Pony Tails 05- May Takes the Lead Read online

  “Okay,” Corey replied. “Come on, Sam.” She tugged gently at Sam’s reins. He took one step forward and then stopped. She tugged again. This time the stubborn pony stood still. She tugged harder. Finally he got the message and followed her out of his stall.

  As she led Sam to the door, Corey looked over at her friends. May was hugging Macaroni. Jasmine was giving Outlaw one final brushing. The two of them—and their ponies—looked perfectly calm.

  But Corey’s stomach was doing somersaults. Her throat was dry and tight. Her legs felt like rubber.

  “Butterflies, Corey?” Lisa Atwood, an older rider, gave Corey a sympathetic smile.

  Corey nodded numbly.

  “A few butterflies are good,” Lisa said. “They keep you on your toes. Just try not to let Sam know how nervous you are.”

  “It’s too late,” Corey said glumly. “He knows already, and he’s making the most of it.”

  Lisa patted Corey’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. And you know what?” Lisa shrugged. “If you don’t do fine, it’s not the end of the world. Trust me, my friends and I have had some pretty bad shows.”

  Corey was still a little new to Pine Hollow, and she didn’t know Lisa very well. But what she did know of her, she liked a lot. Lisa and her friends, Stevie Lake and Carole Hanson, were members of a group the three of them had started called The Saddle Club. They were horse-crazy, just like the Pony Tails were pony-crazy.

  Corey tried to listen to Lisa’s advice. “Thanks, Lisa.” Corey managed a smile and continued on toward the door, where the riders were slowly gathering.

  “Is my necktie straight?” one girl asked.

  “Here, let me brush that dust off your breeches,” said Jackie Rogers.

  “If this horse tries to trot when I want him to walk, I think I’ll …,” said Erin Mosley.

  “I can’t get this strap snapped.” Amie Connor was having trouble with her hard hat.

  “Time to mount up!” Max reminded the riders.

  Corey climbed into Sam’s saddle. Then, one by one, she and all the other riders touched the stable’s good-luck horseshoe before falling into formation.

  Touching the horseshoe was one of Pine Hollow’s traditions. Nobody who touched the horseshoe before a ride had ever been seriously hurt in a riding accident. This time Corey didn’t just touch the horseshoe. She rubbed it!

  “Come on, my turn,” said Erin, edging her pony between Corey and the wall.

  May turned around and rolled her eyes. Corey giggled. For a minute she forgot about being nervous. Erin Mosley was not exactly the nicest member of their Pony Club. In fact, sometimes she was so nasty, it was kind of funny.

  “Everybody smile,” called out Mrs. Reg. Corey snapped back to attention as Max’s mother checked over the riders one last time. “Riders, proceed,” she said.

  Corey swallowed hard as she filed into the arena behind the others. The sound of applause filled her ears.

  “Wow!” Jasmine whispered. “Max said there are eight hundred and fourteen people watching. Now I believe it!”

  Corey gulped. “Did you hear that, Sam? Eight hundred and fourteen! No funny business,” she said.

  As the music started, Corey gripped Sam’s reins tightly. The pony tried to shake free. Corey tugged harder. This time the pony managed to yank the reins away from her. Corey nearly lost her balance trying to pull them back.

  “Sam!” she hissed.

  He twitched his ears in reply. Before Corey could do or say anything more, the ponies and their riders began to form the circle that was their second move.

  But Sam had a different idea. His idea was to ignore Corey’s signals. No matter what she told him to do—with her hands, her feet, her legs, or her whole body—Sam ignored it. Instead he did exactly what Quarter, the pony in front of him, did.

  In the figure eight, Sam was supposed to go between Outlaw and Nero. But he dashed after Quarter and messed up the figure eight for all the other riders. When Quarter turned right at a trot, Sam was supposed to go left. He went right. That messed up the trotting segment.

  Every time Sam did something wrong, Corey clutched more tightly at his reins. Soon she was holding the reins so tightly, her hands hurt! Sam didn’t seem to notice. He just kept following Quarter.

