Jasmine and the Jumping Pony (Pony Tails Book 16) Read online

  When they were finished, they stared in awe at their work. The poster was beautiful!

  “I think we could have a business doing posters,” declared May. “Let’s be professional riders, with a poster-design business on the side!”

  Corey shook her head. “No, Jasmine’s the one with the talent,” she said.

  May nodded. “How did you know what to do?” she asked Jasmine. “Did your mother show you?”

  Jasmine shrugged. “Practice makes perfect, I guess—just like in riding. I had to do a chart for my dinosaur project, too.”

  Both May and Corey looked at Jasmine then. “Were you carrying the dinosaur poster on Friday?” demanded May.

  “Why didn’t you show it to us, Jazz?” asked Corey.

  Jasmine shrugged again. “It’s no big deal, really,” she said. “I’ve got it at home. Maybe I’ll show it to you sometime.”

  Jasmine usually liked showing her friends her pictures. Now she didn’t want to talk about it. Corey and May looked at each other and shrugged also. Then they let the subject drop.

  6 Jasmine’s First Jumping Class

  Jasmine thought Wednesday would never come. She could think about nothing else but the jumping class.

  At school she could barely concentrate. When her teacher asked her to work out a math problem on the blackboard, Jasmine got it wrong.

  Her teacher gave her another problem, and Jasmine got that one wrong, too. She had done the problems okay last night. Now she couldn’t remember anything.

  “It’s not like you, Jasmine, to make mistakes,” her teacher said. She shook her head and excused Jasmine from the blackboard.

  Jasmine returned to her seat. All she could think about was jumping. She could already feel the wind in her hair and see how the breeze rippled through Outlaw’s mane as he soared over high jumps. She could see the blue ribbons lined up on her bedroom shelf. Or maybe she’d put them on the wall.

  Deep down inside, Jasmine knew it took long years of practice and hard work before a rider could jump well. But she felt sure that she and Outlaw were on their way toward that goal.

  After school, Doc Tock took the Pony Tails to their weekly riding lesson. Each week the parents of the Pony Tails took turns driving the three girls to Pine Hollow. Mr. Grover would bring Outlaw later, after their regular lesson.

  Once again, Jasmine had trouble focusing during class. When Max asked everyone to practice changing gaits, Jasmine gave the signals either too early or too late. She didn’t pay as much attention as she should have to Max’s directions.

  Luckily, she was riding Peso, one of the Pine Hollow ponies. All the Pine Hollow ponies were named for small change. Peso was so experienced that Jasmine’s mistakes weren’t as noticeable as they could have been. Whenever Jasmine seemed confused, Peso followed the lead of the other ponies in class.

  Then it was time for the jumping class.

  Corey and May waved good-bye as Mr. Grover pulled up with Outlaw. “Good luck, Jazz!” they called.

  It made Jasmine feel good to hear her best friends wish her luck. She was sorry Corey and May couldn’t stay, but Corey wanted to help her mom take care of some animals. May was going shopping with her mother. Normally May hated shopping, unlike Jasmine, who loved clothes. Today was her big sister Dottie’s birthday, though, and May wanted to find a present. As usual, May had left the present-shopping until the last minute.

  Then again, Jasmine was relieved to see them go. Sometimes being watched when she tried something new made her nervous.

  “I’ll be back in forty-five minutes,” promised Mr. Grover after he had unloaded Outlaw.

  Jasmine took Outlaw into the stable and put on his saddle and bridle. She swung into the saddle and remembered to touch the horseshoe before heading for the schooling ring.

  “Not that way, Jasmine!” called Max. “We have to warm up first in the indoor ring.”

  Jasmine recognized most of the other riders in the class. A few girls were from Horse Wise, including Jackie Rogers. For about fifteen minutes, the riders circled the indoor ring, first at a walk, then at a trot, and then at a slow canter.

  Jasmine was disappointed. This class was just like the regular Wednesday class!

  Finally Max led them into the outdoor ring. Jasmine could see the cavalletti laid out flat on the ground, just the way Mr. Grover had laid them out on Friday.

