Moon Shadow (17 page)

The door opened and Jill Thompson stepped into the room. “Wow, you really
are
competing today,” she said, surveying Callie from head to toe. “Your outfit looks great. I love that vest!”

Callie felt a little uneasy standing in the middle of the washroom, wearing clothing that used to belong to Jill. She wrung the excess water out of the towel. “Thanks,” she said. “The pants and shirt are yours.”

“Yeah, I recognized them,” Jill said. “My mom told me you'd borrowed them. I hope they'll be as lucky for you as they were for me.”

“You're not mad?” Callie said hesitantly.

Jill shook her head. “Why would I be mad? If you hadn't been cleaning stalls this summer, I wouldn't have had nearly as much time to spend with Poco Queen.” She gave Callie a big grin. “Hey, I'm not worried about having a little competition. But Luke might be in trouble if you do well today.” She scrutinized her image in the mirror. Apparently satisfied, she turned to go. “Good luck. I'll see you out there.”

Callie stood alone in the washroom for a moment, surprised by the conversation that had just taken place. Jill usually seemed so unapproachable, but today she had actually been friendly. She'd even wished her luck.

The door opened again and Billie rushed in.

“Hey, what're you doing here?” Callie said. “I thought you were waiting with Moon Shadow.”

Billie looked confused. “Luke told me you needed me.”

Callie frowned. “I didn't tell him that.”

What was going on? Luke Thompson was up to no good, and she was one hundred percent sure it involved Moon Shadow.

Seventeen

As Callie and Billie hurried back to the hitching post where they'd left Moon Shadow, they saw a commotion up ahead.

“
Loose horse!
” someone yelled.

Callie's heart did a double flop when she spotted Moon Shadow racing at breakneck speed across the parking lot with her leather lead shank flying behind her. “Moon Shadow!” she hollered at the top of her lungs. “Whoa!”

Callie gasped as the buckskin filly dodged to avoid a truck that was just pulling onto the property. The little mustang's feet went out from under her and she slid on her side for several yards, then quickly scrambled to her feet.

Justin came running out of the stands and pushed his way through the crowd of onlookers. “Whoa,” he crooned as he grabbed Moon Shadow's lead rope and tried to quiet her. “Easy girl.”

Callie and Billie ran as fast as they could. “I'm…so sorry,” Billie said between gasps of breath.

“It's not your fault,” Callie said.

As soon as she reached Justin and Moon Shadow, Callie stepped next to her filly and ran her hand over her neck. She could feel Moon Shadow's muscles quaking under her palm.

Jill was standing in the crowd with her chestnut filly. “What happened?” she asked as she tugged on Poco Queen's lead rope, trying to calm her down.

“I don't know,” Callie said. She quickly inspected Moon Shadow for cuts and bruises while Justin held the filly. She brushed the dirt from the mustang's coat, frowning at all the brown stains she had gathered in the fall. “Your brother told Billie that I needed her, but I didn't. When we came out of the washroom, Moon Shadow was running down the parking lot like a maniac.”

“I'm really sorry, Callie.” Jill thought for a moment, then handed Poco Queen to a dark-haired girl next to her. “Luke was pretty upset when he found out you were in the show. I bet he's behind this for sure.” She scanned the crowd. “I'll go tell my dad. He'll make Luke pull himself out of every class he entered.”

“No, wait!” Callie said. “Thanks, Jill, but it's okay. We don't have any proof that he let Moon Shadow go on purpose.”

The speaker system crackled and the announcer gave the five-minute call for the next class. Callie felt the sting of defeat. There was no way she could get Moon Shadow back to the other side of the parking lot and have her cleaned up in time. Tears pricked the backs of her eyelids. “I guess I'll be the one who pulls out of the class.”

“No you won't,” Jill said in a determined tone. “I've got a spot cleaner right here in my bag that'll take that dirt right out of your filly's coat.”

While Justin held Moon Shadow, the three girls worked quickly, bathing the dirty parts, then towel-drying the filly's coat and brushing her repeatedly. With the sun shining warmly, Moon Shadow was clean and dry by the time the announcer gave the call to the gate.

“I don't know how to thank you,” Callie said.

Jill winked. “Just do your best to beat my little brother, okay?”

Callie laughed and followed Jill into the show ring, mimicking everything the experienced competitor did. Fortunately, the run across the parking lot seemed to have burned up Moon Shadow's extra energy. She behaved perfectly as she stood between an Appaloosa filly and a black Morgan colt.

That was more than Callie could say for Luke's colt. The bay tossed his head and refused to stand still in the lineup. The competitors on either side of him had to move their horses away to give him more room.

As she waited to be called, Callie looked around the arena. The stands were pretty full. She searched the crowd for her parents and finally spotted them when Justin stood and waved his hat hollering, “Go get 'em, Callie!”

The crowd tittered with friendly laughter and Callie felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Her hands began to shake again as she became conscious of so many people watching her. What if she messed up and forgot what she was supposed to do?

The sun was beating down on the arena and Callie could feel the sweat trickling down her back. Her arms twitched nervously while she waited for the judge to call her forward. When the judge finally motioned that it was her turn, she thought she might pass out from sheer anxiety.

“Here we go, girl,” Callie whispered to Moon Shadow. She took several deep breaths and asked her filly to walk the straight line to the judge. Her hand began to shake and Moon Shadow bobbed her head, signaling to Callie that she was transmitting her nervousness to her horse.

“How are you today?” the judge asked, giving her a pleasant smile.

Callie was taken completely by surprise. She hadn't expected the judge to actually
talk
to her.

“Fine,” she managed to squeak.

The judge moved to the side of the horse and Callie gathered her wits enough to remember to get out of his way. She felt like a robot as she went through the moves, doing her best to show Moon Shadow off to her fullest.

