Stable Farewell (3 page)

Together The Saddle Club peered into the stall at Danny. He was in the far corner finishing a flake of hay. Almost in unison, the three girls gasped. He looked like everything Meg had said and more, even just standing in his stall. He was an amazingly attractive horse. A tall, well-muscled dapple gray with a fine Thoroughbred head, he looked a little over sixteen hands high. He was perfectly filled out and conditioned. When he raised his head from the hay he gave his admirers a bored look out of his huge, dark eyes. Then he went back to eating.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a great-looking horse,” Lisa said in awe.

“His breeding must be fantastic,” Carole breathed. “A horse like this can cost as much as a small house.”

Stevie gritted her teeth and said nothing.

“It’s funny, though, with Garnet …” Lisa let her voice trail off, remembering that they weren’t alone. She didn’t want to go on in front of Meg about Veronica’s silly decision to get a new horse when she already had a perfectly good one. Meg would think they were just jealous.

Lisa could tell that Stevie and Carole were thinking the same thing, though. After all, it wasn’t as if Veronica had physically outgrown Garnet, the way younger kids outgrew their ponies—as May Grover had with Luna. But Veronica also hadn’t outgrown Garnet abilitywise: She wasn’t so good that she needed a more challenging mount, as when Lisa had gone from riding Pepper to Delilah and then to Prancer, Garnet was still suited to Veronica’s needs. The horse was pretty, well-behaved, and experienced, and, as far as they knew, Veronica wasn’t interested in higher-level competition that might require a more athletic or spectacular horse. Of course, Veronica didn’t always win at horse shows, but that was because she made mistakes, not because her horse was holding her back.

As The Saddle Club was considering all this, Veronica walked in. Seeing the appreciative crowd outside her horse’s stall, she beamed. There was nothing Veronica liked better than being the center of attention, especially when it meant being able to show off.

Not wanting to listen to her bragging, Stevie turned and was attempting to slip away unnoticed when Veronica stopped her. “You don’t have to rush off, Stevie. I don’t mind if you want to look at my baby. He is a beautiful sight, isn’t he?” she prompted.

Stevie nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. The most annoying thing about Veronica’s conceited tone of voice was that this time nobody was going to be able to tell her that she was exaggerating. The horse
was
gorgeous.

“He’s the most perfect show horse Daddy could find, and believe me, he searched long and hard. Here, boy, come say hello to Veronica.” Veronica stuck out a manicured hand and waved it at Danny. Not surprisingly, the horse ignored her and kept munching. Stevie stifled a grin. Even the most perfect animal in the world knew better than to come when Veronica called.

Carole didn’t want to encourage Veronica any more than Stevie, but she had to know about the horse’s background. “Where did you find him?” she asked.

Veronica was only too eager to tell the story. “We bought him from a farm in Oakley, Maryland, that specializes in hunters and jumpers. Of course, you all probably wouldn’t have heard of the place since it’s kind of, well, out of your price ranges, but—”

“Oh, you mean Happy Vale Stables?” Carole asked nonchalantly.
Since she read every horse magazine there was, she knew all about the famous show stables.

Veronica gave her a condescending look. “My, my, so you have heard of it. Isn’t that a surprise? Anyway, he’s a purebred Thoroughbred with bloodlines that include Secretariat, and he belonged to the champion East Coast junior rider of the past two years. The only reason she sold him was that she needed a horse for the Olympics. And he already has points toward qualifying for the American Horse Show.”

The Saddle Club was agog. Nobody said anything for a minute as they all tried to absorb the information. Secretariate, a son of Bold Ruler, was one of the most famous racehorses of all time. And the American Horse Show was the premier riding event in the country. They had gone to it once—to
watch.
It was almost unbelievable, but it sounded as if Veronica was implying that
she
intended to ride in it.

“Do you mean that you’re going to take Danny in the show?” Carole asked, her eyes wide. It was something that she herself thought about only in her wildest dreams.

