Horse Capades Read Online Free

latest masterpiece. The whole riding class had laughed at the sign on Danny’s flank. But now that she thought about it, Stevie realized that Carole and Lisa had seemed less impressed with the whole thing than she herself had been. Nowthat she thought about it, she wasn’t entirely sure that Max had been amused by it after all. She suspected he didn’t like Veronica any more than anyone else, but another thing he didn’t like was having his riding classes disrupted. In fact, he hated it. And she realized she was lucky he hadn’t revoked her riding privileges on the spot.
    The more Stevie thought about it, the more she realized she’d been riding on borrowed time for a while now. She could hardly count all the close calls she’d had because of her practical jokes. Max had threatened on more than one occasion to ban her from Pine Hollow. Usually she was pretty sure he was kidding, but still … Then there were all the times Stevie’s teachers had kept her after school because of some harmless little joke, cutting into her valuable riding time. And once her parents had grounded her because of a prank she had pulled on one of her brothers. That time, Stevie hadn’t been allowed anywhere near Pine Hollow—or Belle—for almost a week.
    By the time she walked up Pine Hollow’s long driveway, Stevie had reached an important decision. The rewards just weren’t worth the risks anymore. She was through with practical jokes. Forever.
    * * *
    S TEVIE FOUND HER friends practicing in the indoor ring to escape the rain, which was falling harder now, drumming steadily on the stable roof. She paused in the doorway and watched as Lisa took Prancer through a small course of fences. Prancer took each jump perfectly, tucking her hind feet up neatly behind her to avoid nicking any of the rails.
    Stevie smiled, impressed. Her friend had worked hard with Prancer, a high-strung, spirited mare who had begun life as a racehorse. Prancer hadn’t been jumping for long, and it was partly thanks to Lisa’s dedication that she was doing so well at such a young age. When Lisa did something, she liked to do it right. That was one of the things Stevie admired most about her friend.
    “There she is,” Lisa called, spotting Stevie walking into the ring.
    Carole turned and waved. “Sorry we didn’t wait for you,” she said. “Hurry up and get Belle ready. We’re working on jump position.”
    “In a minute,” Stevie called back. “I wanted to tell you guys something first. And ask you a favor.”
    Carole and Lisa dismounted and led their horses over to where Stevie was standing.
    “What’s up?” Carole asked.
    Stevie took a deep breath. “Favor first, I guess,” she said. “I wanted to ask if you would help me make a film for my moving image class.”
    “Another one?” Lisa asked. She patted Prancer soothingly when the mare stamped her feet restlessly, as if eager to get back to work.
    “The same one,” Stevie corrected. “Um, my teacher didn’t like
Sleeping Beauty
very much. I have to do the project over. And I only have two weeks to do it.”
    Lisa glanced at Carole and grinned. “Well, I won’t say I told you so, but I told you so.”
    But Carole was frowning. “You have two weeks to do another film? That won’t leave you much time to get ready for the Pony Club competition.”
    “I know,” Stevie said. “That’s why I need your help. Especially since this film has got to be really good.”
    Lisa nodded. “Of course we’ll help,” she said. “What fairy tale are you going to do this time?
Sleeping Beauty
again?”
    “Ugh. I don’t think so,” Stevie said with a shudder. “I’ll have to come up with another one. I’ll start thinking about it tonight.”
    “Good,” Carole said. “Then let’s get to work.” She turned and prepared to remount Starlight.
    “Wait,” Stevie said quickly. “There’s something elseI want to tell you.” She paused until she was sure she had both her friends’ full