Horseflies (2 page)

Jamie gave a loud sniff and rubbed his nose. “There’s something in here that tickles,” he said.

“That’s hay,” explained Carole. “Or maybe sawdust. Smells good, doesn’t it?” Carole thought everything inside a barn smelled wonderful—hay, oats, saddles, and especially horses. A gray-and-white cat strutted out from behind a water bucket as they walked toward the stalls.

“That’s Seabiscuit,” Lisa said as the cat curled himself around Jamie’s leg. “He’s one of the barn cats.”

“Really?” Jamie stroked Seabiscuit’s arched back. “How many cats live here?”

“About a thousand,” Stevie said.

“Actually, more like ten,” Lisa said. “Mice like to nibble at the horse feed, and the cats help get rid of the mice.”

As they turned the first corner, Stevie’s bay mare, Belle, thrust her head over the stall door and nickered softly in greeting. Carole’s horse, Starlight, did the same thing.

“This is my horse, Belle, Jamie,” Stevie said as she lifted
Jamie up to give Belle a scratch behind the ears. “She knows my voice. In fact, it’s music to her ears.”

“And my voice is music to Starlight’s ears, Jamie,” Carole added. She lifted Jamie up to give Starlight the same kind of scratch.

After Jamie had been properly introduced to Belle and Starlight, Lisa led him down to Prancer’s stall.

“Is this one yours?” Jamie asked, scrunching up his eyes as the big Thoroughbred mare leaned over the stall door to sniff his hair.

“No.” Lisa sighed wistfully, wishing she would someday have enough money to own a horse. “But she’s the one I ride all the time.” She smiled as Prancer nuzzled Jamie’s ear. “Prancer doesn’t like the barn cats, but she loves children.”

“She’s beautiful,” Jamie said, reaching up to stroke Prancer’s velvety nose.

“Let’s show Jamie the tack room, and then go ask Max if we can take him on a ride,” Stevie suggested.

As the four headed to the tack room, various horses stuck their heads out of their stalls, curious to see who was walking by. The group went into a large room filled with saddles, bridles, and all sorts of bits. One wall was dotted with black velvet riding helmets.

“Wow.” Jamie stared at all the equipment. “I guess it takes a lot of stuff to ride a horse.”

“It sure does.” Carole smiled. “You need a saddle so you can sit securely when they gallop.”

“And a bridle so you can steer them in the direction you want them to go,” added Lisa.

“And a helmet so you won’t crack your head open when you fall off.” Stevie laughed.

“That’s right.” Max Regnery, their riding instructor and the owner of Pine Hollow, suddenly appeared in the tack room, carrying a clipboard in his hand. “All those things are very important when you ride.”

“Max, we were just going to look for you,” Lisa said. “This is Jamie Bacon. I’m baby-sitting him, and I was wondering if we could take him for a ride on one of the ponies.”

Max looked down at Jamie. Max’s normally bright blue eyes looked tired, and lines of fatigue seemed to pull his mouth down. “Have you ever ridden a pony before, Jamie?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Jamie replied in a solemn voice.

“I asked his parents for permission to bring him here, Max. They said it was okay,” Lisa explained.

Max didn’t answer but seemed to stare off at a spot somewhere over Jamie’s head.

“Max?” Lisa said. “Are you all right?”

“Uh-huh,” Max mumbled through a deep yawn. “Sorry. I’m just not with it today. Maxi’s come down with chicken pox and nobody’s been able to get any sleep at our house for the last several nights.”

“Chicken pox? Oh, Max, we’re so sorry!” Carole said with concern. “She’s not horribly sick, is she?”

Max shook his head. “Just uncomfortable, mostly. Babies
Maxi’s age have a hard time scratching, and you know how chicken pox itches. Deborah thinks she must have picked it up here, that morning she stayed in her playpen in my office.”

“I don’t know,” said Stevie. “There’s a lot of it going around. My little brother, Michael, spends hours on the phone talking to his friend Shawn Davidson, who came down with it a week ago.” Stevie rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Now I can barely get on the phone to make my own calls.”

“Which are, of course, all to us.” Carole laughed.

“Well, yeah.” Stevie shrugged and grinned.

“So, Max, can we give Jamie a ride?” Lisa asked.