  “What’s the matter?” May whispered as they walked two by two.

  “Everything!” Corey said, trying to hold back tears. “I don’t know how I’m going to get him to do the small drill exercise.”

  May nodded. Things did look terrible. The harder Corey tried to control Sam, the more he misbehaved.

  The music got louder. It was near the end of the first demonstration and time for the riders to canter.

  The second Quarter started cantering, Sam cantered, too. He cantered faster than the other pony. He caught up to him, and then he passed him. He wasn’t supposed to do that!

  “Sam!” This time Corey yelled at him. He brought his head down, and then he began to gallop around the ring!

  He wouldn’t slow down, and he wouldn’t get back in line. He was totally out of control. There was only one thing for Corey to do: get him to gallop right back into the stable.

  With the reins Corey told him which way to go. For once Sam did what she said. He galloped right past the gate and into the stable and didn’t stop until he got to the door of his stall.

  Corey could hear the music and the clop of the horse and pony hooves out in the ring. She could hear the audience clapping for the performers. The drill demonstration was going on without her!

  Corey couldn’t hold in the tears for one more second. They came and they kept on coming. Somehow she managed to dismount and put Sam in the stall. She loosened his girth, then slammed the door and locked it. She was so angry, she didn’t care about untacking her pony and cooling him down. Right now she wouldn’t care if she never saw him again!

  “Try not to take it so hard,” a voice suddenly said.

  Corey turned around. It was Red O’Malley, the head stablehand at Pine Hollow.

  “It was only a demonstration,” Red went on. “You and Sam had a bad day, but there will be plenty of other days. Besides, the crowd loves the show.”

  As tears streamed down her cheeks, Corey shook her head. She knew Red was trying to make her feel better, but it wouldn’t work. Today was the most miserable day of her life. Thanks to her and Sam, the fund-raiser for CARL was ruined.

  “I’m so mad at Sam,” she said. “I’m never riding again.” She let out a sob, then stumbled out of the stable. All she could think about was her awful performance. Why had Max bothered to choose her for the special drill? She was a terrible rider and now everyone knew it.

  Without even looking where she was going, Corey wandered into one of Pine Hollow’s empty paddocks.

  Suddenly a familiar sound startled her.

  “Bleeaaaaa!”

  It was the baby goat.

  What was he doing in his cage in the middle of the paddock?

  3 Where Is Corey?

  May could barely keep her mind on the drill demonstration. She and Macaroni performed well, but she wasn’t even thinking about that. Instead she was thinking about Corey.

  Jasmine was just as worried about their friend. She’d seen Corey and Sam gallop out of the ring. Sam had been misbehaving during the whole demonstration.

  Poor Corey! Jasmine thought. Corey was usually the calm and steady one in their group. Jasmine had never seen her so upset.

  Outlaw suddenly shook his head hard. Whoops! Jasmine thought. She’d been so worried about Corey, she’d forgotten to slow down. Luckily Outlaw had remembered.

  Jasmine drew on the reins and sat into her saddle. Outlaw returned to a walk.

  “Good boy,” she whispered, and she patted his neck to thank him. It was bad enough that one rider had had to leave the ring. Jasmine didn’t want to be the second!

  Somehow Jasmine and May got through the demonstration. When it was over, the riders all lined up in the middle of
the ring facing the audience. The music stopped, and the audience stood and clapped and cheered for them. Jasmine gave a smile and a little nod to her parents. May waved to her sisters. The audience cheered more loudly. May and Jasmine could see Doc Tock and Mr. Takamura in the stands. Both were clapping, but both also had worried expressions on their faces. Where was Corey?

  Max walked proudly into the ring and took a bow. Then he turned to his riders and gave them the signal to file out of the ring. The first part of the demonstration was over. After a short break, the six riders would do the special drill. Jasmine wondered if Corey and Sam would be able to perform.

  The riders trotted their horses and ponies out of the ring and into the stable. In May’s ears, she could still hear the crowd clapping for them. But in her head, all she could hear were the words, “Where’s Corey?” She looked at Jasmine. She didn’t have to ask. Jasmine was wondering the same thing.

