Yankee Swap

by Bonnie Bryant

  Just then Joe said something that Stevie didn’t hear, but that Veronica apparently thought was the funniest thing anyone had ever said. She let out a loud whoop of laughter, clutching her stomach with one hand and grabbing Joe’s arm with the other.

  “Oh, Joe!” she shrieked. “You are just too funny!”

  Stevie groaned and rolled her eyes again. “If that’s Veronica’s idea of maturity, she can keep it,” she muttered. She had never acted that way around Phil, and she never would—no matter how mature she got.

  She reached Belle’s stall and found that Carole had been as good as her word. Belle was almost ready to go. In a matter of minutes, Stevie, Carole, Lisa, and Merrill were in the outdoor ring warming up with the rest of the class—except for one person.

  “Is everyone here?” Max asked after a moment, looking around. He frowned. “Where’s Veronica?”

  “Here I am, Max,” Veronica announced, walking into the ring with Danny trailing along behind her. “Sorry I’m late, but it’s not my fault. I told Red I needed him to saddle up Danny for me, but he was too slow. I finally had to do it myself.”

  Max sighed. He had learned long ago that it didn’t matter how often he yelled at Veronica about doing her own share of the chores; she still insisted on treating Red as though he were her personal groom. “Well, now that you have decided to join us, we can get started,” he said drily. “Everybody dismount. I have an announcement about the party on Saturday.” He told everyone about the Yankee Swap. “It’s a way to help celebrate Joe’s and Merrill’s birthday, and also a way to reward ourselves for the work we’ve done. We’ll draw names today—everyone should get a gift for the person he or she picks. Make it something fun, don’t spend more than ten dollars, and, whatever you do, don’t put the person’s name on it.” He gestured to Stevie.

  She stepped forward. “Okay, everyone come pick a name. If you pick yourself, just throw it back. And don’t tell anyone who you’ve got.”

  The other students hurried up to choose names. Max took one for himself and two to give to Red and Mrs. Reg later.

  Carole pulled out a slip of paper and squinted at the name scribbled there. After a moment, she realized it was Joe Novick. “Hmm,” she said. Joe could be difficult to buy for—she really didn’t know that much about him. This could take some thought.

  Meanwhile, Lisa had managed to decipher Stevie’s scrawled handwriting and discovered that she had chosen Simon Atherton. She let out a groan. Simon had once had a crush on Lisa, and she didn’t want to do anything to start that up again.

  When everyone else had chosen a name from the hat, Stevie glanced inside at the slip that was left. “I guess this one’s mine,” she said. She picked it up and unfolded it, and her heart sank. She had gotten Veronica diAngelo! For a moment she couldn’t help wondering if other people had picked her and then thrown her name back in—after all, a couple of people had claimed to have picked their own names and pulled a second slip. There was no way of knowing if they were telling the truth. Still, however it had happened, Stevie was stuck with her choice now. “Whose idea was this Yankee Swap, anyway?” she muttered grumpily. Luckily, no one heard her.

  “Quiet down, everyone,” Max said after a moment. “You can plan your shopping later. Right now it’s time to warm up and then do some more jumping. We’ll be working over a slightly more challenging course today, as you can see.”

  He gestured at the half dozen jumps of various sizes that had been set up. “I want us to start off by going over how to walk a course.”

  Most of the students already knew how important it was for a rider to walk through a course before riding it. It gave the rider a chance to figure out the best way for his or her horse to approach the jumps—and how many strides of what length that meant taking between fences. It made it less likely that either horse or rider would be surprised in the middle of a round.

  After each student had paced off the course several times, Max ordered them to remount. “Okay, now we’ll try it,” he said. “Lorraine, why don’t you go first.”

  Lorraine nodded and sent Diablo toward the first obstacle. The big bay cleared it handsomely. “Lorraine’s an awfully good jumper,” Carole commented to Merrill and Lisa as they watched. “It’s really her best talent. See her confidence? Even Diablo trusts her.”

  It was true. Lorraine and Diablo finished the course as well as they had started it.

