Gold Medal Horse Read online

“Only if you take my olives,” Stevie muttered. “I hate olives.”

  “I don’t know why you two are so picky,” Lisa said cheerfully. “This looks wonderful!” She took a big bite, chewed, choked, and turned red. She swallowed hard and gulped some water. “So that’s what anchovies taste like,” she said. “I never had them before.”

  “I’ll show you what they look like,” Carole offered. “That way you can pick them off your pizza.”

  While they were poring over Lisa’s slice of pizza, Stevie looked at Nigel. He was sipping his iced tea with a tight, thoughtful expression on his face. He still hadn’t eaten anything.

  “I wonder how Prospero is,” Stevie said. Since noncompeting horses weren’t allowed to stay in the Kentucky Rolex stables, Drew and Eddy had taken Prospero back to the horse hospital for the weekend. Drew and Eddy were there now, making sure Prospero was comfortable. Stevie knew that Prospero would be comfortable. She also knew that Drew just wanted to stay with Prospero. She didn’t blame him. Somehow, they still hadn’t been forced to meet Dready Eddy.

  “He’s wonderful,” Carole said. “He’s happy.”

  Nigel pushed his plate away. Dorothy gave him a sympathetic look but didn’t say anything. The Saddle Club didn’t say anything, either. They all understood the enormous test that Nigel and Southwood were going to face the next morning on the cross-country course. Even the easy routes over the fences were fantastically difficult. No wonder Nigel seemed so nervous.

  THAT EVENING AFTER dinner Dorothy and Nigel wanted to return to the Rolex stables to finish getting Southwood ready for the morning. They offered to take the girls back to Blue Hill. “We’d rather wander around the horse park,” Carole said. “No one will care, will they?”

  “Just stick to open areas,” Nigel said. “We’ll be ready to leave in an hour.”

  “Let’s go back to the hospital,” Carole suggested, after they had walked past the start box and the first few fences, all set and ready for the morning. “Let’s just look in on Prospero.”

  “Eddy,” Lisa objected.

  “We wouldn’t have to go into the stable,” Carole said. “We could just peek in and be sure he’s okay. I mean, I know he is,” she added, “I just want to look at him. I don’t know why. I’m so amazed that Ghost is really him.”

  Stevie checked her watch. “We’ll have to hurry.” They walked quickly across the park. The setting sun shone golden on the grass. They reached the hospital grounds and walked to the stable where Prospero was staying. The large main door was open a crack. Stevie peeked inside, then jumped back.

  “Duck!” she whispered.

  “Is it Eddy?” asked Lisa.

  “No! It’s Nigel!”

  “Nigel?” Lisa asked. She and Carole peered inside. Prospero stood in his usual stall, his head over the half door. Nigel stood alone in front of the old gray-white horse. His hands were on his hips, and he appeared to be talking quietly and earnestly.

  “Who’s he talking to?” Stevie whispered. She’d come forward again and joined Carole and Lisa at the door. Nigel didn’t notice them.

  “Prospero, I guess,” Lisa said.

  “Why?” asked Stevie. None of them knew the answer. Nigel quit talking. He and Prospero stood silently, regarding each other. Nigel put his hand out to stroke the horse.

  “Nigel!” a voice shouted from the other end of the stable. “How much grain do you think he should have?”

  “Drew and Eddy!” Carole whispered. The girls scampered away. Soon they were back on the park grounds.

  “Prospero looked good,” Stevie said. “But what was Nigel doing there? He knew Drew could take care of his own horse.”

  “He was talking to Prospero,” Carole said. “He looked really thoughtful, didn’t he? He looked that way at dinner, too. I thought he was nervous, but maybe he wasn’t.”

  The girls stopped and looked at each other. “Maybe he’s thinking about how Prospero never got a chance to be a great competitor,” Stevie said.

  “And maybe he’s thinking about Southwood’s chances to be one,” Carole added.

  Lisa asked, “Do you think Nigel could be changing his mind?”

  The girls let the question hang in the air, unanswered.