  They could see that Sam was in his stall. His girth had been loosened and he was munching on hay. He didn’t look ready to perform in the special drill, and there was no sign of Corey.

  The girls put their ponies in their stalls, then met at Sam’s stall. Max was there, too. He was looking at Sam.

  “What about the small group demonstration?” May asked. “We’ve got to tell Corey it’s time!”

  Max shook his head. “I don’t think Sam here is in any mood to perform for anybody.”

  “I bet Corey isn’t, either,” said Jasmine.

  “I think you’re right about that,” Max agreed. “The rest of the riders will go ahead without her.”

  May and Jasmine exchanged miserable glances. After all her hard work, all those weeks of training, Corey would miss the special drill? This was terrible.

  Max shrugged. “These things happen, girls. Everybody who works with horses knows that there are days when the horses just don’t work. Or sometimes it’s the riders. Right now what Corey needs most is a couple of friends. Do you know of any?”

  May and Jasmine looked at one another.

  “I think we know just the girls for the job,” said Jasmine.

  Max smiled. “See you later.” He left to get the other five riders ready for the small group demonstration.

  All around them in the stable, riders were busy and horses were excited. There was a lot of work to do in a short time.

  The five riders who were going to proceed with the special demonstration were especially busy. They had to figure out how to do their performance without Corey.

  “I don’t think I can watch this, anyway,” said May. “Not without Corey.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Jasmine. “Let’s find her.”

  They looked everywhere they could think of. They checked the loft. Corey wasn’t there. They looked in the tack room. She wasn’t there, either. They searched the feed room, even opening all the grain barrels. There was no sign of Corey.

  Jasmine went out to the hay shed. May looked in the gardening shack. Together they checked Max’s office and the locker area. Corey wasn’t in any of those places.

  They could hear the music of the demonstration. And when it was over, they heard the audience clapping. Then they heard a voice on the public address system. It was Judy Barker, the veterinarian who took care of the horses and ponies at Pine Hollow.

  Judy thanked everybody who had come, then thanked everybody who had made a donation to CARL. She told them that they’d made a lot of money that afternoon. There was more applause.

  “Hooray,” Jasmine cheered softly. May made a thumbs-up sign. Both of the girls were happy that they’d helped the animals of CARL. But both of them were also sorry about Corey’s ride. Maybe the news about the money would help cheer her up. The girls decided they had to find her.

  “Maybe she went home,” Jasmine suggested.

  “Maybe,” May agreed. “She’s supposed to go to her father’s tonight. Maybe she found him and they went to his apartment.”

  Since her parents had divorced, Corey spent half her time at her mother’s house, which was between May’s and Jasmine’s homes. The other half she spent at her father’s apartment, which was near Pine Hollow and school.

  “I don’t think so, May,” Jasmine said suddenly. “There’s her father now.”

  Mr. Takamura was hurrying into the stable. “Where’s Corey?” he asked.

  “We don’t know,” May said. “We thought maybe she was with you.”

  Then Corey’s mother arrived at Sam’s stall. “Have you seen her?” she asked May and Jasmine.

  May shook her head. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

  “She was so excited about being chosen for the special demonstration,” said Mr. Takamura. “It’s a shame that Sam acted up.”

  “Maybe Corey got too excited,” said Doc Tock. “Sam is very sensitive—he could have felt the pressure.”

  “Corey did seem a little nervous,” said Jasmine thoughtfully. “She really wanted to help the animals from CARL.”

  May nodded. “She helped calm us down. But she made herself more nervous!”

  Doc Tock looked worried. “I think we’d better find her,” she said. “Could you girls take care of getting Sam home?”

  “Sure,” said May.

  “Of course,” Jasmine echoed. That had been the plan from the beginning. May’s father would bring Sam home in his horse trailer, along with Macaroni and Outlaw.

  May and Jasmine got right to work. First they took off Sam’s tack. He still seemed high-strung and nervous. But when they began to groom him, the pony relaxed. The more they brushed and rubbed, the calmer he became.

