Horse Magic (10 page)

Max laughed and tossed Colonel Hanson a rather sloppy salute. “I think that’s my cue to take over, Colonel.”

Colonel Hanson smiled and saluted back. “Yes, sir!” He stepped back to join Carole and her friends.

“Now, to answer your question, young lady,” Max said to Lulu. “You’re going to get to see some horses right now. Is everyone ready to learn how to ride?”

There was a chorus of excited yells from the kids.

“I think they’re saying yes,” Stevie commented to her friends.

Max nodded to Carole and Lisa, who stepped forward. “First of all,” he said, “we’re going to break up into two groups, and then you’ll get to see how we get horses ready for riding. It’s called ‘tacking up.’ ”

The group moved over to the outdoor ring, where the ponies were contentedly nibbling at some hay. “I think it’s time for me to head for the woods,” Stevie told Dinah and Phil as Max began dividing the kids into two groups. “Belle and I have got to plant the stuff for the treasure hunt.”

“We’d better go finish setting up,” Phil said. Dinah nodded. The three friends hurried off on their respective errands.

When Stevie arrived at Belle’s stall, she stopped short. “Oh no, not again,” she muttered. She stooped to pick up the poltergeist book, which was leaning against Belle’s stall door.

Meanwhile, Red and Carole were leading one of the groups of kids toward a small paddock nearby that would serve as a second ring. Carole greeted the small gray pony inside with a pat on the neck. “This is Nickel,” she told the kids. She gestured to the saddle and bridle that were waiting, draped over the fence. “In a minute I’m going to show you how to tack him up. But first, Red is going to go over a few very important rules that you have to remember when you’re around horses.”

Red nodded and cleared his throat. “Thanks, Carole,” he said. “First of all, as you can see, horses are big, strong animals—even a relatively small one like Nickel, here. The horses here are very well trained and under normal conditions are gentle and obedient. But you have to remember that a sudden movement or a loud noise could frighten them, and then they can be dangerous. You always have to be aware of your horse’s mood. One way you can do that is by watching his ears.” He pointed at Nickel’s ears, which were relaxed but alert. “You can see that Nickel’s ears are perked forward. That shows that he’s paying attention and
isn’t nervous or scared. If he were, his ears would most likely be flattened back against his head.”

Red continued to discuss horse safety for a few more minutes, then turned and nodded to Carole. She stepped forward. “Now that we know a little about our horse and his moods, we’re ready to start tacking up,” she said. She clipped Nickel’s lead line to the gate, then picked up the saddle and showed it to the kids. “We’ll put the saddle on first. That’ll give it time to warm up and settle while we put the bridle on.”

She demonstrated how to position the saddle and the pad underneath it, sliding them back from the withers to be sure the pony’s hair underneath was lying flat and smooth. Then she fastened the girth.

Red handed her the bridle. “First, we take off the halter—that’s what this thing he’s wearing is called,” Carole explained. She quickly removed the halter and pulled the bridle on, sliding the bit into the pony’s mouth and gently pulling the headstall over his ears. She adjusted the brow band and fastened the throatlatch and noseband, explaining what she was doing at each step.

“There,” she said, giving the pony a pat. “Now all we have to do is double-check that girth. Sometimes when you tighten it, the pony holds his breath. Then when he lets his breath out the girth is too loose! After you check it again, you’re ready to go.”

“But first Carole is going to go get her horse,” Red said. “She’ll be showing you how to mount him.”

“You have your very own horse?” asked a little girl in awe.

Carole nodded, thinking how lucky she was. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought that, but looking at these kids, most of whom couldn’t keep a puppy, let alone a horse, made her feel even more fortunate. “His name is Starlight,” she said quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

Inside the stable door, she almost collided with Lisa. “How’s it going so far?” Lisa asked.

“Great,” Carole said. “How about your group?”

“Oh, they’re wonderful,” Lisa said with a smile. “That little boy Joe is a real character. He can hardly stop talking about his uncle the policeman. It turns out he’s a mounted officer in Washington. He even taught Joe a little bit about riding.”