Max rubbed his eyes. “Okay. You can give Jamie a ride if you put a helmet on him and promise not to let go of the lead line.” He looked at Stevie and Carole. “You two can spot him on either side.”

“We promise,” said Lisa.

“Then put him on Nickel. He just got back from a beginner class, but he should be okay for a short ride like this.”

“Thanks, Max!” Lisa said.

“Have fun.” Max yawned again as he returned to his clipboard.

The girls took Jamie down to Nickel’s stall. The silver-colored pony looked up from his feed trough when they opened the door. His jaws were still moving and a long wisp of hay dangled from his mouth.

“Uh-oh,” Stevie said. “Looks like Nickel was just having a midmorning snack.”

“Oh, he won’t mind being interrupted.” Carole snapped a lead line to his halter. “He’ll be done with that mouthful by the time we tack him up. Let’s let Lisa and Jamie lead him to the cross-ties while you and I get his tack.”

The girls showed Jamie the proper way to lead a horse, and under Lisa’s watchful eye, the boy led Nickel to the cross-ties. Carole and Stevie scurried for his saddle and bridle. By the time Nickel was tacked up and ready to go, he had finished his hay.

“Here.” Stevie grinned and handed Jamie a riding helmet. “This looks like it might fit.”

Jamie put the helmet on and buckled it under his chin. “Wow,” he breathed. “Cool!”

“Okay,” said Lisa. “Ready?”

They couldn’t see Jamie’s face, but the black helmet nodded up and down. Together the four of them led Nickel to the stable door.

“Don’t forget to touch the horseshoe, Jamie.” Stevie pointed to an upright horseshoe nailed to the entrance of the stable. “It’s a tradition here at Pine Hollow. Everybody touches it before they ride, and no one has ever gotten seriously hurt.”

Stevie lifted Jamie and he touched the horseshoe with one finger; then they led Nickel out into the sunlight. The outdoor ring was empty.

“Okay, Jamie, the first thing to remember is that you always mount a horse from the left side,” Carole began.

“How come?”

“Because in the old days, people wore swords attached on their left sides, so they couldn’t mount their horses from the right.” Of The Saddle Club members, Carole knew the most about horses. “What you do is this. Hold on to the saddle with both hands, put your left foot inside my hands, and I’ll boost you onto Nickel. Lisa will hold him like she promised, and Stevie will spot you from the other side.”

“Okay.” Jamie did as Carole told him, grabbing the saddle and stepping into her intertwined fingers. She gave one heave, and suddenly Jamie was sitting tall in the saddle.

“Wow!” he cried. He turned his head and looked around. “I’m so high up!”

“Put your feet in the stirrups and lightly hold one rein in each hand.” Carole helped Jamie adjust his feet and hands. “Horses have sensitive mouths, so you don’t want to pull too much on Nickel’s bit.”

“Okay.” Jamie kept his hands just as Carole had placed them.

She grinned up at him. “Ready?”

He nodded.

“Great. Lead on, Lisa.”

Slowly Lisa led Nickel and Jamie around the ring, while Carole and Stevie kept pace on either side. Nickel covered the ground with his gentle, swaying walk. Jamie’s cheeks
grew pink with excitement. “This is fun!” he cried. “Can we go faster?”

Lisa looked over her shoulder at Carole and Stevie. “What do you think?”

“I guess we could trot,” said Stevie. “It might be hard to keep up if he canters, though.”

“Okay, Jamie,” said Lisa. “We’re going to do the horse’s next fastest gait, which is called a trot. It’s a little bumpy, so squeeze tightly with your legs and keep your heels down.”

“Okay.” Jamie nodded.

Lisa clucked and Nickel moved quickly into a smooth trot, the girls jogging along with him.

“How are you doing up there?” Carole called breathlessly after they had trotted around the ring twice.

“Grreeaaat!”
Jamie sounded as if he were being bounced on someone’s knee.

“Can we stop now?” huffed Stevie. “Before I have a heart attack? Remember, Nickel’s got twice as many legs as we do!”

They slowed to a walk, then stopped in front of the gate. “It’s time for me to take Jamie home, anyway,” said Lisa. “I promised his mother I’d have him back in time for lunch.”

“So how did you like riding, Jamie?” Carole asked the beaming child.

“It was great!” he exclaimed. He looked imploringly at Lisa. “Can I come back and ride again sometime?”

