Show Jumper

by Bonnie Bryant

  “—that we’ll have to jump two clean rounds today to make it to the second round tomorrow,” finished Carole, figuring out the odds in her head. “With so many good competitors, we’re bound to have two rounds today to come up with only twenty riders tomorrow. That means we’ll have to jump clean the first time, and to make it to tomorrow, we’ll probably have to jump clean the second time as well.”

  “That’s right,” said Max. “But remember what I’ve always told you girls. Competing is not just about winning. I entered you in this show not because I wanted you to win but because I think you have a lot to gain in experience from competing in a show like this. You’ve all worked hard and made a lot of progress in your riding. Whether you advance to the second round or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that you perform to your own personal best standards. Are we clear on this?” Lisa and Carole nodded.

  “Good,” Max said. “Then I have another announcement. I just got the order of competition, and Carole, you’re up first.”

  A look of apprehension passed over Carole’s face. She, better than any other rider from Pine Hollow, knew how incredibly difficult it was to go first. Riders liked to watch other riders do the course first and measure how different horses were reacting to different fences. Not only that, but going first was bad luck. Carole squared her shoulders and looked determined.

  “Someone’s got to be first,” she said.

  Max smiled at her. “Then let’s go walk the course and review the jumps,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER, the announcer called out the start of the junior jumping division. Carole rode Starlight out to the ring, saluted the judges, and swung her horse into a rocking canter. They headed for the first fence.

  Watching Carole, Lisa applauded in her mind. Carole and Starlight were jumping perfectly. Carole made the turns between the jumps tightly, but not so tightly as to cramp Starlight’s angle of approach to the next jump. As they neared each jump, Carole smoothly and slightly increased Starlight’s speed. Carole herself looked relaxed and confident and completely poised in her seat and hands.

  Lisa watched Carole come up to the last fence. At every jump, she had wanted to close her eyes, almost unable to bear the tension of watching one of her best friends compete. And she knew that in a few minutes, she herself would be out there, taking that big rail fence, cantering toward that vertical …

  Then she realized that Carole and Starlight were finished. They had jumped clean, and loud applause broke out and continued until the next rider appeared. Carole rode back to where Lisa and Samson were waiting and pulled up next to them. She was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Congratulations!” said Lisa. She leaned over and gave Carole a squeeze on the arm.

  Carole smiled even more, but all she said was, “Thanks. That felt great. Starlight went like a dream.” Then, Carole-like, she immediately became all business and started explaining the course to Lisa. “You have to watch the in-and-out—it’s bigger than anything we’ve ever done before, and it’s tough. But Samson shouldn’t have a problem with it. Then be careful on the last double oxer. The turn from the last jump is tighter than you think, and you need to build up speed to take that jump …”

  Quickly and thoroughly, Carole briefed Lisa on the course. Then they turned their attention to the other riders and horses. Several riders experienced knockdowns and refusals throughout the course. As Carole predicted, the in-and-out especially gave a lot of horses trouble. It was two fences set close together, so the horse had to jump quickly over the “in” fence, take one stride, and then jump over the “out.” Riders had to time the approach perfectly, landing and then urging the horse to jump again.

  Then Lisa heard her number. “Number forty-four is Lisa Atwood, riding Samson of …,” the voice droned.

  Her heart pounding, Lisa gave Samson a nudge. In a haze she entered the ring and saluted the judges. She was only vaguely aware of the crowd and the hush that awaited her performance. She turned Samson to the course and tapped his belly. He began to canter toward the first fence.

  Watching Lisa ride, Carole felt a thrill of excitement go through her. As much as she loved Starlight, she couldn’t help feeling emotional as she watched Samson—the son of Cobalt—compete in his first big show. She watched a totally focused Lisa and Samson approach a large wall and clear it. Samson was jumping like a veteran, flowing over each obstacle with grace and power. Lisa was so lucky to be able to experience this, and she definitely deserved it, having been the one who discovered Samson’s astounding talent in the first place.