“Wouldn’t you have to change your life completely? I mean, you’d have to go to all the major shows, all spring and all summer, and do really well if you want to qualify for the American,” Lisa pointed out.

Veronica glared at them. “I’m perfectly aware of the qualification requirements for the show,” she said icily. “And even if I don’t do it this summer, I may later on. Who knows? Danny’s only eight. And with a horse like him, anything is possible.” She turned to Meg. “Did I tell you his show name yet?”

Meg shook her head. “No, but I’ll bet it’s good.”

“It sure is since it really says it all: He’s registered as Go For Blue.”

Stevie snickered. “Gopher Blue? That’s funny, I’ve never seen a blue gopher.” She knew what Veronica had said, but she couldn’t resist baiting her.

“Go For Blue as in ‘go for a blue ribbon,’ obviously,” Veronica said with a sneer. “Anyway, Daddy really likes the name, too, because it was his idea that I get a proven champion. It’s about time I had a really good horse to ride.”

“But what about Garnet?” Lisa asked.

Veronica shrugged. “Garnet’s a sweet horse, but I’m through with her.”

“What do you mean, ‘through’?” Carole demanded.

“I’m selling her. Didn’t you see the sign by the office? It isn’t that my parents couldn’t afford to let me keep two horses, it’s just that when you have a horse like Danny you really aren’t interested in one like Garnet. Stevie, perhaps
you’ll want to think about buying Garnet. She’d be a big step up from Belle. At least Garnet is a purebred.” Veronica smiled sweetly and turned back to Meg.

Stevie was so mad she couldn’t speak. It wasn’t just that Veronica had a new, perfect horse and was casting off Garnet without a second thought. And it wasn’t her insulting Belle, who was an American Saddlebred–Arabian cross. It was the stupidity of her comment: Everyone who knew anything about horses knew that some of the best horses for showing and eventing were mixed breeds. Half the Olympic team rode Thoroughbred or warmblood crosses, for heaven’s sake! But to Veronica the brand name was everything—in clothes and in horses. To her “purebred” was a label that she could throw around to impress people.

Seeing Stevie’s face grow red and her hands clench into fists, Carole and Lisa guided her away from Meg and Veronica. Veronica ignored them, leading Danny out to the cross-ties and cooing over him. “You’re my perfect little horsey, aren’t you, Danny-boy?” she murmured.

“Oh,
gag
,” Stevie muttered.

As The Saddle Club walked down the aisle, they passed Garnet’s stall. All three of them stopped to look at the mare. “Boy, Veronica really knows how to get a horse into condition for being sold, doesn’t she?” Carole said sarcastically. In contrast to Danny, who had been groomed until
he was immaculate, Garnet was a picture of neglect. Her mane was long and unkempt, and she had a large manure stain on one of her hind legs. What was worse, her stable sheet had become so twisted that she was almost entangled in it. Shaking her head in disgust, Carole said she would fix the blanket.

“I wouldn’t bother if I were you,” Stevie said, almost sputtering. “Veronica doesn’t deserve our help.”

Lisa and Carole exchanged glances. Clearly Stevie was so angry that she didn’t know what she was saying.

“Veronica doesn’t deserve our help, but her horse does,” Carole said quietly.

Almost at once Stevie realized how harsh her own words had sounded. “You’re right, Carole—I just can’t put up with Veronica any longer!”

“So let’s focus on Garnet,” Carole said. She entered the mare’s stall to check the horse over more carefully. First she gave Garnet a good pat, noticing that she seemed edgier than usual. The stall’s bedding was dug into ruts from her constant pacing, a clear sign of boredom. As Carole carefully unhooked the sheet, straightened it, and rebuckled the straps, she scratched Garnet’s back and spoke to her soothingly. “You’re probably bored out of your mind, aren’t you? I would be, too, cooped up in this stall … I wonder how long it’s been since anyone paid attention
to you.” Carole knew that with their busy schedules, Red and Max could hardly be expected to exercise Garnet. No doubt they had mentioned the horse’s boredom to Veronica, who had probably laughed it off.

