The Painted Horse (12 page)

Max smiled and nodded. The cameraman moved so that he could tape her.

“I learned something today,” Melody said. “The whole idea of a Genius Kid is wrong. What’s important is teamwork, and everyone helping everyone else.”

Max was smiling broadly.

“So that’s what he was after,” Lisa whispered to Carole.

“You know what I’m going to do?” Melody said. “I’m going to change the name of this segment.” She looked at the riders and the people in the bleachers. “I can tell that you’re great together. I’m going to call this segment ‘The Genius Gang.’ ”

The crowd went wild.

After that, intermediate and beginning riders rode. Everyone was in a great mood, so horses and ponies and riders looked good. After the last riders had finished, Max said, “Untack your horses and groom them. Then everyone is going to meet for a grand spring barbecue.”

The riders cheered.

“Real food at last!” Stevie said. “I never thought I’d see it again.” Her mind whirled with visions of hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, mustard, ketchup, onion rings,
and soda. “I feel a stomachache coming on,” she said happily.

As they were leaving the ring, Joe Rock waved at Carole. “Hey, ditch the horse and come talk to me,” he said.

“I’ll hold Starlight,” Stevie said. “Go ahead.”

Carole slipped off Starlight and gave the reins to Stevie. She walked over to Joe Rock, who was keeping a safe distance from the horses.

“You were okay out there,” Mr. Rock said. “You’ve got a nice touch with that horse. It’s a long shot, but if you give me your résumé and some glossy eight-by-ten photographs, I’ll send them on.”

“I don’t have a résumé,” said Carole.

“So write one,” said Mr. Rock.

“I don’t have any photographs,” she said.

“So get them taken,” he said impatiently.

“I don’t have time to be in a movie,” Carole said. “I need to stay here and work on my riding, take care of my horse, go to school, and be with my friends.”

“That’s pathetic,” said Mr. Rock. “Whoever heard of someone who didn’t want to be in a movie?” He stomped away.

L
ATER
THAT
SAME
day, The Saddle Club gathered at TD’s. Stevie had complained that after all her healthy eating in New York, barbecue just wasn’t enough. She needed one of her special sundaes.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” Stevie said. She turned to the waitress. “I’ll have butter crunch ice cream with pecans, walnuts, and sunflower seeds. Plus chocolate, marshmallow, and sprinkles.”

“That’s it?” said the waitress, who was used to Stevie’s crazy orders.

“No,” said Stevie. “I think I’ll have raisins on top.”

“Why not?” said the waitress. “It’s your stomach.”

Lisa ordered a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Carole ordered raspberry sherbet.

“You’ll never guess what I ate while I was in New York,” said Stevie.

“Buffalo steak?” said Carole.

“Caviar?” said Lisa.

“No,” said Stevie with a grin. “I ate oatmeal and stewed fruit.”

“You?” said Lisa.

Stevie nodded. “I also ate sautéed fish and broccoli.”

“No wonder you’ve been acting strange,” Carole said. “The broccoli did something to you.”

“Actually,” Stevie said, “I learned something.”

The waitress came back with their orders. Stevie looked at her ice cream, but she didn’t start eating because she had something important to say. “There’s this assistant teacher at my school named Ms. Dodge.”

“I never heard you mention her,” said Carole.

Stevie made a rueful face. “That’s because I thought she was really boring. To tell you the truth, I hardly even noticed her. She’s quiet and kind of shy.”

“The kind of person who fades into the background?” Lisa asked.

Stevie nodded. “Anyway, I was really bad on the trip.”

“Really?” said Carole, brightening. It was always fun to hear about Stevie’s escapades. “What did you do?”

“I was so bad I don’t want to talk about it,” Stevie said. “I even scared myself. But anyway, I was punished. And I had to spend time with Ms. Dodge. At first I thought she was the world’s biggest drip. But she’s really nice. We got to be friends.”

Carole and Lisa exchanged worried looks. It was fine for Stevie to try to be good, but they didn’t want her to overdo it.

“I actually did something that had good results,” Stevie said proudly. “I helped get Ms. Dodge together with this really handsome policeman.”

“What does he look like?” asked Carole.

“Sandy mustache, athletic build. He’s a really good rider because he’s part of the mounted police,” said Stevie.

“He sounds cool,” said Lisa.

“And then I’m going to tell you something that is
really
going to astound you,” Stevie said.

Carole and Lisa exchanged looks. “What?” asked Carole.

“We have to write a paper about what we saw on the trip,” Stevie said. “And I’m actually excited about it.”

“That’s great,” said Lisa.

“That’s fantastic,” Carole said.

Now that Stevie had told them her news, it was time to dig into her ice cream. The butter crunch was even crunchier than she remembered. The pecans, walnuts,
and sunflower seeds were chewy. The chocolate and marshmallow were sweet. The sprinkles were zesty. The raisins were plump.

“This is good,” Stevie said. But then she noticed that Lisa and Carole were picking at their desserts. “Is something wrong?” she said.

“I don’t know how to put this,” Lisa said.

“We’ve got to say something,” Carole said.

“What?” said Stevie.

“It’s really good that you’re going to get an A,” Lisa said.

“I’m really glad you’re trying to be good,” said Carole.

“So?” said Stevie.

“Don’t become totally good,” Lisa wailed. “You wouldn’t be Stevie.”

“I love your tricks,” Carole said. “I love your crazy ideas. We wouldn’t be The Saddle Club without them.”

Stevie looked at her dish of ice cream. She took a bite while she thought. “I know!” she said suddenly. “I’ll be good on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and mischievous on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Is that a great idea or what?”

“It certainly is a strange idea,” said Carole.

“It could lead to lots of confusion,” said Stevie happily. “You know what? I’ll have to try this idea on Phil.”

“Good luck, Phil,” said Lisa.

“My mind is whirling with all the dreadful possibilities,” said Carole.

Stevie waved for the waitress. When she came over, Stevie said, “That combination was a little bland. This time I think I’ll have …”

B
ONNIE
B
RYANT
is the author of nearly a hundred books about horses, including The Saddle Club series, Saddle Club Super Editions, and the Pony Tails series. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, B. B. Hiller.

Ms. Bryant began writing The Saddle Club in 1986. Although she had done some riding before that, she intensified her studies then and found herself learning right along with her characters Stevie, Carole, and Lisa. She claims that they are all much better riders than she is.

Ms. Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She still lives there, in Greenwich Village, with her two sons.

Don’t miss Bonnie Bryant’s next exciting Saddle Club Adventure …

HORSE CARE

The Saddle Club #76

When Lisa Atwood and her mother visit friends in a nearby town, Lisa doesn’t expect to have a good time. She doesn’t seem to have a lot in common with Marguerite, the friend’s daughter, so it could be a long afternoon. But when Marguerite suggests that she and Lisa go riding, things start to look up. Marguerite’s horse is
gorgeous
, and she’s very pleased with it. In fact, she’s so pleased that she rides off and leaves Lisa on a strange trail. Lisa doesn’t mind too much—her horse is old but sweet-natured and it’s a nice day.

Then the mare stumbles, and Lisa is thrown. She can’t ride and she can’t walk. She’s alone with just the horse for company. Can the horse care for Lisa and keep her safe until help arrives?