Carole
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
MEET
T
HE
S
ADDLE
C
LUB
Horse lover
CAROLE …
Practical joker
STEVIE …
Straight-A
LISA …
I can’t believe what I just found while I was digging through my old riding journals. The diary I kept the year we moved to Willow Creek! I hadn’t seen it in ages, and I was kind of afraid I’d lost it somehow. I’m really glad I didn’t.
The diary is sitting here next to me on my bed as I write this. I haven’t so much as peeked at it yet. That’s because part of me sort of doesn’t want to open it up and reread about any of that year right now. It could be a little scary to remember everything I was thinking back then, how I was really feeling from day to day right in the middle of everything that was happening.…
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CAROLE: THE INSIDE STORY
A Bantam Skylark Book / November 1999
Skylark Book is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere
.
“The Saddle Club” is a registered trademark of Bonnie Bryant Hiller.
The Saddle Club design/logo, which consists of a riding crop and a riding hat, is a trademark of Bantam Books
.
“USPC” and “Pony Club” are registered trademarks of the United States Pony Clubs, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462
.
All rights reserved
.
Copyright © 1999 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller
.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher
.
For information address: Bantam Books
.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82595-7
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
.
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036
.
v3.1
Special thanks to Laura Roper of Sir “B” Farms
I would like to express my special thanks
to Catherine Hapka for her help
in the writing of this book
.
CAROLE HANSON’S RIDING JOURNAL:I can’t believe I’m starting a new journal already. I’ve been making so much progress with Starlight’s training lately that I think I must have filled up my last riding journal in about two months! Speaking of Starlight, he was really well behaved in riding class today, which I plan to make notes about in just a second.
But first I want to jot down a few words about something that’s bothering me (even though it really has nothing to do with Starlight and so maybe isn’t the right kind of topic for a riding journal). I just got home from TD’s a few minutes ago. Stevie and Lisa and I went there for sundaes as usual today, though for a change we talked more about people than horses, namely Max, who was acting so weird he barely managed
to teach our class. He kept sneezing and forgetting what he was talking about—definitely
not
the usual brisk, efficient, super-organized Max Regnery!
Oops, I almost forgot what I was writing about. Anyway, as I was saying, I got home and found an e-mail from Cam waiting for me. (I printed it out and taped it here.)
| FROM : | | CamNelson |
| TO : | | HorseGal |
| SUBJECT : | | Big news |
| MESSAGE : | | |
Hi, Carole! How are you? Are you enjoying your summer vacation so far? I’m definitely enjoying mine, even though my school let out only six days ago. I’ve ridden Duffy every single day since then. Actually, I’ve been spending so much time at the stable that Mr. Barclay is starting to make jokes about charging boarding fees for me as well as for my horse!
But that’s not really why I’m writing. I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided something really important. And I knew you’d appreciate it more than anyone else.
So here goes: I’ve decided that I want to be a three-day event rider when I grow up. See, I just read this really inspiring article in a magazine. It was a biography of Luanne Hall, a famous three-day eventer. She kept talking about how it was all her single-minded practice and devotion to her sport that made her so good. Plus she said that she already knew
she wanted to specialize in combined training by the time she was seven years old!
So I guess that means I’m really behind already. Don’t think I’m not a little nervous about that! Still, I’m really excited. Now all my work with Duffy will be aiming somewhere.
And I really feel like this is the right decision for me. I’ve always loved watching combined training events at horse trials and stuff. And I always thought it was really cool that riders and their horses have to be good at more than one thing—I mean, they need to be polished enough to compete in the dressage section, as well as being strong and bold enough to make it through the cross-country course and the stadium jumping. It will be a real challenge to train for something like that. I can’t wait to get started!
Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this right away, since I knew you would understand what a big deal it is. I know you want to work with horses for a living someday, too, and I really hope you figure out a way to do it that feels as perfect for you as this does for me.
I’d better sign off now. I want to see if the U.S. Combined Training Association has a website.