Starting Gate

by Bonnie Bryant

“Yes, Skye,” Stevie said. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks,” he replied. “I’m sure I’ll need it!”

  “STEVIE? CAROLE? LISA? Wake up. I need to talk to you!”

  Stevie’s eyelids fluttered open. For a moment she didn’t know where she was—all the familiar junk that surrounded her bed at home was missing. Then she sat up and looked around the room. Carole and Lisa were sleeping on the bed beside hers, while golden California sunshine streamed through the window.

  Someone was knocking on their door.

  “Just a minute!” Stevie called as she jumped out of bed. Without bothering to throw a robe over her huge University of Virginia sweatshirt, she pulled the door open. Deborah stood there, Maxi grinning from her arms.

  “Hi.” Stevie blinked sleepily. “What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to tell you that I just heard from the shipping company and they’ve guaranteed that your horses will be at Ashford Farms before noon.”

  “Really?” The thought of Belle woke Stevie up immediately. “That’s wonderful!”

  “I know,” agreed Deborah with a smile. “Since you and Lisa are both scheduled to ride, you’d better get up and get ready. After all, that’s what this trip was for, wasn’t it?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” said Stevie.

  “Well, why don’t you wake Veronica up, too. Then you four can meet Max and me downstairs for breakfast in about twenty minutes. We can all ride to Ashford Farms in the rental car.”

  “Okay,” Stevie replied. “That sounds great.”

  Deborah dubiously lifted one eyebrow. “You won’t go back to sleep, will you?”

  “Not now,” promised Stevie. “I’m wide awake!”

  “Okay, then. Twenty minutes.”

  With Maxi waving chubby fingers in farewell, Deborah hopped on the elevator while Stevie turned to wake her friends.

  “Wake up, guys,” Stevie called, pulling the blanket off Carole and Lisa. “Our horses are arriving sometime between now and noon. We’ve got to get ready to ride!”

  Carole and Lisa sat up and rubbed their eyes. “They’re actually bringing our horses?” asked Lisa. “How do you know?”

  “Deborah just told me,” said Stevie, hurrying into the bathroom to brush her teeth. “We’re supposed to meet her and Max in twenty minutes for breakfast and then go over to Ashford Farms.”

  “Cool.” Lisa sprang out of bed. “I’m so excited!”

  “I’m excited, too,” Carole said. “Or at least I’m excited that at least some of us will get to compete.”

  “It’s really too bad about Starlight, Carole,” said Stevie through a mouthful of toothpaste. “I know you could have won that hunter-jumper class.”

  “Well, maybe.” Carole stretched her arms high above her head. “I did appreciate you guys being there for me, even when I didn’t ride. I’ll be happy to do the same for you today.” She laughed. “You can just call me your equipment manager.”

  “That would be great,” said Lisa. “If only we had some equipment for you to manage. Too bad it’s still on the truck.”

  Everyone dressed quickly, with minutes to spare. “Let’s hurry down to the dining room,” said Carole. “For some reason, I’m starved!”

  “Wait.” Stevie frowned. “First we’ve got to wake Veronica.”

  They walked to the door that connected their rooms and knocked loudly. They heard nothing, then the door jerked open.

  “Yes?” Veronica was dressed in a frilly pink nightgown and had a white satin eye mask pushed up on her forehead.

  “Hi, Veronica.” For a moment Stevie could only blink at Veronica’s weird sleeping attire. “Are you feeling better?”

  Veronica looked at them strangely. “Why, yes. I feel fine.”

  “We’re so sorry the sweetbreads didn’t agree with you,” Lisa said sympathetically.

  “The sweetbreads?” Veronica frowned. “Why, it wasn’t the sweetbreads at all. The doctor said I contracted a case of a rare stomach flu that only affects people with delicate constitutions.”

  “Well, would you like to bring your delicate constitution down to the dining room and have breakfast with the rest of us?” Stevie asked. “Our horses are supposed to arrive before noon, and we’re all going over to Ashford Farms to wait for them.”

