Horse Talk (2 page)

“We’ll give you a lead,” Stevie offered. She rode Belle past the tractor and turned her to face Starlight. Starlight rolled his eyes and tossed his head again. Carole continued to urge him forward, and he continued to resist her urgings. Prancer, worried that Starlight might have something to be afraid of, refused to join Belle on the far side of the tractor, but she didn’t fight Lisa the way Starlight was fighting Carole.

“Come on. Come on,” Carole said persistently. She pushed Starlight forward with her legs and seat. Starlight took one hesitant step, then another.

“You’ve got him,” Stevie said encouragingly.

Starlight took one more step, then whirled, bucked, and bolted for safety. Carole landed on the grass on her
backside. Before Stevie or Lisa could dismount to help her, she was standing up and laughing.

“Are you okay?” Stevie asked with concern. They all fell off sometimes—all riders did—and it was never a particularly pleasant experience.

“I’m fine,” Carole assured them. “Look. The grass is so thick it’s like carpet.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lisa said. “You’re having a tough day.”

“Well,” Carole said, laughing again, “at least it’s consistent. Yet another case of not listening to my horse!”

The others laughed as well. In the middle of the lesson, when Carole had been struggling to anticipate Starlight’s jumps, Max had finally cried in exasperation, “Carole, you’ve got to listen to your horse!”

“But Max,” Stevie had piped up sweetly from across the ring, “you always say horses don’t understand English, and I don’t think Carole speaks anything else.”

Everyone had laughed. “I can count to ten in Spanish,” Carole had offered. “Should I try that?”

Max had grinned and replied, “No, I think you should all learn to speak horse.”

“Hang on just a second,” Carole said now. She wiped some wisps of dried grass off her breeches, then walked slowly to the corner of the field where Starlight stood waiting. In another moment she was mounted.

This time, Stevie and Lisa walked their horses quietly
past the tractor and then waited on the other side. Carole let Starlight take a long look at the frightening object, then asked him to walk forward as she had before. Starlight did. “Good boy,” Carole said, patting him.

“You’re really in a good mood,” Stevie told her. “I mean, you don’t seem upset about falling off or about that lesson. I know you weren’t riding horribly, but you weren’t riding your best, either.”

“I’m just not worried about it,” Carole answered. “I mean, I can’t have a great lesson every week. And in a way it was kind of interesting—I don’t even know why I felt so out of rhythm. Until I know, there’s not much point in being upset.”

Carole really meant what she said. Every single thing about horses fascinated her, and Max had told her once that you could learn just as much from a bad lesson as a good one, if you tried.

“And that fall was just silly,” she continued. “I should have been ready for Starlight to whirl like that, and I probably should have let him take a really good look at the tractor before I tried to make him go past it. I could tell by how rigid his muscles were that he was upset.” She laughed. “Maybe that’s what Max meant by learning to speak horse. Maybe he meant learning to listen to their body cues.”

Stevie thought about this. “I assumed he was joking, but you could be right,” she said. “Belle pricks her ears
forward when she sees me, and I always take that to mean hello.”

“And we tell them what to do with our hands and legs,” Lisa added. “It’s kind of cool when you think about it. It’s horse talk—a whole other kind of communication.”

“Our school’s on a huge communication theme right now,” Carole told Stevie. She and Lisa went to the same public school, while Stevie attended a private school, Fenton Hall.

“That’s right,” Lisa cut in. “We didn’t have time to tell you our news before the lesson, Stevie.”

“Everybody’s studying television, newspapers, the Internet, and things like African drum signals, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese characters, sign language, and Braille,” Carole said. “Best of all—”

“We’re going to have a radio show!” said Lisa.

“Wow!” Stevie was impressed. “Just the two of you?”

Carole and Lisa looked at each other. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss that yet,” Lisa admitted. “Maybe, but I kind of doubt we’ll be allowed to. It would be fun, though.”

“I think so, too,” Carole agreed. She checked her watch and signaled to them that it was time to turn for home. Lisa ran her hand down Prancer’s shoulder. The mare was cool and dry.