  “It’s almost as if we’re brushing the anger and tension out of him,” said May.

  “He really was tense, wasn’t he?” said Jasmine.

  “Sure was. And that made Corey nervous,” May said.

  “Or maybe, as Doc Tock said, it was the other way around,” Jasmine suggested.

  “Are you girls grooming Sam for Corey?” Red O’Malley asked.

  “Yes,” May told the stablehand. “Corey … uh …” Her words trailed off. She wasn’t quite sure how to explain it.

  “It’s a shame about Sam,” Red said with a shrug. “Just wasn’t his day. I tried to tell Corey not to take it so hard.”

  “You saw her?” Jasmine asked. “Where was she?”

  “I saw her after she put Sam in his stall,” Red explained. “Like I said, I tried to tell her not to take it so hard. The poor kid was crying too much to listen. She mumbled something about never riding again. Then she wandered out of here, as if all she could think about was getting away from that pony of hers.”

  “Did you see where she went?” May asked.

  Red shook his head. “No. After she left I went back to my favorite chore.” He grinned. “Mucking out stalls.”

  “Thanks, Red,” Jasmine said. “We’ll see you later.”

  The two girls groomed Sam in silence for a few minutes.

  Finally Jasmine spoke. “Did you hear that, May? Corey told Red she never wanted to ride again.”

  May nodded solemnly. “It’s terrible. We can’t let her do that. How can one of the Pony Tails give up riding?”

  “But what can we do?” Jasmine asked. “We can’t make her get on Sam again.”

  “You’re right,” May said slowly. A second later her face lit up. “I’ve got an idea.”

  “Uh-oh.” Jasmine put her hands on her hips and stared at her friend. “Is this one of your little ideas, or a big one?” she demanded.

  “A big one,” May went on, sounding more and more excited. “Remember the first time Macaroni threw me?” she asked.

  Jasmine nodded. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “A lot,” May replied. “After that I felt just like Corey feels now. I was so mad at my pony, I didn’t want to be with him. I even told my father I never wanted to ride again.”

  “But you got back into the saddle,” Jasmine pointed out.

  “That’s right,” May decla
red. “And that’s because my father didn’t force me.”

  “Huh?” Jasmine was confused. “Your father’s a horse trainer. I thought riding instructors always made you get right back on the horse.”

  “Dad thinks it’s best to let the rider decide that,” May replied. “That’s what we have to do with Corey,” she said firmly. “Let her decide.”

  Jasmine stared at her friend. May’s father knew a lot about horses. If he said the best thing to do was to leave it up to the rider, then that was what they should do.

  The problem was, Jasmine knew a lot about May. And one thing she knew about May was that her big ideas sometimes went haywire. Corey was very important to the Pony Tails. They couldn’t afford to make a mistake where she was involved.

  “Are you sure about this, May?” Jasmine asked. “We shouldn’t talk to Corey about Sam or the drill?”

  “That’s right,” May said as she swept the brush over Sam’s flank. “The best thing we can do is not say a word about ponies to Corey.”

  “But if we can’t talk to her about ponies, what are we going to talk about?” Jasmine asked.

  “We’ll think of something,” May answered cheerfully.

  Jasmine wasn’t so sure. The Pony Tails not talking about ponies was like … grooming a pony without a curry comb. Impossible!

  As she began combing out Sam’s mane, Jasmine decided to go along with May’s idea. But one more worry was nagging at her.

  “Has your father tried this with lots of riders?” she asked May.

  “Yup,” May replied.

  “What does he do if the rider won’t get back on the horse?” Jasmine went on. “What if she never rides again?”

  “Listen, Jasmine,” May replied. “Corey’s pony-crazy, just like us. She can’t give up riding forever. We have to be patient, that’s all.”

  Jasmine finished her part of grooming Sam, then dropped the tools into Corey’s grooming bucket. She hoped May was right. But Red’s words were still playing inside her head:

  Corey mumbled something about never riding again.

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