It made Carole’s blood boil to see a nice, well-behaved horse like Garnet left to rot in her stall. “Maybe Garnet’s getting sold will end up being a good thing: Somebody who deserves her might buy her,” she mused aloud.

“But who on earth would buy a horse who looks like Garnet does?” Stevie asked.

“Yeah, she looks like nobody cares about her,” said Lisa.

Carole frowned thoughtfully. “She may look like that, but it’s not true.”

“What do you mean?” Stevie asked.

“I mean, somebody
does
care about Garnet,” Carole said. “Three somebodies, in fact, and you know who I mean.”

“Us?” said Lisa, catching on.

“Us,” Carole said firmly.

O
N THE FOLLOWING
Tuesday afternoon, the girls had their usual group lesson. Or at least Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were
expecting
the usual lesson. What they got instead was a “Veronica and Danny” exhibition. From the moment Max called the group to order to the moment he told them to dismount, Veronica and Danny could do no wrong.

Watching them trot and canter perfect circles and figure eights, halt on command, leg-yield down the long side of the ring, and lengthen and shorten stride at the trot, Lisa drew even with Carole and Stevie and whispered, “They’re perfect, aren’t they? Really and truly perfect.”

“You mean
Danny’s
perfect,” Stevie corrected her. “All Veronica has to do is sit there and look pretty. Danny’s the total push-button horse.”

“Push-button?” Lisa repeated.

Stevie nodded. “It’s just what it sounds like: a horse that behaves like a machine. You push the buttons and it performs perfectly.”

Carole looked around cautiously before responding. Normally Max would have yelled at the three of them the minute they started talking, but today even he was caught up in watching the new arrival. “I have to agree,” Carole said, glancing at Danny as he made another perfect transition, “and a push-button horse is exactly the kind of horse Veronica should be riding. As we all know, she doesn’t want to take the time to get involved with actually training a horse.”

After about forty minutes of flat work, Max set up a few simple fences to end the lesson with some jumping. If anything, Danny was even more unbelievable over fences. Veronica hardly moved in the saddle, but they took each jump from the exact right spot and sailed over in a perfect arc Danny snapped his knees up athletically and settled right down upon landing. It was obvious that the two-foot, six-inch schooling jumps were child’s play for such a great
jumper. After every fence, Veronica gave Danny a huge pat and acted as if he had just cleared a six-foot oxer.

Mercifully, Max called the lesson to a halt the minute the hour was up, reminding them to walk their horses on a lead until they were cool. Stevie, Lisa, and Carole walked beside one another, as usual, so that they could talk, but surprisingly enough, nobody had anything to say. Danny’s perfection seemed to have put a damper on everything. Even though they knew that Carole was right and that it was better to ride horses that needed some training—and in the long run they would be better riders because of that—it was frustrating to see Veronica get perfect results without doing anything. All of them, at some point or another, had wished they had a push-button horse. Now Veronica had one.

“Good boy, Danny. You were as good as I knew you’d be. You’re worth every cent Daddy paid for you!” The Saddle Club turned in unison to watch Veronica go by. For the first time they could remember, she was actually walking her own horse to cool him off. Obviously—and completely typical of Veronica—she thought Danny was more deserving than Garnet because Danny had cost more.

“By the way, Veronica, how’s
Garnet
doing these days?” Carole asked, unable to keep the sharp edge out of her voice.

Veronica stopped Danny and turned around. “Garnet? I hadn’t really noticed. I’m sure she’s fine. In case you’ve forgotten, Carole, it’s Red’s job to take care of the horses,” she added sweetly.

Ignoring her, Carole persisted. “She looked a little bored the last time I saw her. She was pacing in her stall.”

Veronica shrugged. “Too bad for Garnet. Right now Danny has all of my attention, as I’m sure you can understand.”

Before Carole could retort, Max appeared at the door to the indoor ring. “Veronica, don’t forget that a prospective buyer is coming to look at Garnet in a few minutes. You’d better hurry up with Danny and get her ready. And be prepared to show Garnet to them. It won’t take more than an hour.”