Carole (19 page)

I can’t believe I haven’t written about the dressage exhibition at Cross County yet! It was over a week ago already. I
meant to make some notes in this journal while I was watching, but I was so distracted by other things that I forgot.

We first heard about the exhibition when Phil mentioned it to Stevie a couple of days after she first met No-Name. It turned out that he wanted her to come over and give him some pointers. Personally, I think he was probably just looking for an excuse to spend more time with her; but when I told her that, she just turned up her nose and sniffed. “Face it, Carole. You’re not the only amateur riding instructor around here.”

She was kidding, of course. I think she was just as thrilled about spending time at Phil’s as he was at having her there. Maybe more, actually. She was already totally intrigued with No-Name.

So she went over there to watch Phil and Teddy practice their dressage test for the rally. Of course, as soon as she did, she saw that Phil didn’t really need any pointers. He and Teddy are both good at dressage and were doing just fine by themselves.

That’s when Stevie and Phil came up with their plan. They decided to do a dressage duet at the rally. Leave it to those two to think of something like that!

But there’s more. We were sitting around the tack room a day or two after that, trying to explain to Lisa’s friend Hollie why dressage is so important. (We’d just spent an unmounted Horse Wise meeting listening to a new speaker Max brought in. She’s a dressage judge, and even though her topic was interesting, she had kind of a blah way of presenting it, so I guess Hollie hadn’t thought it was very much fun.)

“Riding isn’t so different from learning to act,” Lisa told Hollie. “You have to master technique, study the greats, and tune your instrument.”

“I didn’t know you played an instrument,” Stevie said, popping open a soda can and glancing at Hollie.

“An actor’s body is her instrument,” Lisa explained. “She has to keep it fit and well tuned.”

“Same thing with dressage,” Stevie said. “Horses are basically kind of stiff and bulky. Dressage makes them supple and graceful.”

“It’s a total body workout,” Lisa added.

“And a total mind workout,” I reminded her. “The heart of dressage is rider-horse communication. It has to be based on a set of shared signals, which can be anything from the pressure of a knee to a slight change in the balance of the rider.”

I was getting ready to go on in more detail, but Stevie interrupted. “It’s like dancing,” she said suddenly. “That’s what it’s really like. When things are going right, you and the horse don’t even have to communicate with each other—you just know.”

That was pretty poetic stuff for Stevie, but it was accurate, too. Hollie seemed to catch on at last. “I know what you mean,” she said, sitting up straight. “When you’re performing, you have to forget about everything you’ve learned and dance the music. You have to dance it like you’re hearing it for the first time, as if you don’t know what note comes next.”

“That’s it!” This time Stevie jumped up from her seat on a
tack trunk, sloshing her soda all over her breeches. She looked really excited. “I was telling Phil that we needed to add something extra to the dressage exhibition, something with music.” She looked at Hollie. “You could help us. You could be our choreographer!”

Hollie was a little skeptical at first, but Stevie can talk anyone into anything when she puts her mind to it. Before long, it was all settled. Hollie and Stevie started planning their masterpiece right away, and when Phil heard about it, he was just as excited as they were.

At that point the only thing that seemed like a possible problem was Hollie’s cold. She’d been sneezing and stuffy off and on ever since she’d started coming to Pine Hollow with us. Stevie hoped that her cold wouldn’t get in the way of her choreography.

Stevie and Phil started practicing as much as they could. They also got Lisa to agree to sing the song they’d decided to use,
Always
, for the rally. In the meantime, Stevie was still trying to figure out the cause of No-Name’s allergies. She was trying to expose her to different possible allergens one at a time, but she couldn’t seem to pinpoint the thing that was causing the hives.

Speaking of allergies—I don’t remember exactly what day it was, but the four of us (me, Lisa, Stevie, and Hollie) were at TD’s one day when we finally figured out the real story behind Hollie’s “cold.” See, while we were eating, Hollie’s mother came by to pick her up. The way Hollie rushed her mom out of the restaurant, like she didn’t want us to have a chance to talk to her, made us wonder. Finally, from a few
things Hollie had said, we realized that she was allergic, just like No-Name. Only Hollie was allergic to
horses
! That’s why she’d seemed to have a cold for so long. And why she always got all stuffed up when she was at Pine Hollow and sounded fine the rest of the time. My friends and I were pretty stunned when we figured it out. I, for one, couldn’t imagine anything more horrible. Poor Hollie!