“That’s great,” Carole said. “It’s nice to know that even in the city there are still horses around.”

“Of course there are,” Lisa reminded her. “Don’t you remember when we went riding in Central Park in New York City? And my parents once took me to watch a polo match on the Mall in Washington. There are horses everywhere!”

Carole grinned. “And that’s the way it should be. But right now, we’d better get a move on so there will be horses out
there
!”

Lisa couldn’t argue with that. Both girls hurried off.

A short while later, after demonstrating mounting, dismounting, and proper riding posture on Barq, Lisa watched
as Max helped one of the kids onto Penny’s back. She knew the lessons were going well, and she could tell that the kids were enjoying themselves. That was important to Lisa. Although riding was a lot of work in some ways, it was also a lot of fun. It occurred to her that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the kids. That made her sad, but in her opinion once in a lifetime was at least a little better than never.

Lisa stepped forward to take Penny’s lead and keep the pony still while Max helped the first rider find the stirrups. Max smiled gratefully at Lisa for knowing exactly what to do. She smiled back proud of herself for doing so well as assistant instructor. It was clear that Max was proud of her, too, and that made Lisa feel even better. The only thing she would have changed if possible was the horse she was riding during the lesson. She loved Barq, but she missed Prancer. Still, she knew that it was for the best. The mare would learn and improve with time, just as Lisa herself had. Right now Prancer just wasn’t ready for this kind of situation.

The rest of the hour flew by. Each of the visitors had a chance to ride one of the ponies at a walk and a trot. Before Lisa knew it, it was time to put Nickel and Penny away and start the treasure hunt. Stevie had returned from hiding the objects, so that meant everything was ready. Lisa dismounted and watched as Adam Levine led the two ponies inside for a well-deserved grooming. She noticed that Adam had some carrots stuffed in his back pocket for the ponies, who’d been good as gold during the lesson.

“Do you want me to take Barq for you, Lisa?” asked Phil. He and Dinah had appeared a few minutes earlier to watch the end of the lesson. Lisa figured that meant the two of them were finished with their magic practice—or whatever else they had been doing.

“That’s okay, Phil,” Red said, overhearing the offer. “I’m going to take care of Starlight, and I can take Barq too. I think Max needs you guys to help out with the treasure hunt.”

He was right. Max and Mrs. Reg were already breaking the city kids into groups of three. “We’ll have four teams. Each team will have a name and a leader,” Max announced. “You’ll have one hour to find the things Stevie has hidden in the woods. The ‘treasure’ could be candy or anything gold or silver. That means stirrups, coins, whatever. And there are also a few Halloween surprises that I think you’ll recognize. The team that finds and brings back the most treasure will be declared the winners and will have first choice of costumes.”

The kids cheered. “I’m going to win!” Joe called out excitedly. “I want to be a pirate!” He swung an imaginary sword.

Max smiled at the little boy’s enthusiasm. Then he turned to the older kids. “I’ll need four leaders,” he said. He looked at Carole first. “Carole, you can be the leader of the first group—the Ghosts. Phil, why don’t you take the Ghouls, there.” He pointed to Meg Durham and Betsy Cavanaugh. “Meg, you can lead the Witches, since you’re already
dressed for it, and Betsy can take the Goblins.” He glanced at the sky, which still looked gray and threatening. “It looks as though it could pour at any moment,” he added. “So leaders, be sure to stay close to home, and come straight back if it starts to rain.”

“Be careful in the woods,” Mrs. Reg warned the kids. “And listen to your leaders.” She turned to Max. “I think it might help to have one or two people out there on horseback, just to keep an eye on things and make sure nobody gets lost. Sort of a horseback lookout.”

“Good idea,” Max agreed.

“I’ll do it,” Stevie offered eagerly.

Max shook his head. “No way, Stevie,” he said with a smile. “You’ve got to stay here and be ready to declare the winner. You’re supposed to be in charge of this thing, after all.” He turned to Lisa, who was leaning on the paddock fence beside Dinah. “Lisa, why don’t you saddle up Prancer and do it?”