  “Stevie, you’re next,” Max said.

  Stevie urged Belle forward. “Come on, girl,” she said to the mare, loudly enough for her friends to hear. “Let’s have some fun!”

  And they did. Belle practically romped through the course, seeming almost to smile after each fence. If Lorraine and Diablo had been strong and serious performers, Stevie and Belle were accomplished and entertaining.

  “What a pair,” Lisa commented with a smile. “That’s what we were talking about the other day, Merrill—finding a horse that’s perfectly suited to you, like Belle and Stevie.”

  “I see,” Merrill said. She smiled as she watched Stevie and Belle take the last fence, but Lisa thought she saw worry in Merrill’s eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Lisa asked quietly.

  Merrill turned to look at her, and Lisa saw that she hadn’t been mistaken. Merrill was clearly very nervous, though Lisa couldn’t quite understand why. She thought that seeing Lorraine and Stevie go over the course with no trouble would give Merrill more confidence, not less.

  “It’s just that everyone is doing so well,” Merrill replied. “I’m afraid I’m going to mess up again.”

  Carole had overheard, and she leaned over from her position on Starlight’s back. “Don’t you like Chip?” she asked anxiously.

  “I like him fine,” Merrill replied, giving the horse a pat. “I’m sure I could ride him all day on the trail with no trouble at all. But I’m not so sure I can jump on him—or on any other horse, for that matter. I’m afraid I’m just no good at it at all.”

  Carole and Lisa exchanged worried glances. This was bad news. If Merrill was feeling this nervous, her horse was sure to pick up on it.

  “Just try to relax, Merrill,” Carole advised, not knowing what else to say. “Pretend nobody is watching you. Just do the best you can. That’s all Max expects, and it’s all you should expect from yourself, too.”

  “I’ll try,” Merrill said, watching as Adam Levine began the course.

  Then it was Merrill’s turn. She began a slow warm-up lap around the ring. Stevie had ridden back to join her friends, and Carole and Lisa quickly filled her in on what Merrill had said.

  “I really hope she does okay this time,” Lisa said. “Otherwise there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Stevie said, trying to sound confident. “She can do it—she just hasn’t realized it yet.”

  “Well, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed until she’s safely through the course,” Carole said, crossing her fingers.

  Stevie and Lisa crossed their fingers, too.

  Finally Merrill sent Chip toward the first jump. The gelding moved along easily until he was almost there. Then he seemed to sense the hesitation in his rider, and his stride wobbled. He continued on and took the fence, but his approach had been thrown off just enough to make him bring down the top bar. As it clattered to the ground, the gelding came to a halt.

  Lisa bit her lip. “Go on, Merrill,” she whispered, though of course Merrill couldn’t hear her. “Move past it and keep going.”

  Merrill seemed to be thinking the same thing. She brought the horse under control with her reins and legs, then urged him back into a trot, taking him in a few tight circles and then pointing him toward the next fence. They finished the course without further incident, although Carole suspected that had more to do with Chip’s solid training than with Merrill’s riding, since the girl was obviously still hesitant and uncertain about what she was doing. There was a distinct look of relief on her face when Chip had cleared the last fence and t
heir turn was over.

  “Maybe just having gotten through it will help her state of mind,” Lisa whispered as Merrill headed toward them.

  “Let’s hope so,” Stevie said.

  But Merrill didn’t seem much happier now than when she had started. She brushed aside the other girls’ congratulations. “I stunk,” she said flatly. “The only reason I made it over anything at all was because Chip did all the work. I just sat there like a sack of potatoes.”

  “That’s okay, Merrill,” Carole said. “You’re still learning. No one expects you to be a champion.”

  Merrill just grimaced in reply. It was clear that she didn’t feel like talking.

  * * *

  THE REST OF the day went more or less the same for Merrill. She didn’t do anything terribly wrong, but The Saddle Club could tell she wasn’t having fun.

  By the end of the afternoon’s session, even The Saddle Club was glad to dismount and head inside. They were too worried about Merrill to enjoy themselves completely, even though they were all learning a lot.

