waiting for the meeting to start.

  “Where the heck have you guys been?” Lisa asked, smiling so that they knew she wasn’t really annoyed. “I thought I was going to be the only member of The Saddle Club to show up for Horse Wise today!”

  Now they knew Lisa was kidding. None of the girls would miss a Pony Club meeting unless there was a major emergency. The three friends loved riding more than anything. In fact, they loved it so much that they had formed The Saddle Club, which was dedicated to horses and riding and friends. The club had only two rules: Members had to be horse crazy, and they had to be willing to help out the others in any way necessary.

  “I was a little late today,” Carole explained. “My dad had to make a few phone calls before he dropped me off, and it took him longer than he thought.”

  “And what about you, young lady?” Lisa asked, turning to Stevie with mock sternness. “You know it’s very important for riders to be prompt.”

  Stevie and Carole laughed. They knew that Lisa was imitating Max Regnery, the owner of Pine Hollow and the girls’ riding instructor. The Saddle Club liked Max a lot, and they knew he was an excellent teacher. Still, they couldn’t help poking fun at his strictness once in a while.

  “If you must know, I have a very good excuse for being late,” Stevie informed Lisa loftily. “I was helping Max roll the bandages for today’s lesson. I even got here early.”

  Carole raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Really?” she said. “That was awfully helpful of you, Stevie.” All the young riders at Pine Hollow were expected to help out with a wide variety of stable chores in addition to taking care of the horses they rode. Stevie was willing to do her share, but her friends knew that she usually preferred it if her share happened to take place a little later in the day.

  Before Carole could open her mouth to tease Stevie, Lisa broke in. “Well, never mind—you’re both here now and that’s what counts. I’ve been dying to tell you my great news. Remember hearing me talk about my friend Merrill?”

  Carole nodded. “The one who lives in Maine, right?”

  “That’s right,” Lisa said. “Well, guess what? Her school has an extra winter break because it’s always so cold there this time of year, so her parents said she could come visit me!”

  “She’s coming here?” Stevie said. “That’s great!”

  “I know,” Lisa said. “I haven’t seen her in a couple of years. But that’s not even the best part. The best part is that I’ve written to her so much about Pine Hollow that she finally decided to try riding herself about six months ago, and she loves it.”

  “That’s great,” Stevie said again, but Lisa noticed that her friend looked a little distracted. She followed Stevie’s gaze and saw that another member of Horse Wise had just sauntered in—Veronica diAngelo. Veronica was a spoiled rich girl who cared more about what she wore than how she rode. In fact, her attitude had gotten her kicked out of Horse Wise more than once, though Max always let her back in after she behaved herself for a while.

  Lisa didn’t know why Stevie was paying so much attention to Veronica, but she was too excited to care. Merrill was one of her favorite people, and she hadn’t seen her in ages. She couldn’t wait to introduce her to the rest of The Saddle Club and to show her Pine Hollow, especially now that Merrill was an enthusiastic rider, too.

  “How wonderful, Lisa,” Carole said. “We’ll take her on lots of trail rides. How long is she staying?”

  “She’s coming next Friday, staying the whole following week, and leaving Sunday,” Lisa said. “She’s got some relatives who live around here, so she’ll have plenty to do while I’m in school.” She sighed. “I just wish my school were on break then, too. That way Merrill and I could spend even more time riding together.”

  “Well, after school and weekends is definitely better than nothing. I wonder which horse she should ride while she’s here,” Carole said thoughtfully. “If she’s been riding six months she’s probably already too advanced for Patch or Nero. How good do you think she is?”

  Lisa burst out laughing. “I haven’t even seen her in years,” she exclaimed. “How do you expect me to give you a detailed report on her riding ability?”

  Carole looked a little hurt. “Well, she must write about it in her letters …”

  “Sorry,” Lisa said. “I know you’re only trying to help.” She shook her head, still smiling. “I can just picture it—you’re going to be the perfect riding instructor and stable manager somed
ay.”

  Carole’s life plans were well known to her friends. She was definitely going to do something involving horses. She wasn’t sure yet whether that meant she would be a trainer, an instructor, a competitive rider, a vet, or all of the above.

  Stevie finally turned her attention away from Veronica and back to the conversation. “So what does she say in her letters?” she asked Lisa. “Is she a good rider?”

  Lisa shrugged. “Actually, it’s a little hard to tell,” she admitted. “Merrill doesn’t blow her own horn, if you know what I mean. She says she’s still a beginner, but she’s starting to jump, so she must be doing okay.”