  Veronica gave a haughty snort. “What would be the point in that? I’m not scheduled to ride Danny in anything. I’d just be stuck there watching you guys and a bunch of other amateurs who have nothing to teach me.” She removed the mask from her forehead and shook her dark hair. “I’m going to get a cab and go shopping. I can’t imagine wasting a perfectly good trip to Los Angeles without stopping at least once on Rodeo Drive. I’ll see you people at dinner tonight.”

  With a toss of her head, Veronica closed her door.

  Stevie, Carole, and Lisa just looked at each other.

  “Well,” said Lisa. “Guess the stomach flu didn’t improve her delicate constitution very much.”

  “Oh, look on the bright side,” Stevie said with a grin. “We’ve never had an easier time getting rid of Veronica diAngelo, and we didn’t have to do a thing!”

  They hurried down to the hotel café, where Max, Deborah, and Maxi were waiting for them. This time, Stevie ordered scrambled eggs and bacon instead of her new yogurt-and-jam concoction.

  “You don’t have the stomach flu, too, do you?” Lisa asked, glancing at Stevie’s normal-looking plate.

  “Oh, no.” Stevie chomped her bacon happily as she buttered a piece of toast for Maxi to gnaw. “I’m just too excited about seeing Belle to invent any new breakfasts today.”

  “That’s a relief.” Carole laughed. “We get worried when you start to eat like a regular person.”

  They finished breakfast quickly, then they all piled into the rental car and drove to Ashford Farms. Cars and horse trailers were parked alongside the long driveway, and inside the showgrounds it looked as if every Pony Club member in the world was waiting to ride. People had already crowded into the arena, and outside even more were milling around the different exhibits and rides and refreshment stands.

  “Everybody, look and see if we can find the In-Transit van with our horses!” Stevie cried, bolting upright in the backseat.

  “Good idea,” said Carole. They all searched for the big red van as Max parked the car, but nobody spotted it.

  “Don’t worry yet,” said Deborah, hoisting Maxi on one hip as they began to walk back toward the arena. “They aren’t due until noon. And I made them promise to page us from the ring announcer’s stand when they got here.”

  “Do you think they know what page means?” asked Stevie.

  Deborah shrugged. “Let’s hope.”

  “Why don’t we just concentrate on having fun until they come,” suggested Max. “It’ll keep us all from getting nervous.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” said Carole. She looked over at the pony ride, which had just stopped to let new passengers on. “May I take Maxi on that pony ride?”

  “Sure,” laughed Deborah, who was having trouble holding the squirming Maxi. “In fact, I think that’s exactly what she wants to do.”

  Carole scooped up Maxi and carried her over to the pony ride. She placed her on a fat little pinto pony and held on to her while the pony walked slowly around the ring. Maxi squealed in delight, and Max filmed her with his video camera.

  “Poooo-neeee,” she gurgled, holding on to the little horse’s thick mane. “Poooo-neeeee!”

  Though everyone laughed as Carole and Maxi walked around the ring, Stevie and Lisa kept looking over their shoulders, watching for the big red van to pull up. By the time Maxi had ridden the pony ride five times, it still hadn’t shown up.

  “Let’s go look at those exhibits on the other side of the arena,” said Lisa as Carole gave Maxi back to Deborah.

  “What time is it?” asked Stevie, again looking for the van.

  Carole glanced at her watch. “Ten-thirty. They’ve still got an hour and a half to get he
re.”

  “Okay,” Stevie said. “We might as well educate ourselves while we wait.”

  They walked to the other side of the arena, where a number of booths had been set up. One displayed a new line of tack made specifically for jumping and dressage, while another exhibited barn mats constructed to massage horses’ hooves with tiny magnets. The girls looked at feed booths and boot booths and finally a book booth that specialized in novels about horses. All the while they kept looking over their shoulders, hoping to see the big red van.

  “What time is it now?” asked Stevie as they came to the end of the booths.

  “Eleven-thirty,” reported Carole.

  Stevie looked at her friends, her hazel eyes wide. “They’ve got thirty minutes to get here!”

  “Maybe they ran into traffic,” said Carole.

  “Look, they could get here as late as one o’clock and we could still ride,” reasoned Lisa. “Our event doesn’t start until two.”

