Pony Tails 07- Jasmine Trots Ahead

by Bonnie Bryant

  She was right. Erin didn’t leave Carole and Jasmine in peace for more than five minutes. She made up all sorts of questions and requests for help, so that Carole had to run back and forth from ring to paddock throughout the whole practice. By the end of the hour, Jasmine was more frustrated than ever.

  She didn’t see either of her friends as she untacked Peso. After giving the pony a good grooming, she picked up the saddle and bridle and headed for the tack room to clean them. But as she reached the door, she heard voices from inside. It was The Saddle Club—and they were talking about her!

  “I’m not sure how much real progress Jasmine and I are making,” Carole was saying. “In fact, it seems like we’re not getting anything done at all. It’s really kind of disappointing.”

  Jasmine’s eyes widened and she shrank back against the hallway wall, hoping the older girls hadn’t seen her.

  “Don’t worry,” Lisa said to Carole. “Everyone has a bad practice once in a while.”

  “Lisa’s right,” Stevie added. “Don’t let it bother you.”

  “I know,” Carole said. “But you know how it is. It can be pretty annoying …”

  Jasmine’s eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t listen anymore. Clutching her tack to her chest, she raced back toward Peso’s stall.

  The next morning at the school bus stop, May and Corey were waiting for Jasmine impatiently. “What happened to you after we dropped you off at home yesterday?” May demanded as soon as she spotted her friend. “We waited for you. We thought you were coming to Corey’s house for ice cream.”

  Jasmine shrugged, not meeting her eye. “I didn’t feel good,” she said. “I needed to take a nap.”

  “Is that why you couldn’t come to the phone last night?” Corey asked. “Your mom said you’d already gone to bed.”

  But May was looking at Jasmine through narrowed eyes. “Something happened yesterday, didn’t it?” she said. “You look upset. Come on, you can tell us. Was it Erin again?”

  Jasmine’s eyes started to well with tears as she thought back to yesterday. She just shook her head. She was afraid she would start to cry if she tried to speak.

  Corey looked worried. “It’s okay, Jasmine,” she said gently, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “We just want to help.”

  “It—it’s Carole,” Jasmine said at last. “She doesn’t like me.”

  “What?” May looked surprised. “What makes you say that? Of course she likes you.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “I overheard her talking to her friends,” she explained. “She thinks I’m a terrible rider. She even said I was annoying.”

  Corey gasped. “You must have heard her wrong.”

  “I didn’t,” Jasmine insisted. “She said we weren’t making progress, and it was really annoying. She probably wishes she could work with Erin instead of me.”

  Corey and May tried to convince Jasmine that she must have misunderstood, but Jasmine would not be comforted. She was sure it was all her fault. Jasmine was quiet and sad during the entire ride to school, even when Corey tried to get her to talk about the model pony she was getting on Saturday.

  “This is bad,” May said later that morning as she and Corey stood in the hall. They had already dropped off Jasmine at Ms. Elder’s classroom.

  “I know,” Corey said. “She’s really upset. But what can we do?”

  “We’ve got to stop Erin,” May said. “I wish we could just tell her what a rotten, no-good sneak—”

  “Jasmine would never go for that,” Corey interrupted.

  May nodded. “I know. That’s why we have to come up with a better plan.”

  “I wish we could find a way to let everyone see what a troublemaker Erin really is, without looking like tattletales ourselves,” Corey commented.

  May raised one eyebrow. “Hmm,” she said. “You may be on to something. Maybe there’s a way to do just that!”

  7 May and Corey to the Rescue

  The last practice session was scheduled for Friday after school. The Pony Tails arrived right on time and tacked up the stable ponies.

  “You know what the first step is, right?” May whispered to Corey when Jasmine wasn’t listening.

  Corey nodded, her eyes sparkling. She couldn’t wait to help put Erin in her place. Handing Nickel’s reins to May, she hurried to Max’s office.

  He looked up as she entered. “Hello, Corey,” he said pleasantly. “Ready for practice?”

