Stable Hearts Read Online Free Page A

Stevie’s shriek carried back to them on the wind: “What do you
mean
you don’t want to go to my dance?”
    Stevie stomped back to the rest of The Saddle Club. “I’ve never been so disgusted in my entire life,” she said. She threw a piece of red paper on the ground.
    Lisa automatically bent down and retrieved it. “Is this your invitation?” she asked.
    “No,” said Stevie. “I mean, yes. I mean, it’sPhil’s invitation to me. His school is having a Valentine’s Day dance, and he actually wants me to go to that instead of him coming to Pine Hollow.”
    “Go to both,” Carole suggested.
    “I can’t!” wailed Stevie. “They’re on the same night, at the same time. I told Phil I thought we’d have a much better time at Pine Hollow, especially since Max is inviting Cross County, but Phil is on the committee for his school dance. He says he’s been working really hard to make his dance nice, so he wants to go to that one.”
    “That sounds reasonable,” Lisa said. “We’ll miss you, but I bet you’ll still have fun.”
    “But I don’t want to go to his dance! At some school where I don’t know anyone! Plus, I won’t be around you guys. Plus, I want Phil to come to our dance. I was really planning on a special night for us. His school dance just wouldn’t be the same.”
    “Girls,” Max called, “I could use your help here.” He was beginning to unload the Pine Hollow horses from the trailer.
    Actually, Carole corrected herself, Max was beginning to unload the Pine Hollow
ponies
from the trailer: Quarter, Nickel, Dime, and Penny.The games were relays, so they only needed one mount per team, and the ponies were much easier for the little kids to ride than the horses, especially since relay games involved so much mounting and dismounting.
    They divided into ten teams, four from Pine Hollow and six from Cross County. “We’ve got to beat Phil’s team,” Stevie said urgently as they saddled Dime, their team’s mount.
    “I don’t think that will make him more likely to come to our dance,” Lisa pointed out. She tightened Dime’s girth another notch. Dime turned his head as if to nip her. Lisa pulled firmly on his far rein to straighten his head. It wasn’t like Dime to be naughty.
    Stevie glared at Lisa. “It’s a matter of principle,” she said.
    Lisa sighed. Stevie was known for her competitive streak—and so was Phil.
    “We’ll do our best,” Carole said soothingly.
    Stevie brightened. “And our best is pretty good.”
    H OWEVER , THE DAY did not go well for anyone from Pine Hollow. The first race was the flag race. Oneby one, each rider on each team had to trot or canter up to a wooden stand, insert a flag in it, and race to the finish line to hand over the pony to the next rider. Once all four flags were flying, the team members had to do the same thing backward, taking the flags out one at a time.
    Penny, a Pine Hollow pony, was being ridden by a team of young but good riders: Matthew, Jasmine, May, and Corey. Matthew rode first. He grabbed a flag and urged Penny into a trot. Penny took off at a flying gallop. She ran past the flag stand, ran past the finish line on the other end of the playing field, and galloped madly out into the open field beyond that.
    Matthew shouted at Penny and tried vainly to slow her down. Max shouted instructions to him. Eventually Matthew got Penny turned—and the mare galloped back the other way, across the finish line, past the flag stand, across the starting line, and through the field on the other side.
    All the other horses were made nervous by Penny’s galloping. Most of the other teams stopped their horses until Matthew managed to halt Penny. The little boy looked fiercely angry. “She’s not listening to me!” he said.
    “I can see that,” Max said gently. “It’s not your fault. Try starting out at the walk, and see how she does.”
    Matthew kept Penny at a tight-reined walk and finally got his flag in his team’s stand. He