  “That’s cutting it awfully close,” said Stevie.

  “Yes, but it still gives them an hour and a half to arrive,” said Lisa. “Let’s go get something to eat. That way we’ll be ready to go when they come.”

  They walked over to a refreshment stand, where they got two hot dogs apiece. When they’d finished those, they watched a training seminar on how to get reluctant horses to cross a stream calmly. Though the seminar was interesting, each of the girls still kept looking for the red van and listening for their names to be called on the PA system.

  “What time is it now?” whispered Stevie.

  Carole looked at her watch and shuddered. “Twelve-thirty.”

  “Let’s go find Max and Deborah,” suggested Lisa.

  They left the seminar and began searching for the Regnerys. It took them a while to locate them in the stands, but finally they found them. Deborah was holding Maxi while Max watched a hunter-jumper class.

  “Hi.” Deborah looked up at them. The look on her face told them everything.

  “Nobody’s showed up yet, have they?” Stevie asked.

  Deborah shook her head. “What time is it?”

  “Twelve-forty-five,” Carole said sadly.

  “Let me call them again.” Deborah handed Maxi to Lisa while she dug her cell phone out of her purse. Punching in the number that she now knew by heart, she held the phone to her ear and waited. The phone rang many times, but no one answered. She looked at the girls and shook her head.

  “Nobody at the shipping company,” she reported. “Let me try the driver’s cell phone.”

  This time she had to check a number she’d scribbled in her day planner. Once again, the phone rang many times, but no one picked up. Shaking her head, she clicked the phone off and looked at the girls.

  “I’m sorry,” Deborah said. “But nobody’s there, either.”

  “What?” cried Stevie, her face red with anger. “How can nobody be there? How can they promise they’ll have our horses here and then just not show up? It’s too late now. Even if they came right this instant we wouldn’t have enough time to get ready!”

  “That’s right,” said Lisa. “We’ve spent a lot of time and money to come out here and compete. Thanks to this stupid van company, this whole trip is turning out to be a big zero!”

  “I’m sorry, girls,” said Max. “I’ve used this company before and they’ve never been incompetent.” He shook his head in frustration. “I’m sure they’ll adjust our shipping bill, so we’ll get some of our money back.”

  “Adjust it like how much?” asked Stevie.

  “Like down to nothing, if he has anything to say about it.” Deborah looked at Max.

  Max frowned. “Look, there’s nothing we can do about this now. Why don’t you guys come to Disneyland with us? That way you can at least have a little fun on your last afternoon in California.”

  The girls looked at each other. Each knew that if they couldn’t be there riding, there was only one other place they wanted to be.

  “No,” said Stevie. “Thanks. That sounds like fun, but since we can’t ride, we need to go and cheer for someone who can.”

  Max smiled. “Would that someone be Skye Ransom?”

  The girls nodded. “He’s shooting his big racing scene today,” Lisa explained.

  “Well, would you like a lift over to Ashford Racetrack since we’re going in that direction?”

  “That would be great, Max,” said Carole, taking Maxi from Deborah’s arms.

  “Yes,” laughed Stevie. “Since for once we don’t have Stephan waiting.”

  They left the arena and hurried back to the car. They still kept looking for a big red van to pull up in a cloud of dust, but no new horses or riders were arriving. In fact, more people were leaving than arriving as Max pulled into the line of traffic on the highway.

  “Now, you guys know we have to be at the airport by seven in the morning, don’t you?” he asked, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.

  “Right,” said Lisa.

  “Then why don’t we agree to meet back at the hotel by six this evening. We’ll have an early dinner and get a good night’s sleep.”

  “Okay, Max,” agreed Carole as their car pulled into the Ashford Racetrack driveway. “That won’t be a problem.”

  “All right, then,” Max called as they got out of the car. “We’ll see you girls around six.”

  “Bye!” called Stevie.

  “Have fun,” Deborah replied. “Good luck to Skye!”

  Since their names were already on the studio guest list, they had no trouble getting past security. They headed for Skye’s trailer.

  “I hope we’re not too late,” said Stevie.