  “Almost,” she said. “I have to ask you something, though. Um, do you think Lisa and I could practice somewhere else today?”

  Max looked surprised at the request. “Why?”

  “Well, that tree next to the back paddock is blooming, and I think I’m allergic,” Corey explained earnestly, careful to keep a straight face. “I keep sneezing.”

  “Of course,” Max said. “I didn’t realize you had allergies, Corey. Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

  Corey thought fast. “Well, I usually take medicine so it doesn’t bother me. But my prescription just ran out and my mom hasn’t had a chance to take me to the doctor for another one. I have an appointment next week,” she added quickly. “So it’s just a problem for today.”

  “I see,” Max said. “Well, I haven’t seen Veronica yet, so the indoor ring is probably free. You and Lisa can ride there if Veronica doesn’t show up, and Lisa can work with May, too.”

  “Oh,” Corey said. “Um, I can’t ride there, either. You see, it gets too dusty since it’s inside. And that bothers my—”

  “Allergies,” Max finished for her. He crossed his arms. “Where exactly can you ride with these allergies of yours?”

  Corey felt her face turning red. She was afraid Max was beginning to get suspicious. “Um—in the front paddock?” she said hesitantly. “You know, where Simon and Erin have been practicing. It’s not too dusty, and it’s away from all the trees and stuff.”

  “Fine,” Max said with a shrug. “Tell Simon and Erin they can move to the indoor ring.”

  “Great,” Corey said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Max.”

  Erin wasn’t happy about moving, but she did as Max said. May and Corey exchanged high fives as they rode into the front paddock.

  “Maybe we won’t have to do anything else,” Corey said hopefully, glancing over at the ring where Carole and Jasmine were warming up.

  “Don’t count on it,” May said grimly. “I don’t think Erin will give up that easily. She’s pretty sneaky. We’ll just have to make sure we’re even sneakier.” Then Lisa joined them and they had to stop talking.

  Only a few minutes had passed when Erin appeared at the stable entrance. “Yoo-hoo! Carole!” she called. “There’s a phone call for you. It’s your father.”

  “I wonder what he wants,” Carole said, glancing at her watch. “He should still be at work.” She handed Starlight’s reins to Jasmine and hurried inside.

  Jasmine sighed. She had noticed that Erin wasn’t in the nearby paddock anymore, and she had hoped that meant today’s practice would be better. But it looked as though it would be just as bad as the others.

  Carole reappeared a moment later, looking perplexed. “There must have been some misunderstanding,” she said as she remounted. “My dad wasn’t on the phone. In fact, I called his office and he’s not even there. His secretary said he’s in a meeting.”

  Meanwhile Corey and May were watching the whole scene. “We missed that one,” May said. “We’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

  They soon got their chance. Erin hurried out of the building again, calling for Carole. “Max wants to speak to you,” she told the older girl breathlessly. “He said it’s really important.”

  Before Carole could respond, May slid off her pony and tossed the reins to Lisa. “Don’t worry, Carole. I’ll go see what he wants,” she volunteered cheerfully.

  Erin scowled at her. “He asked for Carole,” she said pointedly.

  “Don’t worry,” May said again. �
�I’ll check it out.” Without waiting for an answer, she hurried past Erin and headed for Max’s office.

  Max was there doing some paperwork. “What are you doing here, May?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be practicing?”

  “Erin Mosley said you needed to talk to Carole Hanson right away,” May explained innocently. “But Carole’s busy, so I offered to come see what you wanted.”

  Max looked confused. “I didn’t ask for Carole.”

  “Really?” May raised her eyebrows, trying to look surprised. “That’s funny. Erin was very sure about it. She said Carole had to come right away.”

  Max shook his head. “I have no idea what that’s about,” he said firmly. “Now you’d better get back out there. Did Veronica ever show up?”

  “Nope,” May said. “But that’s okay. I’m practicing with Corey and Lisa.” She hurried back outside just in time to hear Erin whining at Carole to come and help her set up some jumps.

  “I just saw Red inside,” May said quickly, loudly enough for Carole to hear. Red O’Malley was the head stable hand. “He didn’t look too busy. I’m sure he’d help you.”