“I guess she doesn’t want her mother to know she’s allergic to horses,” Stevie said.

“But we know,” Lisa pointed out. “Do you think we should do something? Should we tell someone?”

I was still thinking about how awful it would be to wheeze and sneeze anytime I got near Starlight. “Hollie has a good time with us,” I said. “I think she really enjoys hanging out with The Saddle Club and learning more about horses.”

Lisa nodded. “I was worried about her being lonely after
Annie
finished.”

“What’s the big deal, anyway?” Stevie commented. “She coughs, she sniffles, she sneezes from time to time. That’s nothing compared to not being able to ride.”

So that settled it. “If Hollie wants to keep her allergy a secret, it’s a secret,” Lisa said firmly, speaking for all three of us. “That’s what friends are for.”

That took care of Hollie’s allergies, at least for the moment. No-Name’s were another story. By the day of the dressage exhibition, Stevie still had no idea what was causing them. Luckily, though, the mare was showing no signs of an outbreak that day, which meant that Stevie would be able to ride her in the exhibition.

We were all there to cheer her on, of course. Max had decided our whole class should go to watch the exhibition as a learning opportunity. Lisa, Hollie, and I found seats near the front of the bleachers by the main ring. Mr. Baker stood up and welcomed everyone to Cross County Stables, then explained the day’s events.

“We’ll start with a medley of dressage steps by members of Cross County,” he said into the microphone. “And then we’ll end with a duet by Phil Marsten and Stevie Lake, which incorporates these steps into a choreographed event.”

Lisa and I exchanged looks when we heard that. “A choreographed event?” Lisa whispered. “That sounds a lot fancier than
horse dance!”

I giggled, then turned to watch as the Cross County riders entered the ring. Their demonstration was really interesting. When it ended, Mr. Baker and the dressage judge he’d invited said a few words. Meanwhile, Lisa slipped away to get ready for her song.

Soon Mr. Baker introduced Phil and Stevie, and they entered the ring as Lisa sang the first few words. I was really impressed with Hollie’s choreography. She’d worked it out so that the horses really did seem to be dancing with each other, sort of. And of course, the whole time they were actually demonstrating just how carefully Stevie and Phil had worked with them.

I was even more impressed with No-Name. Even though she’d come from a bulk lot and nobody knew much about her, it was obvious she’d had some dressage training, or there
was no way Stevie could have gotten her to perform so well in just a short time.

Anyway, the crowd loved the performance. And one of the best things that happened that day was that Stevie finally did figure out what was causing No-Name’s hives. It turns out she’s allergic to weeds! Stevie was pretty proud of herself for figuring that out. See, the day of the exhibition she tied No-Name in a different spot than she usually did. No hives. And when Stevie went back to look at the first spot, she saw that it was full of weeds.

To celebrate all of that, Stevie and Phil decided they were in the mood for more riding after the show—namely, a nice long trail ride. Mr. Baker was so happy that Stevie had figured out No-Name’s problem that he offered to supply horses for me and Lisa and Hollie, too. So the five of us set out, along with Phil’s friend A.J., who’d been in the demonstration.

We rode out of the stable area and across some flat land and through the woods for a while before coming to a clearing with a fierce-looking outcropping of rock. Phil stopped Teddy and gestured for the rest of us to gather around and listen.

“I know you’re used to the country around Pine Hollow,” he said, “so I have to warn you that under the grass there are rocks, and in the bushes there are ravines. Be sure to stay on the trail, because the footing here is full of surprises.” He looked around to make sure we all understood.

“I’ve dot it,” Hollie said. “I’ll stay dight on the drail.” Stevie, Lisa, and I knew that she was talking funny because
her allergies were acting up, though none of us said a word about it to Phil or A.J.—or Hollie herself, of course.

We rode on, enjoying the wild landscape and the nice late-autumn day. I’m not sure how long we’d been on the trail when Phil led us to a rise, from where we could see a sliver of water winding through the green fields far below. “That’s the Silverado River,” he told Hollie, who was next to him.

“It’s fantastic,” she said. But she didn’t sound right. The words came out slowly and painfully, as if she had to force them.

“Are you okay?” Stevie asked her.

Hollie didn’t respond at first. Instead she was taking shallow breaths that didn’t seem to satisfy her.