  As the black horse continued to jump each fence with extravagant ease, Lisa finally began to look relaxed and happy on his back. Then suddenly the crowd gasped. “Oh!” someone exclaimed, and Carole grimaced in dismay. Lisa had ridden Samson over the in of the in-and-out at an angle instead of facing straight ahead. Although Samson had successfully cleared the in fence, he was left facing the out fence at an awkward angle, with only one stride to make the out jump successfully.

  “Oh!” the crowd gasped a second later as Samson gracefully twisted his body to face the out jump and cleared it with ease—almost from a standstill. It was the kind of thing only a champion could do. Carole’s heart lifted once more, and she felt a surge of pride in Samson. What a horse he was!

  Lisa and Samson finished the course with a clean round. Riding back, Lisa wore a worried frown. Carole and Stevie met them and gave Lisa hugs and Samson approving pats on the neck. “I nearly messed up the in-and-out,” Lisa said ruefully.

  “Yes, but you got out of it okay,” said Carole. “You won’t make the same mistake next time. Now that you’ve actually been through the course, you’ll do that much better next time. And congratulations, you got a clean round!” She hugged Lisa again.

  Max appeared and smiled at Carole and Lisa. “Great work, both of you. Samson and Starlight both jumped wonderfully well, and you two handled the course with just the right amount of control and speed. Lisa, I have a few things I want to go over with you. The in-and-out is a really tricky jump, and you have to make sure that you’re …”

  Lisa started listening to Max’s remarks, but then the realization of what she had just been through hit her. She had just competed in the Macrae! She had jumped a clean round with Samson.

  “Hey, that’s some horse,” she heard behind her. Turning, she saw one of the junior riders, a boy with curly dark hair, grinning admiringly at Lisa and Samson.

  “Who’s his sire? Who’s his dam?” asked an older man with silver hair.

  “That’s really an amazing horse,” a girl said, coming up to join the small crowd that was starting to cluster around Samson. “Most horses don’t jump like that until they’re at least ten years old, with a lot of show experience and training.”

  Lisa couldn’t stop smiling. She felt as if she had bubbles of happiness and excitement inside her. She remembered feeling this way when she had taken part in a school musical and everyone had complimented her on her singing voice and her performance. For the next two weeks after that, Lisa had dreamed of being discovered by a talent scout and going to New York to sing and dance on Broadway.

  Today she felt exactly the same way: A star is born! Cheeks pink with pleasure, Lisa began to answer the eager questions coming her way.

  A DOZEN MORE riders competed. Carole, Lisa, and Stevie caught some of the rounds and were again surprised at the number of knockdowns, refusals, and run-outs. Mrs. Atwood and Mrs. Reg joined them in the stabling area after almost all the riders had competed. They had been watching from the spectator stands but had come to find the girls to share their impressions of the competition. Although the girls had been watching some of the rounds, they were so involved in the event itself that it was hard to be objective.

  After Mrs. Reg discussed the individual riders—and Mrs. Atwood commented on their outfits—they told the girls the good news. “We’ve been keeping score,” said Mrs. Atwood.

  “Only ten cle
an rounds so far,” said Mrs. Reg, smiling.

  The Saddle Club could hardly believe it. “Only ten clean rounds!” echoed Carole. “That means Lisa and I are going to jump tomorrow.”

  “Right. There’s no need for a jump-off round today with the scores we’ve been seeing,” said Mrs. Reg.

  Max joined the group. He, too, looked excited about the Pine Hollow showings, but all he said was, “Veronica’s up on Danny. I know you girls have had your differences with Veronica in the past, but in the spirit of rooting for our home team, we should go and watch them. Besides, you can always learn from watching someone else’s riding.”

  “Yeah, I learned how to spend obscene amounts of money on my horse, on my riding clothes, and on countless riding instructors that I don’t listen to,” Stevie whispered to Carole, who giggled but dragged her to watch Veronica anyway.

  Although Veronica was often a lazy, careless rider, she also had a lot of natural ability, loath as The Saddle Club was to admit it. When she chose to, she could ride well, especially when she was on a champion like Danny. Danny was a Thoroughbred who lived up to his show name, Go for Blue. While The Saddle Club often said he was just a push-button horse, he and Veronica made a good team. Today was no exception, and Danny cleared the fences easily. Another clean round had been chalked up for Pine Hollow.