  “Good idea,” Carole said, looking relieved.

  Erin just frowned at May and went back inside. But she returned a few minutes later. “Carole, we need your help,” she called. “One of the cats is in the ring and we can’t catch her.” Pine Hollow was home to a number of stable cats. They usually stayed out of the horses’ way, so Corey had a feeling that this particular cat hadn’t wandered into the indoor ring by itself.

  “I have a better idea,” Corey sang out. “Why doesn’t Lisa go? I heard she’s the best cat-catcher in the stable because of Prancer.”

  It was true. The horse Lisa usually rode, a Thoroughbred named Prancer, was afraid of cats. That meant Lisa had plenty of practice getting them out of sight.

  “Sure, I’ll go,” Lisa said good-naturedly. “No cat in the place is a match for me.”

  “Um, can’t Carole do it?” Erin insisted.

  “Better have Lisa help you this time,” Carole called back. “I can’t even make my own cat behave.”

  Erin frowned and led Lisa inside as Corey and May did their best to stifle their giggles.

  After that, Corey and May managed to foil Erin at every turn. First May offered to help Erin drag the mounting block into the ring. Then Corey told Erin to ask Max’s mother, Mrs. Reg, for help fixing a worn-out stirrup leather. When Erin returned to ask Carole for help with jumping, Red happened to be walking by. May convinced him to help Erin, and she also made sure he knew about all Erin’s other requests. Just as May had hoped, Red volunteered to help Erin and Simon for the rest of the practice. May and Corey exchanged secret grins. Erin was trapped. With Red there, she had no reason to keep running to Carole for help. They had won!

  Jasmine was only vaguely aware of what was going on. She was too busy concentrating on her riding to pay much attention to Erin. Practice was going just the way she had hoped it would. Carole helped Jasmine practice and refine her hand, leg, and seat aids until Jasmine thought she could do them in her sleep. Jasmine loved every minute of it. The only thing that kept the session from being perfect was that she couldn’t forget what Carole had said about her on Wednesday. But that just meant that Jasmine had to prove to Carole that she wasn’t annoying or a bad rider. She had to prove she was the best little sister Carole could hope for.

  8 The Equitation Competition

  On Saturday Jasmine awoke feeling cheerful. Thanks to Friday’s practice, she was confident that she would do well at today’s competition, even if she hadn’t practiced enough to win a ribbon.

  Her parents had left early on an errand, promising to show up at Pine Hollow in time for the competition. As soon as she finished breakfast, Jasmine hurried over to May’s house. May and Corey were already busy loading May’s pony, Macaroni, into her father’s trailer. Then the girls loaded Samurai and Outlaw onto the trailer, too. Jasmine, May, and Corey piled into the cab with Mr. Grover for the short ride to Pine Hollow.

  The next hour passed in a blur as all the young riders hurried to get ready for the competition. Finally it was time. The riders gathered with their horses and ponies near the outdoor ring. Dozens of Horse Wise family members were seated in the bleachers. Corey waved to her parents, who were sitting together even though they were divorced. She was glad they were both there.

  May’s parents and sisters were there, too. She looked around but she didn’t see Mr. and Mrs. James. “Where are your mom and dad, Jasmine?” she asked.

  Jasmine scanned the stands anxiously. “I don’t know. They went off somewhere this morning, I’m not sure where. But they said they’d be here to watch me ride.”

  Just then May pointed to the familiar green car pulling into the driveway. “Here they come,” she announced. “Just in time.”

  “I wonder what Erin’s parents look like,” Corey said.

  “I don’t think they’re here,” May replied. “I’ve seen them at school a few times. They always seem really busy—maybe they didn’t have time to come.”

  The girls turned to listen as Max stepped into the center of the ring and cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming today,” he began. “These students have been working hard all week, and now we’re going to see what they’ve learned. I want to stress that this is an informal show. That means I make up my own rules.” He smiled. “And that means that I’ve decided to judge these teams as just that—teams. Instead of each rider performing individually, they’ll enter the ring in pairs and perform each move together.”