  Carole was about to ask another question when her thoughts were interrupted by giggles from nearby. She turned toward the door and saw two more members of Horse Wise, Betsy Cavanaugh and Adam Levine, enter together. Betsy was hanging on Adam’s arm and gazing at him admiringly, giggling madly at something he was saying.

  “Oh, gag,” Stevie commented. “It looks like Betsy has another new love interest.” Betsy was a pretty, lively, friendly girl. She was also becoming known as the stable flirt.

  “Poor Joe,” Carole said. “I guess he’s been dumped.” Joe Novick was the best-looking boy in Horse Wise and, last Carole had heard, Betsy’s boyfriend.

  “Try to keep up, Carole,” Stevie said, rolling her eyes. “Betsy and Joe broke up weeks ago. Last I heard, she was dating someone at school.”

  Lisa glanced over at Betsy and Adam. “I would have thought Adam was too sensible to fall for Betsy’s flirting.”

  “Me too,” Stevie said. A devilish look crossed her face. “Hey, Adam!” she called out. “You’d better watch out! Delilah will be jealous if she sees you talking to another woman.” Delilah was the mare Adam had been riding in class lately.

  Adam laughed self-consciously, but Betsy rolled her eyes, barely bothering to glance in Stevie’s direction. “I think some people around here need to grow up a little,” she commented loudly to Adam. “Maybe then they’d see there’s more to life than just horses.”

  Stevie scowled. “For your information, Betsy, I—”

  “Horse Wise, come to order!” Max’s voice interrupted Stevie’s retort. Max stood at the front of the group with his mother, universally known as Mrs. Reg, at his side.

  Stevie perked up again immediately. “Time for bandaging practice,” she said eagerly.

  Lisa and Carole exchanged puzzled glances. It wasn’t like Stevie to get so excited about what was a necessary—but fairly boring—lesson.

  “Before we get started on today’s activity, I have a very special announcement,” Max said.

  Carole and Lisa immediately forgot all about Stevie and bandages. Max’s “very special announcements” were almost always about something exciting at Pine Hollow.

  “Beginning next week, I’ll be …” Max’s voice trailed off, and he frowned a little. “Betsy, Adam,” he said sternly. “May I have your attention please?”

  Betsy and Adam immediately stopped whispering. Adam’s face turned bright red, and Betsy gave Max an apologetic smile.

  “Serves them right,” Stevie muttered. “This is a Horse Wise meeting, not a dating service.”

  “As I was saying,” Max said, “next week I’ll be offering a special jumping clinic for any interested Horse Wise members. It will begin next Saturday and continue for a week, with intensive lessons all day on the weekends and after school on Tuesday and Thursday.” He paused and looked around. “Now, are there any interested Horse Wise members here?”

  Immediately hands shot up all around the ring.

  Max smiled. “Great. You’ll all be working hard, but you should be able to manage to have some fun, too.”

  “That’s for sure,” added Mrs. Reg. “Trust Max to leave out the best part. On the last day of the clinic, there will be a big party and dance here at Pine Hollow for all of the participants. You kids have all been working hard lately, and you’ll be working even harder next week. We thought you deserved a celebration.”

  “Cool!” exclaimed Lorraine Olsen, one of Betsy’s friends. “A dance sounds like fun!” She immediately began discussing the prospect with Betsy and Meg Durham.

  “Another chance for those girls to act like idiots around the boys,” Stevie commented sourly, watching them.

  “Never mind them, Stevie,” Carole said. “Aren’t you excited about the jumping clinic? It will be a great chance to learn. You and Belle will have a chance to concentrate all your energy on jumping. It’s really perfect timing for you, since you’ve been talking about doing more jumping with her.” Belle was Stevie’s horse. Stevie hadn’t owned her for very long, so they were still learning a lot together. But Belle was a talented horse, and Stevie was a talented rider, and Carole was right. Max’s jumping clinic couldn’t have come at a better time for them.

  “It’s perfect timing for someone else, too,” Lisa pointed out. “Merrill. Remember? I told you she’s just started jumping. What an opportunity! She’ll have a chance to learn from the best—Max.”

  Just then Joe Novick leaned over and joined their conversation. “I’ll tell you what’s good timing,” he said with a grin. “That party on Saturday. It just happens to fall on my birthday.”

  “That’s great,” Stevie exclaimed. “Hey, Max, guess what? Joe’s birthday is the day of the party!”