  “Okay, the Pine Hollow gang has permission to adjourn from serious riding for now and have some serious fun,” said Max, delighted. He knew the girls would want to wander around the show grounds and look at the horses for sale and catch glimpses of famous riders. But Veronica, who had just joined them after competing in her round, shook her head.

  “I can’t go anywhere. I have to watch my friend, who’s up next. She’s the best rider here, next to me,” she said loftily, staying put.

  “Who’s your friend?” Lisa asked politely.

  “Just my best friend from riding camp,” said Veronica.

  The three girls knew that every summer Veronica attended a super-snobby, expensive riding camp where none of the campers had to do stable chores or even untack their mounts. Grooms took care of everything while the campers lounged around and took occasional rides and ate gourmet meals.

  “When have you ever seen Veronica support anyone but herself?” asked Stevie in disbelief.

  “Never,” said Lisa.

  “Let’s check out who this friend is,” said Carole.

  The Saddle Club’s growing suspicion about Veronica’s friend was confirmed when they saw Margie ride out on her black horse and heard Veronica clap loudly when her name was announced. “Oh, it’s just too awful of a coincidence that those two are friends,” Stevie said, groaning and clutching her head. “It’s like a mass of evil people that just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

  “Birds of a feather,” commented Carole.

  “More like toads of a wart,” grumbled Stevie.

  Nevertheless, the three girls watched Margie and her black horse jump the course. Unlike good riders, whose aids to their mounts were often invisible, the group noticed that Maggie yanked cruelly on the reins to steer her horse in the right direction and kept reining him in too tightly after the jumps. Even so, the black horse jumped well. Like Danny, he was clearly a natural jumper. Even though his back hoof hit a rail and made it wobble, it stayed up, and Margie finished with a clean round.

  Veronica made an extravagant show of support for her friend, clapping loudly. The Saddle Club swiveled their heads in astonishment at the sight of Veronica cheering someone else on. “I knew you could do it, Margie!” Veronica cried as Margie rode into the stabling area.

  “Thanks, Veronica,” Margie said graciously. “You rode well, too.”

  She dismounted and handed her reins to a waiting groom. “Bob, you can take my friend Veronica’s horse, too,” she said. “Let’s go and eat some lunch. I’m dying for some chicken pesto salad, aren’t you?”

  Without glancing at The Saddle Club, the two girls walked off.

  “Whew!” said Stevie, breathing a sigh of relief. “Does the air smell better around here, or what?”

  “I have an idea,” said Carole. “I think we should have a Saddle Club meeting over lunch. I’d like to discuss the course, figure out what we could have done better today, and plan a strategy for tomorrow.”

  Lisa, who was gazing distractedly at Samson, barely heard Carole’s suggestion. “What?” she said vaguely. “Oh, yeah … we should talk. Can you hold Samson for a minute? I have to go to the bathroom.” She handed the reins to Stevie and went off in search of the bathroom.

  LISA LOOKED AT herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked happy and glowing, just like someone who had a chance to win the junior jumping division at one of the most prestigious horse shows on the A circuit. Although she usually loved talking horses with Carole and Stevie, for some reason she felt reluctant today to have a Saddle Club meeting and discuss the course—again. Her elation at jumping a clean round at the Macrae was still too new, and she wanted to enjoy the feeling a little longer. Do I really need to discuss the course with Carole and Stevie over lunch? she thought. After all, we both jumped clean rounds.

  However, Lisa had to admit that Carole, who was a relative veteran of these horse shows, was probably wise to want to discuss their performances. She smoothed some stray hairs and went into a stall to quickly use the toilet.

  Just as she was about to leave the stall, she heard footsteps coming into the bathroom, then voices. Then she heard her name. Automatically, she froze and listened.

  “I mean, that pink coat was just too much! I can’t believe she bought and wore it! It’s just so … so … wrong,” she heard Margie’s voice say.