She looked up at him. “Maybe we could work something
out with your parents and Max. Right now, though, I need to get you home.”

“You and Jamie go ahead, Lisa. Stevie and I can cool and untack Nickel,” offered Carole.

“Really?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah, that way you can get back faster and we can take a long trail ride this afternoon,” Stevie said with a grin.

“You’ve got a deal!” said Lisa.

Carole showed Jamie how to dismount. He unsnapped his helmet and handed it to Stevie. “Thanks for the ride,” he said softly. “It was lots of fun.”

“It was our pleasure, Jamie,” replied Stevie. “We of The Saddle Club like nothing better than to introduce people to the fine art of equitation.”

“Come on, Stevie,” Carole said, pulling Stevie and Nickel toward the stable. “See you later, Lisa. Bye, Jamie. Glad you had a good time. Hope you can come and ride again!”

L
ATER THAT AFTERNOON
, Lisa burst into the tack room. “Hi!” she called. “I figured I might find you two in here.”

Stevie and Carole looked up from soaping two bridles.

“Mrs. Reg said this pile of tack needed cleaning,” explained Stevie. “So here we are.”

All the Pine Hollow riders were expected to help out with stable chores, and Max’s mother, Mrs. Reg, who was the stable manager, could usually find plenty for them to do. Though the girls grumbled sometimes, they really didn’t mind. The chores always had to do with the health and safety of the horses, and that was important to them.

“It could have been worse,” Carole reminded them. “There were a bunch of stalls that needed to be mucked out.”

Lisa sat down beside Stevie. “Give me that last bridle and I’ll help. That way we can finish faster and get on the trail.”

Carole handed Lisa the bridle, and together the girls rubbed the clean-smelling saddle soap into the stiff leather reins.

“Did you get Jamie home in time for his lunch?” Stevie asked as she cleaned green goop off a snaffle bit.

Lisa nodded. “He talked about Nickel all the way back, and his mother gave me a tuna fish sandwich.” She smiled. “They’re really nice, and Jamie had a wonderful time here at the stable.”

“He seems like a neat little kid,” said Stevie. “I’m glad you brought him over.”

“I wonder what it would be like to have a bridle of gold,” Carole said dreamily as she cleaned a noseband. Lisa and Stevie exchanged grins. Carole obviously wasn’t paying attention to their conversation.

“Well, you probably wouldn’t need to rub it with saddle soap,” Stevie said, giggling. “You could just dab metal polish on it, or you could have one of your goddess pals sprinkle it with diamond dust.”

The girls looked at each other, then collapsed in laughter.

“What’s so funny?” a woman’s voice called from the doorway.

The girls turned. Deborah, Max’s wife, stood there in jeans and a sweatshirt, a tired smile on her face.

“Oh, just one of Stevie’s jokes,” replied Lisa. “How’s Maxi? Max told us she’s got chicken pox.”

“She had a terrible night last night. None of us got any sleep. She just itches and itches in places she can’t reach to scratch. Babies have such a miserable time with this disease.”

“That must be awful,” said Carole. “Poor little thing.”

“It is awful.” Deborah sighed. “The only good thing about it is she’ll never have to go through it again. You can only get chicken pox once.”

“That’s a relief!” exclaimed Lisa.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Stevie asked.

“I don’t think so,” Deborah answered wearily. “But thanks for asking. Are you three going on a trail ride?”

“Yes.” Carole’s dark eyes sparkled. “It’s The Saddle Club’s first official trail ride of the summer.”

“Well, have a good time.” Deborah smiled. “I’ve got to get back to Maxi.”

“Bye, Deborah,” called Lisa. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

“I will. Thanks.” Deborah’s voice faded down the hall toward Mrs. Reg’s office.

The girls turned back to their job. The once-stiff leather bridles with dirty bits were now clean and hanging along the wall. “These look great!” Carole announced. “I’d say we’re done.”

“Then let’s go,” said Stevie. “Last one tacked up is a rotten egg.”

Stevie grabbed Belle’s lead rope. Carole snagged Starlight’s bridle. Lisa scooped up Prancer’s currycomb and dandy brush. Then they hurried to their horses’ stalls. In a few minutes
they all met at the main entrance of the stable, tacked up and ready to go.