  CROSS-COUNTRY DAY dawned warm and clear. Once again Nigel and Dorothy went to the horse park before The Saddle Club was even awake, but the girls woke early, too. They ate a quick breakfast with Mrs. Harrington in the quiet kitchen at Blue Hill, then helped Mrs. Harrington load her mare Jenny into a horse trailer. Even Jenny seemed impatient to get to Rolex. She whinnied and shook and stamped her feet.

  The first thing they noticed as they approached the horse park was the steady line of cars flowing into the parking lot. “Wow!” Stevie said. “Look at all the people!”

  Mrs. Harrington smiled. “You didn’t expect it? After all, this is the biggest event in America, and today’s the most exciting day. People come from all over to see it.”

  “They’ll all be watching Nigel,” Lisa said thoughtfully.

  Stevie laughed. “I bet he won’t be watching them!”

  “Probably not,” Carole agreed. “Anyway, it’s Southwood that people will want to see.” Carole sighed, and all the members of The Saddle Club thought about last night’s quiet dinner and about seeing Nigel with Prospero afterward. They’d agreed not to say anything to Nigel about it.

  Mrs. Harrington turned her truck into a side entrance of the park and stopped in an area reserved for the outriders. The girls helped her unload Jenny before hurrying to the stabling area.

  The place was a mess—people were everywhere! Lisa thought she’d never seen such orderly chaos. Though it looked like everyone knew exactly what he or she ought to be doing, everyone was doing it as fast as possible, and the horses, riders, and grooms all seemed excited and intense.

  “It’s overwhelming,” Carole whispered. The others nodded. They tried to stay out of everyone’s way. They didn’t see Nigel, Dorothy, Southwood, or even Drew.

  “I’d almost welcome Dready Eddy,” Stevie said. “At least he could tell us whether Nigel’s already left. What if he has!”

  “He couldn’t have.” Lisa opened her dog-eared program. “See? Nigel starts his roads-and-tracks—that’s the warm-up trot—in fifteen minutes. Then he goes straight on to cross-country. It’s all timed so that the riders start cross-country five minutes apart.”

  “Could he be down by the start line already?” Carole peered anxiously through the crowd. She knew there was not much they could do to help Southwood before he started, but she wanted just one glimpse of him to see how he looked before he began. To see if he looked like a champion, a true gold medal horse.

  “No—there he is!” Stevie jumped up and down and waved at Dorothy. The girls went quickly to Southwood’s side.

  This is what a champion looks like, Carole thought. Southwood seemed about to burst from energy, yet he stood still while Nigel tightened the saddle girth, breathing deeply, eyes alert, muscles quivering. He knew it was cross-country day, and he was ready to run.

  Nigel, too, had lost his nervous look. He seemed intent, almost grim, as he made a last-minute check of Southwood’s tack; but as he snapped his stirrups into position, he caught Stevie’s eye and winked. Stevie, astonished, burst out laughing. “We were worried about you!” she said.

  “Sorry,” Nigel said with a quick grin. “I’ve had a lot to think about. I’m fine, don’t worry, and so’s Southwood.” He vaulted easily into the saddle and laid a hand on Southwood’s sweating shoulder. “I’m very glad you girls came with us this week,” he said before he rode away.

  “Gosh!” Lisa said. “Imagine him thinking to say that at a time like this!”

  Dorothy folded Southwood’s cooling sheet in her arms. “He’s right,” she said. “We’re both glad you came. And to answer the question I know you’re about to ask, no, you can’t do anything to help us now. Drew’s gathering the stuff Southwood will need at the start box, and Eddy’s going to hel
p us carry it there. This is a really big course, and if you three want to see Southwood over any of the fences you’d better start walking. It’ll take you a while to get there.”

  Stevie could see that Carole was about to protest and say they should help Southwood at the start. “Eddy,” she whispered warningly.

  “Okay,” Carole said to Dorothy instead. “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Since they had walked the course with Nigel, they believed they already knew where the most interesting jumps were. Unfortunately, the most interesting jumps weren’t anywhere near one another, nor were they near the start or finish lines. Lisa opened her program to the course map and they took one last look at it, even though they had already discussed what they were going to do.

  “Here, here, and here,” Lisa said, pointing. “We’ll meet at the finish.” The Saddle Club split up.