  “How are you doing?” Lisa asked, falling into step beside Merrill as they led their horses down the wide stable aisle.

  Merrill looked up. There were tears in her eyes. “I’m quitting,” she said, her voice quavering.

  “But you can’t quit now!” Lisa exclaimed. “If you do, you may never learn to jump.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Merrill replied. “There’s more to riding than jumping, you know.”

  “I know,” Lisa said. “But jumping is so much fun—I’d hate to think you were missing out on that. I know you could do it if you just gave it more of a chance.”

  “I’ve given it a chance,” Merrill said. “I’ve humiliated myself in front of all your friends for two days in a row now. That’s plenty.”

  Lisa thought fast. “At least promise me you’ll talk about it with Stevie and Carole before you make up your mind for sure.”

  “I’ve already made up my mind,” Merrill said. “I might learn to jump someday, but not this week. I’m not good enough for this clinic anyway.”

  “Of course you are,” Lisa said. She had the funniest feeling she was beginning to understand what was bothering Merrill. It wasn’t jumping that scared her—it was being a beginning jumper in front of more experienced riders. Lisa knew that Merrill didn’t like feeling conspicuous, and she was bound to feel that way if she thought everyone else in the class was doing better than she.

  “I’ll still come and watch you guys,” Merrill offered. “I just won’t take part in the classes. Max probably won’t let me come to the party, but—”

  “Listen,” Lisa interrupted. “I have an idea. I’ll meet you at Chip’s stall in a few minutes, okay?”

  Merrill looked a little confused. “Um, okay,” she said.

  Lisa hurried Barq along to his stall and quickly untacked him. “I’ll be back to give you a good grooming in a minute,” she promised, giving him a pat on the nose. Then she headed down the aisle to Starlight’s stall.

  “Hi, Lisa.” Carole was inside the stall, checking Starlight’s water bucket. “Are you finished with Barq already?”

  “Not exactly,” Lisa said. “But I need to talk to you about something. Where’s Stevie?” She peered over the half door of Belle’s stall, but the mare was alone.

  “She went to the tack room,” Carole replied. “She’ll be back in a second.”

  “She’s back now,” Stevie said, coming up behind them. “What’s up?”

  “It’s Merrill,” Lisa replied.

  “Uh-oh,” Stevie said. “Bad news?”

  “You bet,” Lisa confirmed. “She wants to drop out of the clinic. But I have a plan.”

  “Let’s hear it,” said Carole.

  Lisa took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to explain. “We all know that Merrill is a good rider—much better than she thinks she is. Right?”

  “Right,” Carole said, and Stevie nodded.

  “Well, then, it’s clear that her jumping problems aren’t caused by a lack of skill,” Lisa went on. “I think her nervousness has more to do with everyone watching her than with anything else.”

  Carole shrugged. “That’s not good,” she said. “If she can’t ride in front of other people, that’s always going to affect what she can do.”

  “Not necessarily,” Lisa said. “You see, I’m beginning to think that it’s only when something is brand new that she has a major problem doing it in front of others. Once she has the hang of something—like riding when she’s not jumping—she does fine.”

  Stevie looked thoughtful. “I never would have thought of that,” she said. “But it does make sense.”

  “What’s your plan, Lisa?” Carole asked.

  “That’s where you come in,” Lisa told her. “You’re such a good teacher, Carole, I think if you gave Merrill some private jumping instruction tomorrow, she might gain enough confidence to go back to the clinic on Tuesday.”

  “I’m willing to give it a try if Max says it’s okay,” Carole said. “Do you think Merrill will go for it?”

  “I hope so,” Lisa said. “You two will have to help me convince her. It might not be easy.”

  “We can do it,” Stevie said confidently. “Who could turn down the chance for private lessons from Carole? Come on, let’s go find Merrill.”

  At first Merrill was reluctant to along with the new plan, just as Lisa had feared. But after a few minutes of cajoling from The Saddle Club, she finally gave in.