  May gasped. Most of the teams seemed pleased at the news, but she was dismayed. “Veronica and I have hardly practiced together at all,” she whispered to her friends.

  “I’m sure Max will know whose fault that is,” Corey said, trying to make her friend feel better. “Anyway, at least Veronica can ride. Just think about Erin and Simon!”

  That did make May feel a little better. Simon was a terrible rider, and because Erin had been so busy trying to distract Carole, she and Simon had practiced together even less than May and Veronica had.

  Max began calling the riders into the ring two by two. He had each pair perform a set of simple moves, including stopping, starting, backing up, walking, and doing a posting and a sitting trot.

  Jasmine waited anxiously as the first few pairs went, feeling more and more nervous all the time. She really wanted to do well and prove to Carole once and for all that she was a good rider. Finally Max called their names.

  “Let’s do it,” Carole said, giving Jasmine an encouraging smile as she urged Starlight forward. Jasmine smiled back and followed.

  When they left the ring a few minutes later, Jasmine was smiling even harder. Their performance had been almost flawless. They had moved together perfectly as a team, thanks to Carole’s careful teaching yesterday—and to the work they had managed to do earlier in the week between Erin’s interruptions. Maybe a blue ribbon wasn’t out of the question after all. Glancing over, she saw her parents applauding wildly. She grinned and waved.

  Once her turn was over, Jasmine was able to relax and enjoy herself. She watched proudly as Corey and Lisa turned in a strong performance. Then she crossed her fingers as May and Veronica entered the ring. They had some trouble staying together since they had hardly practiced, but they were both good enough riders to squeak by.

  Erin and Simon, on the other hand, were as bad as the Pony Tails had hoped. When Max said to go left, Simon went right. When he said to trot, Simon cantered. And instead of trying to help him do better, Erin just got angrier and angrier. She seemed to forget that adults were watching as she yelled and scowled at Simon. It was a relief when they finished. May and Corey traded grins as Erin rode out of the ring without even bothering to wait for Simon.

  “Maybe that will teach her a lesson about improving her attitude,” Corey murmured to May.

  May smiled. “Even if it doesn’t, she’ll think twice about messing with the Pony Tails
again!”

  9 The Final Round

  After each team had ridden, Max stepped forward. “Great job, everyone,” he said. “You’re making my decision very difficult. Some teams were clearly stronger than others, but I still can’t decide who deserves the four ribbons. So I think we need to have one more round of competition for the four finalists.”

  Jasmine held her breath and crossed her fingers. She saw Corey do the same thing.

  “Red is going to set up the ring while I announce the final four teams,” Max went on. “We’ll be doing some simple jumping at a trot to pick the winners.”

  Jasmine gulped. Jumping? She and Carole hadn’t had time to practice jumping at all. Jasmine uncrossed her fingers. Maybe it would be better if she weren’t a finalist. She didn’t want to mess up in front of Carole—not after the first round had gone so well.

  “The finalists, in no particular order, are as follows,” Max said. “Lisa and Corey, Stevie and Jessica, Adam and Amie, and Carole and Jasmine.”

  Cheers went up as the names were announced. Jasmine felt butterflies in her stomach. Was she ready for this?

  “It will be a few minutes before the course is ready,” Max said. “Those of you who aren’t in this round can put your horses and ponies away. Finalists, just relax.”

  “Easy for him to say,” Carole said to Jasmine with a smile. “He’s not the one who’s nervous.”

  Jasmine looked at the other girl. “You mean you’re nervous, too?” she said in disbelief. “But you’re so good! You always ride perfectly.”

  Carole laughed. “Come on, Jasmine,” she said. “You know that’s not true. Nobody always rides perfectly—not even an Olympic gold medalist. And everybody gets nervous before a competition. Especially when it’s the finals!”

  “Really?” Jasmine said shyly. “I thought it was just me. You know, because I’m not that good yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Carole said. “You’re one of the best junior riders at Pine Hollow. I was just talking about that with my friends the other day. I think we make a good team.”