  “I know,” Lisa agreed. “Skye would feel so much better if we were here, watching him while he worked.”

  “Let’s hurry,” said Carole.

  They made their way to Skye’s trailer and knocked softly on the door, which opened immediately. Jess Morton stood there, a worried frown on his face.

  “Oh boy,” he said. “Am I glad to see you three!”

  “What’s the matter?” asked Carole. “You look upset.”

  “It’s just been an awful morning,” explained Jess. “Skye’s a wreck. He’s had calls from three different gossip columnists who wanted to confirm a rumor they’d heard that he’d been fired from the movie and Fred Gamble was taking his place!”

  “Who told them that?” cried Lisa.

  Jess shrugged. “An unnamed source, according to them. You can imagine how that made Skye feel.”

  “Where’s he now?” asked Stevie.

  “Down on the set. They’re getting ready to shoot his big scene.”

  “Are we in time to watch?” asked Carole.

  “Absolutely!” said Jess, hustling them back down the trailer steps. “In fact, I’d say you guys got here just in time to help. Let’s go!”

  THE SADDLE CLUB hurried along behind Jess, arriving at the racetrack just as the scene was about to begin. In the movie, the action was to take place on a windy, rainy day, so along with the huge klieg lights and microphones were other movie effect machines that produced sheets of rain and gusts of blustery wind.

  The girls easily picked Mabel out from the crowd of horses milling around the starting gate. She was already dancing away from the man who held her, her ears slapped back and a wild look in her eyes. Skye, who was sitting in his own special chair, didn’t look much better. Though he wore movie makeup and his green-and-white jockey silks costume, the girls saw that his mouth was pulled down in a tight, nervous line, and his twinkling blue eyes were clouded with concern.

  “Sit right here,” Jess whispered, leading them to a long bench just behind a camera. “And don’t make a sound!”

  The girls nodded, then watched as the director strutted out to the middle of the set, grinning as if everything were perfectly all right.

  “Okay, people,” he called, addressing everyone. “After yesterday’s success, I know this race scene is going to be great. It’s not g
oing to be easy, but we have a great cast and crew, and I’m confident that Skye can work with this magnificent horse and get the best performance out of her possible.” He paused for a moment, then smiled again. “Is everybody ready?”

  Everyone concerned—except Skye—either mumbled yes or nodded.

  “Okay, then,” the director said. “Let’s get rolling.”

  Mabel’s groom hauled her, kicking and balking, closer to Skye. Her white face had been washed almost to a glow, and her dark bay coat shone with a deep luster.

  “She’s so pretty,” whispered Lisa. “She reminds me of—”

  “Shhh!” said Carole. “Be quiet or they’ll make us leave!”

  While the groom held on to Mabel, another handler tried to put her saddle on. First she shied away. Then she reared. The third time she tried to bite the groom. Two more grooms were called in to help hold her head. Finally, after ten more minutes of twisting and fighting, they buckled a tiny racing saddle on the frantic horse.

  “I would call Mabel more monstrous than magnificent,” whispered Stevie, frowning as Skye rose from his chair and slowly walked toward the horse.

  “Okay, Skye,” said the director. “Are you ready?”

  Skye nodded, though he looked ashen beneath his makeup. With one groom holding Mabel’s head, he put his left foot in the stirrup and tried to swing up. Immediately, Mabel whirled around to the left, her massive hindquarters knocking Skye to the ground. Carole, Lisa, and Stevie all winced. They knew how much that could hurt. To their amazement, a snicker floated up from behind the director. They turned. George, Shev Bayliss, and Marcella all had sarcastic smiles on their faces.

  “How mean can these people be?” cried Lisa.

  “Shhh!” said Stevie. “Skye’s going to try again.”

  The groom held Mabel tighter as Skye tried a second time. This time Mabel stood calmly until he was almost sitting in the saddle, then she jumped and twisted at the same time. Skye bounced once on Mabel’s back, then thudded to the ground again.

  “This is awful!” cried Carole. “This horse is not fit to be ridden, much less star in the movies!”

  “Skye has a lot of guts to do this,” said Stevie.