  First Max had them walk over the cavalletti. Then he asked them to trot over the cavalletti, so that the ponies could adjust their stride.

  Jasmine frowned. They were doing exactly the same stuff that she, May, and Corey had practiced on Friday!

  She fidgeted. Max saw her. “Jasmine, keep your heels down and your toes in!” he called out sternly. Sure enough, Jasmine’s feet were resting loosely against the stirrups.

  Then Max had them do a strange exercise. He asked them to trot slowly toward the cavalletti. When they got to the cavalletti, they were supposed to drop their reins and spread their arms. As soon as the ponies stepped over the rail, they could pick up the reins again.

  “This will teach you about balance and confidence,” Max explained. “Keep your upper bodies as straight as possible. It will also teach you to guide your ponies without using the reins too much.”

  Jasmine didn’t do very well at the exercise. She could feel her body wobbling from side to side. Still, Outlaw stepped perfectly over the rails.

  “You have to sit up straighter, Jasmine,” said Max. “If you don’t have the correct posture to begin with, you won’t be able to lean forward and give your pony the signal to jump. Fortunately, Outlaw really seems to be a natural at this,” Max added as Outlaw trotted back to the end of the line.

  Jasmine barely heard Max. When were they going to start jumping?

  At last Max asked the students to help pick up the cavalletti. It was time to jump!

  7 First Jump

  The first jump was ready. It was only six inches high, and Jasmine was surprised. Surely they could start with something more exciting!

  The students lined up to take the jump. Jasmine was last in line. She was upset about the low jump.

  Jasmine and Corey and May loved to watch horse shows on television, and Jasmine knew that jumps could be as much as six feet high. If Max raised the bar only six inches per class, how long would it take before Jasmine and Outlaw could jump six feet?

  She was startled out of her calculations by Max’s voice. “Jasmine, your turn!”

  Without preparing herself, Jasmine began cantering Outlaw toward the jump. In her mind she could see her future, made up of six-foot jumps and blue ribbons.

  Suddenly the jump ahead looked awfully high.

  Jasmine blinked. Her heart started to pound. She felt Outlaw speed up, and she realized what was about to happen. Outlaw was going to jump. All four of his feet were going to leave the ground, which meant that she and Outlaw were going to be standing on nothing but air.

  How was she going to hang on? What had made her think she could do this?

  About ten feet in front of the jump, Jasmine leaned almost flat against Outlaw’s neck. She tightened the reins and gripped them as hard as she could.

  Outlaw was confused. He knew the jump was still ten feet away, so why was Jasmine leaning over, telling him to jump now? Why was she tightening the reins? Why was she acting as if an enormous jump were directly ahead?

  Outlaw usually trusted Jasmine completely, but he was a smart pony. He could see it was only a six-inch jump.

  He slowed down little by little. When he reached the jump, he almost stopped. At the last minute, he gave a short, jerky hop and popped over the jump.

  Jasmine, who had prepared for the jump far too early, was not ready for Outlaw’s little hop when it came. Because she was leaning so far over Outlaw’s neck, she was unable to regain her balance. As Outlaw landed, she fell off his back.

  Immediately she rolled away from Outlaw. Max had taught his students to roll out of the way to avoid being accidentally steppe
d on by the ponies. Fortunately, the dirt in the ring was soft.

  Max rushed over to Jasmine. Several other students dismounted and followed.

  “Are you okay, Jasmine?” Max asked. He sounded concerned. He bent down and examined Jasmine for broken bones. When he found none, he helped her get to her feet.

  The other students made sympathetic noises. Jackie Rogers helped Jasmine brush the dirt off her clothes.

  Jasmine couldn’t speak. Her shoulder was a little sore where she had landed, but she didn’t feel as if she’d even have much of a bruise.

  What she did feel was hot, burning disappointment. She felt embarrassed. How could she daydream about six-foot jumps when she couldn’t even clear six inches?

  Max attempted to cheer her up. “You’re fine, kiddo,” he told her. Then he went and got Outlaw, who was patiently standing about ten feet away. Max led Outlaw back to Jasmine and gave her the signal to remount.