“See,” Carole explained, “the local radio station offered to do an educational cooperative with us. Every
day for the entire month, our school gets an hour of radio time. The station is loaning us equipment and is going to teach us how to use it. We have to come up with programs to fill all the airtime. Some students are going to be DJs, and others will do technical stuff, maybe even advertising—I don’t really know yet. They announced it this morning, and tomorrow after school they’re having a meeting for everyone who wants to take part. The airtime will be from four to five
P.M.
, so it’s an extracurricular activity. It’s not a requirement.”

“It really sounds fun,” Stevie said enviously. “We don’t do anything like that at Fenton. The last time we were on the radio was when Herbie Brewster set the chemistry lab on fire and we had to evacuate the building. Are you two going to do it?”

Carole and Lisa grinned at each other. “I think so, yes,” Lisa said, “if it’s okay that we’re in different grades. What do you say?”

“I say yes,” Carole replied. “I think we should try for one of the DJ positions. They’ll be the most interesting. I know we’ll make a great team.”

“We already make a great team.” Lisa let the reins slide through her fingers so that Prancer could stretch her neck. “That’s what The Saddle Club is all about.”

“So what kind of show will you have?” Stevie asked. “You’ll have to have a theme.”

“I don’t know,” Lisa said. “But I sure don’t want to do another hour of the same old rock music. Every kid in my homeroom class wanted to do that.”

“Mine too,” Carole agreed. “We’ll do something unique.”

L
ISA TWISTED HER
hair nervously around her finger. “I didn’t think there’d be so many kids here,” she whispered to Carole.

“Me either,” Carole whispered back. They were waiting in the hallway outside the room that Mrs. Klemme, the radio program moderator, had set up as a studio. Three or four pairs of kids waited in front of them, and more had already gone inside. All the DJs were going to have to work in pairs, and each DJ pair had to present its idea for a show to Mrs. Klemme, one at a time.

“Well,” Lisa said, brightening a little, “I think we’re well prepared to present our idea. I’ve got the playlist right here.” She patted her notebook confidently.

They had decided to do a music show after all, and
the night before they’d pooled all their most recent tapes and come up with a list of their favorite songs. A music show would be easy, and it would also be a lot of fun—not only would they get to talk on the air, but they’d also be listening to what they wanted to hear!

Two boys came out of Mrs. Klemme’s room, scowling. “Guess she didn’t like their idea,” Carole said, nudging Lisa with her elbow and nodding toward the boys.

“Guess not.” Lisa frowned. “Weren’t they planning on doing a music show, like us?”

“Ours will be much better,” Carole assured her. Lisa nodded.

But the next two pairs of kids went in and out of Mrs. Klemme’s room so quickly that Lisa thought it looked as if they were using a revolving door. She grabbed a girl from the second pair. “What’s wrong?” Lisa asked. “Why isn’t she listening to anyone’s ideas?”

The girl, whom Lisa knew slightly from class, rolled her eyes in disgust. “She says she’s not taking any more music shows. She’s got enough scheduled already, she says.” The girl sounded peeved. “She wouldn’t even look at our playlist!”

“Uh-oh.” Lisa and Carole looked at each other in dismay. “That’s what we were going to do, too.”

“Better change your minds fast, or give up being a DJ,” the girl advised as she walked away.

“Wow,” Carole said. “What should we do?”

“We have to think of something quick,” Lisa said. “How about a talk show?”

Carole shook her head, laughing. “The only thing I know enough to talk about is horses. Who’s going to listen to that?”

“I don’t know,” Lisa said. She tried to come up with a better idea, but the door opened and it was their turn.

“
Horse Talk
!” Carole said to Mrs. Klemme. “We thought we’d do a talk show called
Horse Talk
. About horses.”

Mrs. Klemme looked pleased. “That’s a different idea,” she said. “A call-in show, you mean?”