  CAROLE TOOK UP a position near the Lexington Bank. This was a giant man-made hill, covered with grass, rising out of the rolling horse park terrain. From her vantage point, Carole could see three sides of the bank. If Nigel took the long route, as she knew he’d planned, he would turn to the side of the bank, go over a rail fence, jump Southwood up a series of small steps carved into the bank, jump a fence at the top, turn again to jump down over an enormous drop fence, and then sail over an arrowhead fence on his way out. The short route took the horses straight up two really giant steps, then over the top fence, and headlong over the big drop. The big steps were close enough to the top fence that the horses didn’t have much time to pull themselves together.

  Over the PA system, which could be heard across the entire park, Carole heard the announcer say, “Southwood and Nigel Hawthorne, now on course.” She felt her heart beat faster.

  The horse just before Southwood came galloping toward the bank. Carole could see him from far away; as he galloped closer, the fence attendant, mounted on a horse, blew a sharp whistle. The crowd stilled and pressed against the ropes outlining the course. Carole drew in her breath.

  The rider, a woman wearing a blue jersey and a white helmet, pointed her horse at the quick route. Up, up! Carole had never seen a horse jump such a steep bank before. The horse did well, but as it reached the top it seemed to lose energy and impulsion. It looked at the narrow top fence and stopped. There was not much the rider could do. She circled the horse in the tiny space and gave it an encouraging tap with her crop, and the horse gathered itself and jumped over and then down the drop. “Good boy!” the rider shouted as they cleared the arrowhead and continued on.

  “Does that count against them?” Carole asked a woman standing next to her. After all, the horse had jumped correctly on the second try.

  “Twenty penalty points,” the woman answered. “It should put them out of contention.”

  Just for a little error like that? Carole shivered. She began to understand why Nigel would choose the long routes. Did Southwood have a chance?

  Here they came! The fence attendant blew her whistle. Carole watched Nigel and Southwood approach the fence. “Go, Southwood!” she shouted. “Go, Nigel!”

  Nigel was concentrating so hard that Carole knew he would never hear her. Southwood looked equally intense. Carole had never seen a horse look so fierce, so intent upon jumping.

  She held her breath. In the final few strides before the bank, Carole waited for Nigel to turn Southwood for the easier jumps to the side. Instead, Nigel seemed to draw in his own breath. He put his legs on Southwood and steered him straight for the short route!

  Up, up, two strides, over, and down! Where the previous horse had faltered, Southwood kept steady, and Nigel drove him forward. Straight, fast, and clean! Carole cheered as they galloped away. Why had they taken the short route? Carole caught her breath. Lisa’s guess must be correct! Nigel was going for gold!

  “SOUTHWOOD FAST AND CLEAR over the Lexington Bank!” Stevie heard the announcer and screamed in jubilation. She realized what the words “fast and clear” meant—Southwood had taken the short route and he’d made it.

  Stevie was standing near the lake. She knew this was one of the complexes that Nigel was most worried about. For the short route the horses had to jump two almost-four-foot-high fences in a row, without even a stride between them, and land in water, which many horses hated. Just in the time she’d been standing there, Stevie had seen one horse refuse to enter the water and another jump in clumsily and give its rider a dunking. The long route, though, was very long—the horses had to trot and turn, trot and turn, before the jumps. Nigel had told Stevie that time lost here would be very hard to make up later in the course.

  Here came Nigel. From far away, Stevie could see him start to slow Southwood. Southwood, however, saw the fence and plunged forward eagerly.

  “Let him try it, Nigel!” Stevie said, even though she knew Nigel couldn’t hear. He hesitated, then shifted Southwood back on course for the bounce into the water. Stevie felt her heart almost stop. What if Southwood couldn’t do it?

  Other horses might have been put off by the water, but not Southwood. He jumped the first fence, jumped the second, and splash! Southwood stumbled as he landed. Nigel fought for balance, grabbing Southwood’s mane. Just in front of them was a jump that was actually in the water—a bank like an island, with a fence on top. Southwood floundered, fighting to get his feet back under him. Water flew up around them.

  Nigel could have stopped Southwood, turned him, and taken a slower, easier approach to the island. Instead he sat steady, giving the horse his head so that he could regain his balance but encouraging him toward the island. “Up!” Nigel said, and Southwood took heart. He pulled himself up, jumped the bank, then made a tremendous effort and cleared the fence that was on it.