  Jasmine didn’t move.

  “Jasmine, everyone takes a fall now and then,” Max reminded her. “If you’re not hurt, the best thing is to get right back on your pony. Riding well has a lot to do with confidence.”

  Jasmine still didn’t move. Jackie said, “C’mon, Jasmine, you’ll be fine.” Other students encouraged Jasmine to get back on. Jasmine shook her head.

  “Everyone falls off ponies,” Max told Jasmine.

  “Not me,” said Jasmine. “Never again.”

  She took Outlaw’s reins from Max and walked back to the stable. “I’m never going to jump again,” she told herself.

  8 Corey and May Step In

  Both Corey and May heard about Jasmine’s fall from Jasmine herself. She had briefly described the fall, then finished with, “And that’s the end of jumping for me. I can ride, but I can’t jump. I won’t jump.”

  Corey and May tried to reason with her, but Jasmine wouldn’t say another word.

  On the Friday after Jasmine’s fall, May made a suggestion while they were riding home on the bus. “Let’s get together and practice riding this afternoon,” she said.

  Jasmine was uncharacteristically slow to agree. “I have a big school project,” she said.

  May gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s Friday, Jazz! You have two whole days to do schoolwork!”

  “Remember how much fun last Friday was?” Corey added.

  “Okay,” Jasmine agreed. “But no jumping.” They got off the bus at their stop, and Jasmine walked away.

  May and Corey watched Jasmine walk toward her house. “Corey, I’ve been thinking,” May began.

  Corey held up her hand. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “Jazz is afraid. We’ve got to help her!” announced May.

  Corey grinned. May always wanted to help people. But then Corey’s face got serious. “Jasmine’s such a good rider,” she said. “She should try jumping again. We’ve got to do something.”

  “We’ll try not to be obvious,” said May. “We’ll just sort of suggest the idea of jumping to her. Again … and again … and again … and again.”

  Corey laughed. She knew how persistent May could be!

  The three girls met up at the Grovers’ schooling ring. They began their practice the same way as the week before. For a few minutes they concentrated on warming their ponies up by walking, trotting, and cantering.

  Once she’d started riding Outlaw, Jasmine began to feel happy again. She loved riding Outlaw. She knew how to do it. She just wouldn’t jump ever again.

  Then May dismounted from Macaroni and set up a little jump. “How about some jumping practice? You first, Jazz,” she said, pointedly looking at Jasmine.

  “Yeah, go for it!” encouraged Corey.

  Jasmine flushed. “I told you guys, I’m never jumping again!” she said. Her voice sounded sharp—very different from the way she usually talked to her best friends.

  May was quiet. Then she shrugged and suggested, “How about Follow the Leader?”

  The Pony Tails loved to play this game while riding. They decided Corey would be the leader.

  Jasmine didn’t pay much attention to the game, although she followed Corey automatically. Jasmine was embarrassed by the way she had spoken to May and Corey. She knew they only wanted to help her.

  But Jasmine had done a lot of thinking since Wednesday’s jumping class. She realized that one of the reasons she had been so excited about the jumping class was that her parents had seemed so enthusiastic about her jumping.

  I was only trying to get their attention, she thought. That’s not a good reason to do anything.

  More than that, though, Jasmine kept on thinking about the fall itself—the moment when she felt Outlaw hesitate at the jump … the moment when she realized she was out of rhythm with Outlaw … the moment when she knew she was going to fall. Worst of all, she kept on seeing, over and over again, the ground rushing up at her as she fell from the saddle.

  “I can’t ever go over a jump again,” Jasmine said to herself. “But so what? Some people can’t draw. Some people can’t snap their fingers. I can’t jump.

  “But,” she added to herself, patting Outlaw’s neck, “I can still ride Outlaw.”

  After their riding practice, May called Corey on the phone. “I don’t think our strategy is going to work,” she began.

  “No,” sighed Corey. “If we keep on suggesting jumps to Jazz, she’ll just get mad at us.”