“I’m dine!” she said at last, tossing her head carelessly. But I couldn’t help noticing that she had turned pale, and there were faint bluish shadows under her eyes.

A.J., who had just met Hollie that day, looked concerned. “You look like you’re going to faint,” he told her.

“It’s her horse allergy,” Stevie explained. She reached across to feel Hollie’s forehead. “You’re allergic to horses, aren’t you, Hollie? Tell us the truth.”

Hollie didn’t answer. Her eyes were glassy and vague, and her skin was getting still paler.

“Can you hear me?” Stevie shouted at her, looking worried. “Hello!”

Hollie turned her head toward her slightly. “Yes,” she whispered. It came out as a horrible wheezing sound.

I was feeling really scared by then. Hollie looked awful.

“We’ve got to get her back,” I said, my voice shaking a little. “She’s got to get to the hospital.”

We knew that carrying Hollie on horseback wasn’t going to help any with her allergic reaction, but there wasn’t any other option. “Help me put her on No-Name,” Stevie told Phil. “We’ve got to move her fast.”

Phil looked a little doubtful, and I guessed he was thinking the same thing I was. No-Name was an untested horse. Who knew how she’d react to a second rider? But Phil did as Stevie said, and soon Hollie was sitting on No-Name’s back in front of Stevie.

They took off as fast as they could go on the rocky trail, veering off at the bottom of the rise into the dark hemlock forest to one side. The rest of us followed more slowly, not wanting to risk the other horses’ safety—or our own—on the challenging trail.

We reached the stable shortly after Stevie. She had gotten Hollie onto the grass, where she was sort of slumped over, and was shouting for help. But the stable was deserted. Everyone had left for lunch or somewhere after the exhibition.

We were pretty panicky. Hollie didn’t look good at all. I was afraid that if we didn’t get her some medical help soon, she might not make it.

Luckily, Stevie had learned a lot about allergies that week because of No-Name. Of course, what she knew about was mostly horse allergies, but I guess she figured she had to try something. So while Lisa called an ambulance and then Max, so that he could track down Hollie’s parents, Stevie
sent me for Cross County’s first aid kit. When I brought it, she took out the EpiPen, which Judy Barker had taught her how to use to treat equine allergies. Stevie broke it open and gave Hollie a shot. And miracle of miracles, it worked! Hollie’s eyelids fluttered, and she started to look a tiny bit better. By the time the ambulance arrived, she was sitting up and asking what had happened. Stevie showed the ambulance attendants the EpiPen as they checked Hollie’s breathing.

“That was a good move,” the attendant told Stevie. “I think you saved your friend’s life.”

They took her off to the hospital, and in the end she was fine. But Stevie, Lisa, and I realized it had been really stupid of us to keep the secret about Hollie’s allergies. We’ve decided we’re never going to do anything like that again. Because if it hadn’t been for No-Name’s incredible bravery—Stevie still can’t stop talking about how the mare plowed through brambles and over rocks and down steep hills without the slightest protest—and the good luck of Stevie’s knowing about the EpiPen, things might have turned out really horribly.

But our Saddle Club luck held this time. Not only is Hollie as good as new, but after the whole incident was over, Stevie’s parents dropped a huge, wonderful bombshell on her. They’d bought No-Name from Mr. Baker. Isn’t that great? See, they’d noticed how crazy Stevie was about the mare. And they knew how much Stevie had been wanting a horse of her own ever since the time last summer when she almost bought Stewball. Well, okay, even before that. And when
they saw how brave and heroic No-Name was during Hollie’s emergency, they knew she was the horse for Stevie.

Stevie’s thrilled beyond belief, of course. She and No-Name are perfect for each other. The Marstens brought her over to Pine Hollow last week, and she’s all settled in now in the stall next to Starlight’s. Now all Stevie has to do is come up with a name for her. She’s certainly taking her time about that. I named Starlight the day I got him!

Needless to say, Hollie hasn’t been riding with us since all this happened. She told us her doctors may be able to work out some kind of special medication so that she can go horseback riding once in a while, but for now she has to stay away from the stable altogether. I guess it’s a good thing she’s so crazy about acting, instead of being horse-crazy like me and my friends. After getting to know her lately, I’ve really come to respect how strongly she feels about acting. I mean, she loves it so much that she already knows it’s what she wants to do with her life. I only wish
I
were that certain about what I want to do.…