  “Everyone, even the most beginning of riders, knows that pink coats are only worn by real hunting people,” said another voice that Lisa recognized as Belinda’s.

  Flushing hot with humiliation, Lisa looked down at her pink jacket. What she had secretly feared was true—she had picked the most inappropriate jacket possible to wear to a big show. Mortified, she whipped the coat off and began folding it into as tiny a bundle as possible. She wished she could just dig a hole in the ground and bury the jacket forever.

  “Well, she is the greenest of riders,” laughed another voice. With a sick feeling, Lisa recognized it as Veronica’s. “She’s hardly ever ridden before this. She takes group lessons at our dinky little stable, but she’s got no talent and no experience.”

  “Even if she is a beginner,” Margie said grimly, “she still somehow managed to have a clean round today. And that, my friends, just can’t go on. Do you know what’s at stake here? I’ve had a bit of slump, you know, over the past two years. If I don’t win the junior jumping trophy here, my parents have threatened to take me off the A circuit! They said they can’t justify the money they spent on my horse unless I spend more time training.”

  “Training?” a voice Lisa recognized as Melinda’s said. “You don’t need any training, Margie. You’re perfect the way you are.”

  Normally Belinda’s and Melinda’s fawning over Margie would have disgusted Lisa. The remarks about her own pink jacket and her riding experience, however, had completely demoralized her. She waited, sick at heart, for the group to go away.

  “Well, no novice is going to get in my way,” said Margie in a harsh voice. “I’ve got a little idea, okay? Let’s just drop a few choice remarks here and there, okay? Nothing too mean—we can’t be too obvious. Just a couple of comments about her background and riding experience. And maybe just a teeny mention of that pink jacket.”

  “Oh, we won’t have to work that hard to make her worry about things and mess up,” said Veronica. “She doesn’t really have any confidence. She only did well today because of her horse, which I might add was sired by my former horse, Cobalt. Anyone can ride clean on a horse like that.”

  Lisa’s blood ran cold. Veronica’s last comment was exactly what The Saddle Club had always said about Veronica and Danny. Was she now like Veronica? Was her success today
due to Samson and Samson alone?

  LISA FOUND CAROLE and Stevie still discussing the morning’s competition. “Hey, Lisa,” Carole said. “We were just talking about the other riders. You weren’t the only one who had trouble with the in-and-out. Almost everyone misjudged that jump. And on the last jump …”

  “Uh-huh,” Lisa said mechanically. She took Samson’s reins from Stevie and turned toward the stabling area.

  “I thought that last jump was really tough,” agreed Stevie. “But you guys both took it like a dream. Whatever you did today, do tomorrow.”

  “Did you see that one rider, the blond girl on the gray horse?” asked Carole. “She’s pretty good. I’ve seen her at a few shows, and …”

  As Carole and Stevie continued discussing the competition, Lisa made a few monosyllabic comments but otherwise stayed silent. The three girls took Samson and Starlight back to their stalls and began to untack them.

  Finally noticing Lisa’s nonparticipation in the conversation, Carole asked, “Lisa, are you all right?”

  Lisa hesitated for a moment. Then she blurted out, “Why didn’t you say anything about my coat? Why did you let me ride out in front of everyone dressed all wrong?”

  “Oh, Lisa,” said Carole, contrite. Immediately she guessed that Lisa must have overheard someone talking about the pink jacket. “I’m sorry, really I am. I did almost say something, but I only saw your jacket for the first time right before we were supposed to compete, and I didn’t want to say anything that could damage your confidence. Besides, it doesn’t even matter! Who cares what you wear? They don’t score you on wardrobe.”

  “You could ride in pajamas, for all they care,” said Stevie. “Well, not really … but you get my point.”

  Lisa thought for a minute. “I guess you’re right,” she said reluctantly. “I would have been destroyed if you had pointed it out to me before the competition. But I just overheard our evil twins and Veronica talking about me, and I don’t know what I’m going to do about the jacket. I’m so embarrassed! I can’t wear it again.”