“Uh … sure,” Lisa said. “Like the gardening show my mom listens to. People call in and ask questions about how to take care of gardenias and stuff, only they’ll be asking us how to take care of horses.”

“All about horses,” Carole corrected her. “Not just how to care for them. Anything people want to ask, we’ll answer.”

Mrs. Klemme smiled. “It’s a relief to hear from a pair who don’t want to do another music show! I don’t know anything about horses myself. I assume you two do?”

They nodded. “We’ve been riding for years,” Carole said.

“
Horse Talk
it is,” Ms. Klemme said, adding the title to her chart. “You’ll be on the air a week from today.”

Lisa and Carole looked at one another. What had they gotten themselves into?

“A
TALK SHOW
about horses? Here?” Max looked amused and a little skeptical. “Where did you get that idea?” Lisa and Carole had come straight from the meeting to the stables. They’d had time to tell Stevie all about their plans before Max had finished a lesson he was teaching. Stevie thought
Horse Talk
was a fabulous idea. She couldn’t wait to help out.

“Come on, Max,” Lisa pleaded. “It was the best idea we could think of. We’re the only call-in show. And we already told Mrs. Klemme we could probably have it here.”

“Live from Pine Hollow,” Carole told him. “It’s exciting. It’s authentic.”

“It’s publicity,” Stevie pointed out. “This could make Pine Hollow famous—really put it on the map. You’ll probably get a bunch of new students because of
Horse Talk
.”

Max grinned. “Only if Lisa and Carole answer the questions correctly,” he said.

“Max!” Lisa protested. “You know we know more about horses than most people who listen to the radio.” Lisa knew that no one knew everything about riding, but she also knew that many people didn’t know anything at all.

“Between Lisa’s acting ability and Carole’s incredible
wealth of knowledge, how can they go wrong?” Stevie asked. She smiled at Max. “Plus, they’ll have my behind-the-scenes help. It’ll be a certain success—if you say we can do it.”

“If anyone can make a horse chat show a success, I believe you three could,” Max said. “You certainly talk about horses enough. I guess you can hold it here.”

“Thanks!” Lisa said. “Mrs. Klemme said she’d stop by later in the week to discuss the details with you. Max, you won’t regret this.”

“I’m sure I won’t,” he replied.

Stevie squeezed Lisa’s arm excitedly. “This is the best Saddle Club project ever!”

L
ISA AND
C
AROLE
spent the next couple of days getting ready for
Horse Talk
. On Thursday they learned how to set up and operate the portable equipment that would let them broadcast from Pine Hollow. On Friday morning they met with some of the students who were doing behind-the-scenes work for the project. They picked out music for a theme song and learned how to play the prerecorded advertising tapes.

“Phew!” Lisa said as they walked into the stable together on Saturday morning. “All the radio stuff has been fun, but I’m glad we’ll be riding today!”

“You and me both,” Carole replied. “Max said we could tell everyone about
Horse Talk
at Horse Wise
today.” Horse Wise was the Pony Club that most of the kids at Pine Hollow belonged to. It helped them learn all sorts of things about horses, and it met almost every Saturday morning. Today they were having a brief meeting in the office, and then a session on horseback.

They hung their coats in their cubbies in the locker room. Stevie appeared shortly, and the three of them headed for the meeting. Most of the other Pony Clubbers were already inside. Max spent the first few minutes of the meeting discussing some changes in the schedule for the next month. Then he asked Lisa to tell everyone about
Horse Talk
.

“It’s new, it’s exciting, and it’s live from Pine Hollow!” Lisa began. Her acting classes had taught her the importance of an energetic opening line, but this one fizzled: The Pony Clubbers looked blank. “
Horse Talk
is a radio show Carole and I will be broadcasting from Pine Hollow—live every Wednesday afternoon!” she said. She explained her school’s project. “So if any of you have horse questions you want answered, you know where to call! And if you just like to hear about horses, tune in every Wednesday, live from Pine Hollow!” Despite the enthusiasm Lisa tried to put into her voice, no one looked very excited.