  “I was talking to my dad today, after our practice,” said May. “He said it’s really hard for riders to get their confidence back if they’ve had a bad experience.”

  “I don’t think we should try to make Jazz do anything she doesn’t want to do,” argued Corey.

  “It’s not that,” May said emphatically. “I’m not saying Jazz has to jump! It’s just that jumping is fun, and I know Jazz can do it. She’s a good rider. My dad said so. He also said Outlaw was born to jump. Jasmine could really do well on him if she’d just give it another chance.”

  Corey was silent. Then she said, “You’re right, May. Anyway, we’re Jasmine’s best friends. We should be able to help her get through this.”

  “What can we do?” asked May.

  Corey thought for a second. “Remember when I was so frustrated about that animal poster? Remember how I asked you and Jasmine for help? You guys had great ideas. Jasmine showed me how to sketch the poster first. Then you suggested the magazine pictures. Why do you think the poster turned out so well?”

  It was May’s turn to think. “We’re geniuses?” she said hopefully.

  “No,” said Corey patiently. “Think again.”

  May thought hard. “Teamwork?” she guessed.

  “Exactly,” said Corey triumphantly.

  “We’ve got to take this step by step,” decided May.

  “We’ve got to have a plan,” said Corey.

  They started to brainstorm.

  Saturday’s Horse Wise meeting was an unmounted one. This meant that the girls left their ponies at home. Max taught them a few new things about taking care of their horses. After the meeting, Jasmine tacked up Outlaw and rode over to the Grovers’ schooling ring. She looked around suspiciously for jumps that either May or Corey had set up.

  She didn’t see any jumps in the ring. Instead she saw Corey, sitting on Samurai. A few seconds later May rode up on Macaroni.

  “Ready?” said May.

  For the next hour the girls practiced in the schooling ring. They tried to practice what they had learned in their Wednesday lesson with their own ponies.

  May and Corey were careful not to mention jumping to Jasmine. May clowned around. She told a lot of her crazy jokes, which made Jasmine laugh.

  Corey laughed at May’s jokes, too. She also took the time to compliment Jasmine on her riding.

  After an hour of practice, May suggested a ride across the field behind their houses. The Pony Tails were allowed to ride short distances if at least one other person was present, and the people who owned the field didn’t mind when the girls rode acros
s it.

  Jasmine was having a wonderful time. For the first time since Wednesday, she stopped thinking about her fall. She was just happy to be riding Outlaw with her best friends.

  It was a mild winter day, almost like spring. “This is the most beautiful day,” Jasmine said happily to May and Corey.

  “I agree,” said May. When Jasmine wasn’t looking, she winked at Corey.

  Phase one of their plan was working. Jasmine seemed relaxed for the first time since the jumping class.

  9 May and Corey Help Out

  The next day, in the early afternoon, a knock came at the Jameses’ back door. “I’ll get it,” said Jasmine. She got up from the kitchen table, where she had been making funny faces at Sophie. The remains of a huge Sunday brunch were on the table.

  May and Corey were standing outside. They were dressed in riding clothes. “Come riding with us,” invited May.

  Jasmine turned and looked at her parents. “Go ahead,” said her father. “Although,” he added with a groan, “I don’t know how you can do anything. I just ate six waffles—all I’m ready for is a long nap.”

  The Pony Tails giggled. Jasmine ran upstairs to change into her riding clothes.

  After tacking up Outlaw, the three girls strolled over to the Grovers’ with Jasmine leading Outlaw by the reins. May and Corey told her Macaroni and Samurai were ready to go, waiting at the Grovers’.

  “By the way,” said Corey casually, “May and I want to work on some jumps. Don’t worry,” she added quickly as Jasmine looked at her in alarm. “We know the drill. No jumps for you ever again. But maybe you can help us set up the jumps, okay?”

  Jasmine agreed. She certainly knew how to do that, and she never minded helping her friends.

  When they got to May’s house, she saw Mr. Grover, working in the ring next to theirs with a student horse. The horse was learning how to walk on a lead line, and Mr. Grover had his hands full.