  Max raised one eyebrow. “Really? Well, then, we’ll have to think of something special to help Joe celebrate.”

  Joe waved one hand modestly. “Really, just a new car would be enough,” he said.

  Carole laughed. Noticing that Lisa wasn’t laughing, she turned and saw that her friend had a funny look on her face. “What is it, Lisa?”

  “I just remembered,” Lisa said, a smile spreading over her face. “That same Saturday is Merrill’s birthday, too! I had totally forgotten until Joe spoke up.”

  “Wow,” Carole said. “Then the clinic and party will be like an extraspecial birthday treat for her—on top of visiting you, that is.”

  “That’s right,” Lisa said. “Being enrolled in Max’s jumping clinic is the best birthday present any beginning jumper could have.”

  Just then Mrs. Reg, who had disappeared, returned with a bag.

  “All right, everyone,” Max said. “You all know how important it is to learn to bandage properly. Bandages protect your horse’s delicate legs in all sorts of situations, including traveling in a trailer or van. Bandaging is a pretty basic skill, but one that always bears more practice. Today I’ll be showing you a few tricks you can test out on your own legs. Then in a few minutes we’ll try them out on the horses. Stevie, go ahead and pass out a bandage to each person.”

  Stevie nodded and dug into the bag. Pulling out a handful of neatly rolled and pinned bandages, she handed them out to Lorraine, Betsy, Adam, Meg, and Polly Giacomin.

  “Hey, you forgot me, Stevie,” said Veronica testily. She was sitting between Meg and Polly.

  “Oh, sorry, Veronica,” Stevie replied sweetly. She peered into the bag. “I think there’s a very special bandage in here just for you, though.” She reached in, pulled out a bandage, and handed it to Veronica.

  Veronica stared down at the object in her hand. It looked just like the rest of the bandages except for one thing: Someone had written “Gucci” all over it.

  As soon as the other students saw what Stevie had done, they burst out laughing. Veronica loved to brag about the expensive clothes she wore. She was a real snob when it came to designer labels, and everyone at Pine Hollow knew it. For her part, Stevie just stood back and grinned proudly.

  Veronica stared at the bandage for a moment. Then she looked up at Stevie, with eyes narrowed. “I suppose this is your idea of a joke,” she said coldly.

  “As a matter of fact, it is,” Stevie said, still grinning.

  Veronica tossed her head. “Well, I think it’s about time you grew up a little, Stevie Lake,” she said. “These silly pranks might have been amusing when we were all children, but
you can’t keep acting like a five-year-old forever.” With that, she tossed the Gucci bandage back into the bag Stevie was holding.

  Stevie’s grin faded. Without another word, she continued passing out the bandages.

  “SHE HAS SOME NERVE,” Stevie fumed to Carole and Lisa later. All three girls were busy wrapping and rewrapping the bandages as Max had showed them. “Who does she think she is, calling me a child in front of the whole class?”

  “Don’t take it so hard, Stevie,” Lisa advised. “We all know Veronica is humor impaired.”

  “Right,” Carole agreed. “That’s why it’s so much fun to play tricks on her, remember?”

  “I guess so. But it still burns me up that she thinks she’s so darned mature,” Stevie said. “And Betsy Cavanaugh, too, for that matter. Just because she never thinks about anything but boys and dating and stuff doesn’t make her any more mature than anybody else. I mean, I have a boyfriend too, for goodness’ sake!” Stevie had been dating Phil Marsten, who lived in a town a few miles from Willow Creek, ever since they had met at summer riding camp.

  Carole patted Stevie’s arm. “We know.”

  Max sent a glance in their direction. “More wrapping and less talking, people,” he said sternly.

  The Saddle Club quieted down and concentrated on their bandages for the rest of the lesson.

  “ANYBODY FOR A Saddle Club meeting at TD’s?” asked Lisa, as the girls got ready to leave Pine Hollow later that day. TD’s, also known as Tastee Delight, was an ice cream parlor at the local shopping center.

  “Definitely,” Stevie said. She dug into her pockets. “Oops, I guess I’m a little short of cash right now.” She gave her friends a hopeful look.

  “Sorry, Stevie,” Carole said. “I’d lend you some money, but I barely have enough for myself today.”

  “Me too,” Lisa said. “I spent most of my allowance on new film for my camera.”

  “Not to worry,” Stevie said, glancing around. “Time for Plan B.” She spotted Red O’Malley, Pine Hollow’s stable hand, entering the locker room. “Make that Plan R.”