Lisa smiled and nodded. She was happy about the assignment for two reasons. First, it showed that Max thought she was capable and reliable. And second, it meant she would get to ride Prancer today after all.

But before Lisa could move, Mrs. Reg spoke up again. “Now Max, just because it’s a special day I don’t think we should ignore our rule about riding alone in the woods,” she said. “Maybe Dinah should saddle up, too. She and Lisa can work as a team.”

Max nodded again. “Dinah, you can take Nero. He’s a
good, steady trail horse. He’ll be a good match with Prancer.”

Dinah and Lisa traded annoyed looks. Lisa could tell that Dinah wasn’t any happier about the pairing than she was. But she knew it was no good arguing with Max once his mind was made up. They would just have to make the best of it.

“C
OME ON
,
EVERYONE
!” Carole called out. “Let the treasure hunt begin!”

“And may the best team win,” added Meg, giving a witchy cackle. With that, the four teams headed off across the fields while Lisa and Dinah hurried inside to tack up.

“I’ll help you, Dinah,” Stevie offered. “Nero is groomed and everything, so all we have to do is throw some tack on him and you’ll be set.”

Moments later Prancer and Nero were ready. Lisa could feel her mood darkening to match the cloud-heavy sky. The last thing she wanted to do was go riding through the woods alone with Dinah. They only had to spend one more day together; why couldn’t they spend it at opposite ends of the stable, instead of side by side on the trail?

The two girls didn’t exchange a single word all the way out of the stable yard and across the pasture. When they reached the trail leading into the woods, they heard excited young voices ahead of them. A moment later they caught up to Phil’s group, which included Joe, the little boy who had been in Lisa’s riding group.

“Hi, Lisa!” he called as soon as he spotted her, waving frantically and running toward her.

Lisa tightened her reins as she felt Prancer tense beneath her. “Be careful, Joe,” she called to the little boy, trying to keep her voice calm and steady so that it wouldn’t upset the mare any further. “Walk, don’t run. Remember what Max and I told you during the riding lesson? You don’t want to scare the horses with sudden movements.”

Joe immediately stopped in his tracks, a contrite look on his face. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I guess I forgot.”

“Come on, guys,” Phil said to Joe and the other two children in his group. “Let’s stand off the trail and let the horses pass. We don’t want to slow them down.”

“Can’t they walk with us for a while?” pleaded a little girl named Maria who had been in Carole’s riding group. “The horses are so pretty.”

Lisa looked at Phil and shrugged. “The trail’s pretty wide here,” she said. “I guess we could stick with you for a few minutes.”

The little group ambled along through the woods. Lisa and Dinah made sure to keep their horses a safe distance behind Phil and the kids. It wasn’t easy, though; while the
other two kids kept themselves busy scanning the trail and nearby woods for the treasure, Joe was more eager to talk to the riders about his own riding experiences with his uncle.

Lisa was glad of the distraction. It meant that she and Dinah were kept so busy responding to Joe’s endless stream of comments and questions that they barely had to speak to each other.
Maybe this ride won’t be so bad after all
, Lisa thought.

And then disaster struck.

Joe was telling the riders a particularly exciting—though perhaps not entirely true—story about helping his uncle catch some dangerous criminals. “… and then we snuck up on them,” he explained, crouching down and tiptoeing to demonstrate. “When we got close enough to their hiding place, we peeked in the window. And then my uncle jumped up, and
bang!
” Joe leaped into the air and shouted the last word, pretending to whip out a pistol.

That was too much for Prancer. At the sudden noise and motion, she stopped short, reared up, and whirled around. Lisa barely managed to stay aboard as Prancer let out a series of wild bucks and kicks, snorting all the time. Lisa did her best to regain control of the horse. Just when she thought she was beginning to get through to Prancer, a loud clanking echoed through the woods. Dinah had been backing Nero away, out of range of Prancer’s flying legs, and one of the gelding’s metal shoes had landed heavily on a large rock beside the trail.