Show Jumper Read Online Free Page A

leotards and tights.
    Her riding clothes definitely looked worn in, although Lisa was too careful to let her clothes be ruined. But were they right for the Macrae?
    She desperately wished that Ivan Elwood were there to give her advice. Although Mr. Reeds was extremely attentive and polite, he had spent five minutes trying to persuade Mrs. Atwood to buy some breeches that Lisa knew were all wrong for the Macrae—a special pair of European dressage breeches, the kind worn by top-level international competitors on the dressage circuit. “I don’t need them for a jumping competition,” she had said, over and over again until Mr. Reeds had finally given up. Even worse, he had tried to sell them the “latest revolutionary new fly spray; we just got it in.” Puzzled, Lisa had kept on refusing to buy the fly spray. She eventually realized that Mr. Reeds didn’teven know the fly spray was meant for the horse, not the rider.
    After wrestling with her doubts and urges for a few minutes, Lisa finally made up her mind. Things were getting out of control, and she needed to get to Pine Hollow—now. She could just imagine what Max would say if she was late for the last lesson before the Macrae, and she didn’t blame him. Between Carole and Lisa, Max had definitely spent a lot more time getting Lisa ready for the Macrae. His comments to her during lessons had been more pointed, and he had obviously paid more attention to her because of Carole’s much greater experience on the show circuit.
    “No boots,” she said firmly. “I’ll just polish my old ones. They’ll be comfortable and they’ll look great.” She started walking toward the exit.
    “Wait, wait!” Mr. Reeds called out. He sounded desperate, so Lisa stopped. He started pulling riding jackets off the rack. “You haven’t even tried on any jackets. Didn’t you tell me you wanted a whole new outfit?”
    “Yes. Yes, we do,” said Mrs. Atwood. She beamed at Mr. Reeds reassuringly. “And you’ve been so helpful. Lisa’s just a little nervous about her lesson, isn’t that right, darling? Now,” she added firmly, “come back here and try on some jackets.”
    “My tweed jacket is in fine shape,” Lisa answered tersely.
    “Oh, come on, honey, let me treat you,” pleadedMrs. Atwood. She held up a jacket. “Just try a few on,” she said.
    Lisa was just about to sharply repeat her refusal when she looked at her mother’s face. Mrs. Atwood’s cheeks were flushed with excitement and her eyes were sparkling. Lisa realized that the clothes were just a part of her mother’s current state of happiness. Mrs. Atwood couldn’t get over the fact that her little girl was going to ride in the Macrae. It was obvious that she wanted everything—including Lisa’s appearance—to be perfect.
    Lisa couldn’t remember ever seeing her mother this excited about a horse show before. Since she’d found out that Lisa was taking part in the event, Mrs. Atwood hadn’t stopped talking about it. “Top society people from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh attend this show,” she had told Lisa. “Not only that, but people buy new outfits for the show—hats, gloves, you name it! You won’t see any blue jeans among the spectators, no indeed! I’m going to go and mingle with the crowd and just enjoy myself, cheering my little girl on. I’ll have to start shopping for new clothes right away. I think a suit, don’t you? A pale color, like pink perhaps? And my double strand of pearls? Goodness, what will I wear the second day?”
    Lisa knew that her mother was more interested in the prestige of the Macrae than in the riding that took place there. Even though her mother had always been aloyal spectator at the horse shows in which Lisa had competed, she remained in a constant state of bewilderment about Lisa’s total horse-craziness. The people attending the Macrae and the clothes they would be wearing mattered a great deal more to Mrs. Atwood than the quality of the horses and riders