  “Good boy!” Nigel shouted.

  “Good boy!” Stevie echoed. The crowd cheered. Southwood splashed back into the water, then galloped to dry land with a satisfied swish of his tail. Stevie didn’t know who was more amazing—Nigel or Southwood. Nigel wanted to win!

  LISA WAS AT the sunken road, a giant square hole with fences on both sides. The fast route went jump, jump, jump, jump—over the fence, into the hole, out, and over. Nigel had said it called for very precise riding. Lisa thought it looked exciting, and a lot of people seemed to agree with her, because there was a big crowd around the fence.

  Lisa wiggled her way to the front so that she could see. It had taken her a long time to walk to the jump, and she didn’t have long to wait for Southwood. When the fence attendant blew her whistle Lisa looked up—and recognized Mrs. Harrington and Jenny! The crowd pushed against Lisa, trying to see the next horse. “It’s Southwood,” Lisa heard another spectator say. She leaned closer.

  As Nigel and Southwood barreled down the lane from the lake, Lisa caught her breath. It was clear to her that Nigel wasn’t holding Southwood back. He was letting Southwood shine!

  Nigel rode Southwood so close to Lisa that she could have caught his stirrup. “Go, go, go,” she whispered. Southwood took the short route in textbook fashion, then galloped away to the cheers of the crowd. Lisa thought he looked more Olympic with every stride.

  AS SOON AS Southwood was out of sight, Lisa pushed her way through the crowd and ran for the finish line. Southwood had a few more fences to jump, but he’d be traveling at a gallop, and Lisa wanted to see him come in. She had a feeling she’d just witnessed something great.

  When Lisa reached the finish, panting for breath, Stevie and Carole were already there, clinging to Dorothy with excitement. Lisa rushed forward to give Dorothy a hug. “Did you see them?” Lisa asked.

  “The first few fences,” Dorothy said. “But I’ve been listening to the announcer, too.” Her face glowed.

  A moment later Southwood came into sight, galloping up a slight rise to the final fence, a large wooden park bench set between two trees. It was big, but, as Nigel had told them, it was meant to be encouragingly easy. Southwood took it in stride, and Nigel galloped him over the finish on loose reins. The
y had no penalties and no time faults. Southwood’s round had been flawless. Nigel’s face was aglow with joy.

  The girls and Dorothy waited while Nigel removed Southwood’s saddle and was weighed out holding it. Then they swarmed over him with congratulations and hugs. “What made you do it, Nigel?” Dorothy asked him. “I could hear that you were taking the risky routes. Why did you change your mind?”

  Nigel had one arm around Carole and the other around Southwood. He looked over Dorothy’s shoulder at Drew, who had just come running from the course, and smiled. “Prospero,” he said. “He never had his chance. I want to make sure that Southwood gets his.”

  SUDDENLY THERE WAS a lot of work to do. Southwood was covered with sweat and breathing hard, and their first job was to make him comfortable. Dorothy had several buckets of water waiting near the finish, and right away The Saddle Club began to sponge cool water over Southwood’s neck and shoulders. Drew removed Southwood’s galloping boots and replaced his bridle with a halter and lead rope. Dorothy and Nigel checked every inch of Southwood’s body for cuts, scratches, or swellings.

  “He looks great,” Nigel said with satisfaction. “A little more of that water, girls, then we’ll get him walking until he cools off. Lisa, offer him a tiny bit to drink.”

  Drew handed her a different bucket. “I put some salts in it,” he said. “It’s like horse Gatorade.”

  Lisa held the bucket under Southwood’s nose. “Just a little swallow,” she told the horse. She knew too much water could upset a hot horse’s stomach. Southwood took a sip, then raised his head and drooled water down the front of Lisa’s sweatshirt. He followed that up by rubbing against her. Lisa laughed as she pushed him away. Sweat and horsehair covered her now, but what difference could it make? From running all over the cross-country course, she was already sweaty and muddy. Her jeans were dirty, half of her hair had come out of her ponytail, and her bangs were sticking to her face. Lisa giggled as she picked up an empty water bucket and headed to the pump. She knew her mother would die if she saw her now.