  “All right, all right,” she said, interrupting Stevie’s lengthy list of reasons why it was important to learn to jump. “I’ll try it. I’m not promising I’ll go back to the clinic on Tuesday, but I’ll give it a try with Carole tomorrow.” She smiled at Carole. “Thanks for offering to teach me.”

  “You’re welcome,” Carole said, smiling. “I’ll go check with Max now and make sure it’s okay with him.”

  THE NEXT DAY Carole headed straight to Pine Hollow after school. Merrill was waiting for her. Carole was relieved—she had been worried that Merrill might back out of the lesson.

  “Ready to get started?” Carole asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Merrill said.

  “Good. Where’s Lisa?” Carole asked.

  “She and Stevie are doing some chores,” Merrill said. “They said they wanted to stay out of our way.”

  “Okay then,” Carole said. “Wait here—I’ve got to go find Max. He wanted me to check in about which horse you should ride.”

  “Won’t I be riding Chip?” Merrill asked.

  Carole shrugged. “Max said it would depend on which horses his adult class was using.”

  “Oh, okay,” Merrill said. “I’ll meet you in the tack room.”

  “Great.” Carole went to find Max. She found him going over some papers in his office.

  “Hi, Carole,” he said when she came in. “Are you here for Merrill’s lesson?”

  “Yes,” Carole replied. “Can she ride Chip today?”

  Max shook his head. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “He’s out on the trail with the adult beginner class. Everyone in the class showed up today, for a change.”

  “Oh, well,” Carole said. “What about Bluegrass, then? He’s easy to handle. Merrill would probably like him.”

  “He’s out, too,” Max said. “I told you, the whole class showed up. They took Chip, Bluegrass, Nero, Patch, Harry, and Delilah.”

  Carole bit her lip. “But Max,” she said, “if all the beginner horses are out, who’s Merrill supposed to ride?”

  “Carole,” Max said calmly, “Merrill doesn’t need a beginner horse.”

  “But she’s had so much trouble in class—”

  Max raised one hand to cut her off. “She’s had trouble jumping in class,” he said. “She hasn’t had any trouble at all just riding. I’ve been watching her closely. She’s a much better rider than she thinks she is—she can easily handle a more spirited horse than Chip or Bluegrass.
”

  Carole thought about that for a minute, then realized that Max was right. She told him so. “It’s not that she has any trouble controlling the horse,” she added. “It’s herself that she has the trouble with, right?”

  Max nodded. “And it’s your job to help her realize that. You have your work cut out for you.”

  “I know,” Carole said. “But I have to try. So which horse do you think she should ride today?”

  “Take your pick,” Max said. “Red is riding Topside with the beginners, but most of the others are in.”

  “Hmm,” Carole said, running through the list of possibilities in her mind. Finally she reached a decision. “How about Barq? He’s lively but not too hard to control. Plus Merrill has seen him perform beautifully for Lisa in the last two classes. That might give her a little more confidence.”

  Max smiled. “I think Barq is a perfect choice,” he said.

  A short while later Carole led Barq, the spirited Arabian gelding, out into the ring. Merrill followed.

  “Go ahead and mount,” Carole said. “Then take him around the ring a few times.”

  Merrill swung up into Barq’s saddle. Carole watched carefully as the other girl picked up the reins and circled the ring, first keeping Barq to a walk and then to a trot. The horse responded to the command immediately. After a few strides he tried to break into a canter, but Merrill immediately brought him back to a trot. Barq shook his head impatiently, but soon he settled down and waited for his rider’s next order. Carole smiled. Max had been right, as usual. Merrill was more than a match for a horse like Barq.

  Soon Merrill trotted back over to where Carole was waiting. “What a great horse,” she said breathlessly. “He can really move, and his trot is so easy to sit.”

  “He is wonderful, isn’t he?” Carole agreed wholeheartedly. She gave Barq a pat. “He’s one of my favorites.”

  Merrill laughed. “Aren’t they all your favorites?”

  Carole laughed, too. She was glad that Merrill was in such a good mood. “Very funny. So are you ready to start jumping now?”