Horsing Around Read Online Free

Mandy asked her.
    Becky shook her head. “Showmanship is when you lead the pony by the reins. You don’t ride him.”
    Suzanne rolled her eyes. “So you didn’t even ride and you got a ribbon?” she asked. “That seems pretty easy.”
    “It’s not,” Becky assured her. “I had to groom Brownie. Do you know how long it takes to braid the hair on a horse’s mane?”
    “I’ll bet she’s going to tell us,” Suzanne whispered to Katie.
    Katie poked Suzanne to make her be quiet.
    “It took me two hours!” Becky exclaimed.
    “See?” Suzanne whispered.
    “And that was the easy part,” Becky continued. “I worked for weeks to teach Brownie to stand still while the judges graded him on his appearance. And I had to train him to follow a pattern so he could walk in between all these cones they have set up.”
    “Was he able to do that?” Kevin asked.
    Becky nodded. “He did really well.”
    “Did Brownie get a ribbon, too?” Katie asked her.
    Becky looked at Katie strangely. “No. I got the ribbon.”
    “But Brownie did the work,” Katie insisted.
    “No, he didn’t,” Becky insisted. “Why are you making it sound like I did nothing? I trained him. I deserve the ribbon. And I’m going to win another one, too. I have to go get ready for the next event. This time, I’m going to ride Brownie. So there, Katie.”
    And with that, Becky stomped off.
    “Wow, she was mad,” George remarked.
    “Good one, Katie,” Suzanne complimented her.
    “Yeah, you told her ,” Jeremy agreed.
    But Katie hadn’t meant to make Becky angry. She didn’t say Becky didn’t deserve her ribbon. She just thought Brownie deserved one, too. Katie would never hurt anyone’s feelings on purpose.
    “I have to go apologize to Becky,” Katie told her friends. Becky was probably in the stables with Brownie. She ran off to find her.
     
    The horse stables were a big place. Katie didn’t see Becky. And after a few minutes of trying to find her, Katie realized she was completely lost. There was nothing around her but hay and empty horse stalls. Rows of them.

    Katie sat down on a bale of hay. She looked around, trying to figure out how to get back to the stands. Her friends had surely taken their seats by now.
    Suddenly a cool fall breeze began to blow. Well, it wasn’t exactly a fall breeze. It was cold, more like something you might feel in winter.
    It was also getting pretty strong.
    And blowing only on the back of Katie’s neck.
    Uh-oh. That could only mean one thing.
    This was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind !
    “No! Not now! Not here!” Katie shouted.
    But there was no stopping the magic wind. The tornado whipped around wildly, blowing Katie’s bright red hair all around her face.
    The magic wind was so strong that Katie was sure she was going to blow up, up, and away—just like a fall leaf. She shut her eyes tight and tried not to cry.
    And then it stopped. Just like that.
    The magic wind was gone. And so was Katie Kazoo.
    She’d turned into someone else . . . switcheroo!
    But who?

Chapter 8
    Katie blinked twice and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around. There were wooden walls to the left and right of her. If she looked over the half-door in front of her, she could see a horse in a stall across the way.
    She must still be in the stables. That was a relief. At least the magic wind hadn’t blown her clear across the globe to China or anything.
    Okay, so now Katie knew where she was. But she still didn’t know who she was.
    Itch. Itch. A fly landed on her back and began walking around. How annoying! Katie swished her tail back and forth, trying to swish off the fly.
    Her tail ? Wait a minute. Katie didn’t have a tail. At least, not usually.
    She glanced down at her feet.
    Uh-oh. Her funky red high-top sneakers were gone. She was wearing horseshoes instead. Four horseshoes.
    Which could mean only one thing. The magic wind had switcherooed Katie into a horse.

    Just then, Becky came walking over to the