“Relax,” the judge said as he took his place at the head of her horse. “Remember, this is supposed to be fun,” he added in a whisper, giving Callie a wink.

Callie tried hard to take his advice, but when the judge told her to trot back to the line, she was sure her knees were going to buckle. It took every ounce of courage she had to get back to where the others waited. Moon Shadow seemed to be enjoying herself, though. The little filly even cocked her tail over her back as they trotted back to the line. The crowd burst into applause.

Jill leaned forward from her place several horses away and mouthed the words, “You did great.”

Callie tried to smile, but her top lip got stuck on her teeth. She could hear Jill giggling down the way.

As Callie stood and waited for everyone else to finish, her breathing returned to normal and she even started to laugh at herself for being so silly. It was a good thing, too, because she needed to be smiling when the judge came by for his final inspection and the backing of all the horses.

When the man finally reached her, Callie put a little pressure on the lead rope and asked Moon Shadow to back up. The filly hesitated for just a second, then dutifully stepped backward. Callie smiled as she heard the crowd applaud, and the judge moved quickly on to the next contestant.

He finally raised his clipboard, indicating that he was through with the class, and Callie gave a big sigh of relief. She knew that Moon Shadow had done herself proud, but it was a tough competition. Jill and Poco Queen were a cinch to win. They hadn't made a single wrong move.

Callie patted Moon Shadow and straightened her halter. The chance of winning a ribbon in this experienced class of twelve horses was a long shot, but Callie was happy knowing that they'd both done their best.

“Here are your winners of Class Number Three,” a woman's voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “In first place, it's number two-zero-six, Jill Thompson and Poco Queen!”

Callie gave Jill the thumbs-up sign and clapped loudly as the girl went forward to accept her ribbon.

A tall red-roan gelding won second place, and a boy she recognized from her school took third. Callie knew the class would award five ribbons. The owner of the beautiful palomino quarter horse next to her would probably take the next place. She looked down the row and saw Luke fidgeting with his colt. Callie didn't think Luke had performed very well, but from the look on his face, it was clear that he had expected to be called before now.

The announcer gave the next place and Callie clapped happily for the pretty palomino. She stared at Luke again. The boy looked totally shocked that he hadn't yet been called for a ribbon. If Luke didn't place, Callie promised herself that she would be sure to avoid him for at least a week. As rotten as the boy already was, his teasing and insults would be even worse after a defeat in the show ring.

The announcer called the last horse and Callie waited for Luke to step forward. Instead, he frowned and kicked at the dirt beneath his boots. Apparently, it wasn't his number they had called.

The boy standing next to her poked her in the shoulder. “Hey, aren't you number two-twenty-two? You just got the fifth-place ribbon. Congratulations!”

“Yeah, Callie! Way to go!” Her parents and Billie were yelling from the stands. Justin stood on the bench and whistled while he waved his cowboy hat.

Callie couldn't believe her ears. She even looked at the number pinned to her shirt to make sure the boy was right. The crowd laughed and applauded as the announcer called her number again, and Callie stepped forward with Moon Shadow prancing at her side.

“Congratulations!” said a pleasant-faced woman as she hooked the fifth-place ribbon on Moon Shadow's halter.

Callie asked her filly for a trot and they exited the arena with Moon Shadow bowing her neck and showing off for the crowd. Her parents and friends were waiting for her outside of the gate.

“You were awesome!” Billie said as she slapped Callie a high-five.

Justin pointed at her ribbon and gave her the thumbs-up sign. “I knew it all the time,” he said.

“We're so proud of you, Callie,” her mother and father said as they stepped forward to give her a big hug. Behind them, Dr. Susan waved.

Callie rubbed Moon Shadow's neck. “This little horse deserves all the credit,” she said.

“No way,” a voice said, and the crowd parted to let Jill Thompson through. “You deserve a lot of credit, too. And don't forget all those
free lessons
you got this summer from a pro,” she added with a grin.

Callie grinned back. “Well, if you hadn't helped me get Moon Shadow cleaned up in time, I would never have made the class.”

Jill shrugged. “No big deal. Listen, I've got to go, but, why don't you and Billie come to our 4-H meeting on Wednesday night? We could use a couple more girls with good horses.” She waved and led her horse back to the trailer.

Callie smiled so broadly her cheeks hurt. With the help of her friends and family, all the hard work had definitely paid off. She and her beautiful yellow mustang had proved that it didn't take a long pedigree and lots of money to be a winner. They had done it all with patience and love. She gave Moon Shadow another pat.

“Just think what we'll have to show them next season, girl!”

About the Author

CHRIS PLATT has been riding horses since she was two years old. At the age of sixteen, she earned her first gallop license at a racetrack in Salem, Oregon. Several years later, she became one of the first women jockeys in that state. Chris's other horse-related occupations have included training Arabian endurance horses and driving draft horses.

After earning a journalism degree from the University of Nevada in Reno, she decided to combine her love of horses with her writing. Her previous books include the Golden Heart Award-winning horse novel W
ILLOW
K
ING,
its sequel R
ACE THE
W
IND,
and many others in the popular
Thoroughbred
series.

Chris lives in Nevada with her husband, six horses, three cats, a parrot, and a potbellied pig.

Author's Note

THE MUSTANG is one of the most memorable symbols of the Wild West. Even people who know very little about horses get a thrill when they see a herd of mustangs racing free across the landscape. But these wild horses, descendants of the original mounts that were brought over by the Spanish conquistadors, are dwindling in numbers. All that remains of the millions that once lived in the western U.S. are the 50,000 wild horses and burros that now roam in Montana, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. Nevada is home to more than half of these animals.