New Rider (6 page)

Zach turned and smiled at her. “Oh, I know that, C, but it’s still going to be cool to hang a handful of ribbons on my wall.”

Stevie laughed. “Gee, too bad you suffer from such low self-confidence.”

Carole didn’t find it particularly funny. In fact she was somewhat put off by the boy’s cocky attitude. “You do realize not everybody wins their first time out, don’t you?”

Zach shrugged. “I know that, but Max said I have great potential as a rider, so I’ll just do what comes naturally. I can’t lose.”

Carole shook her head. She didn’t want to discourage him, but—

“Hey, Zach,” Stevie called, turning in her saddle, “remind me to—”

She never got any further. At that moment a fox streaked across the path practically under Belle’s feet. While the mare was normally the steadiest and most reliable of mounts, millions of years of instinct took over. She shied hard to the left, catching
Stevie off guard and off balance. With a shout of surprise she was thrown from her saddle, hitting the ground hard.

Belle, still alarmed by the fox, took off at a panicked gallop.

“Stevie!” Lisa cried, dismounting quickly and rushing over to her fallen friend. “Are you hurt?”

Carole and Zach also hurried over.

Stevie was sitting in the dirt looking dazed. “I’m okay.… I think. Good thing I was wearing this.”

She gingerly removed her riding helmet, which had gotten knocked askew in the fall.

Lisa frowned, her face full of concern. “Looks like you got a nice bump even so.”

Zach knelt beside her. “Man, that looked rough. Are you okay, Stevie?”

Stevie saw that her fall had shaken Zach almost as much as her. “Don’t worry about it, Zach. If you’re going to ride horses, sooner or later you’re going to fall off. The trick is getting back on.” She looked around anxiously. “Where’s Belle?”

“She ran off,” Carole said. “I wanted to make sure you were all right before I went after her.”

“I’m okay,” Stevie insisted. “Please find her. She was scared and could get hurt!”

Carole thought her friend was looking awfully pale.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find her.” She turned to Lisa and Zach. “You two look after Stevie. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

It didn’t take Carole long to locate Belle. The horse was standing by the edge of the woods, her reins dangling on the ground. She pricked her ears and nickered when she saw Carole on Starlight. Carole dismounted and slowly approached, talking soothingly. Belle stood docilely, making no attempt to get away.

As soon as Carole gathered up Belle’s reins and began to lead her back to the others, she noticed the horse was favoring her right foreleg. She knew a horse’s legs were delicate and susceptible to all kinds of injury, especially from the knee down. She knelt for a closer look and was alarmed to discover a definite swelling around the fetlock. Although Carole would have preferred not to move the mare until she knew the extent of the injury, she didn’t have much choice: She had to get back to Stevie.

Picking the easiest path and moving as slowly as she could, she returned to where Stevie was sitting on the ground under the shade of a tree.

Lisa came to meet her. “I think Stevie may have a concussion,” she said in a hushed voice.

Carole was immediately concerned. “What makes you think so?”

“When she stood up she got dizzy. She said things were kind of sparkly, so we had her sit back down.”

Carole felt her stomach tighten with anxiety. “That doesn’t sound good. Belle is hurt, too. I don’t know how badly, but I hate to move her until someone can take a look at it.”

Zach joined the two girls. “What’s up?”

“Belle is injured, too,” Lisa told him quietly.

Carole bit her lip. “I wish Max were here.”

“That’s it!” Zach cried. “I know how to get back to the stable. You two stay here with Stevie and I’ll bring back help.” He rushed over to where he had tied Barq and leaped into the saddle. “Back in a flash!” he assured them.

“Wait!” Carole cried, alarmed at the idea of his galloping all the way to Pine Hollow, but she was too late. Zach was already urging his horse into a run.

“Gosh, I hope he doesn’t get hurt,” Lisa said.

Carole was also concerned. “Me too. Come on, let’s go sit with Stevie. All we can do now is wait for a rescue.”

Lisa watched as Zach vanished around the bend at a blazing gallop. “At least he’ll get there fast.”

“If he gets there at all,” Carole said grimly.

S
TEVIE WATCHED
B
ELLE
with grave concern. She was much more worried about her horse than herself. “How bad do you think she’s hurt?”

Carole sighed. “I really can’t tell. There are several possibilities. But I don’t think it’s too serious—she’s favoring the leg but she doesn’t seem to be in a lot of pain.”

Stevie’s head hurt and she felt like crying. “I’ll never forgive myself if it’s serious. I should have been paying attention to the trail, not gabbing.”

Lisa slid a comforting arm around her shoulders. “We always chat when we ride. You were just unlucky today, that’s all.”

“Lisa’s right,” Carole agreed. “It could have happened to any one of us, and if that fox had jumped out at
Starlight, he would have reacted the same way Belle did.”

“The difference is you wouldn’t have fallen off,” Stevie said despondently.

“I’ve taken my share of spills,” Carole reminded her.

“Me too,” Lisa admitted. “In fact, you’ve been there for most of them.”

Stevie mustered a smile. “And vice versa.”

Carole frowned. “Speaking of falls, I hope our fearless would-be hero doesn’t take one.”

“Try not to worry. I’m sure he made it to the stables okay.” Lisa said. “In fact, he could be back with Max any time now.”

Almost as if he had heard their conversation, Zach appeared from around the bend riding Barq at a canter. Much to the girls’ mutual relief, Max was right behind.

Max immediately dismounted and hurried to where Stevie sat. “Zach told me you took quite the tumble,” he said, kneeling down next to her.

Stevie felt foolish. She hated it when she fell. Not so much for the pain, but because she felt like it made her look like less of a rider. “It wasn’t so spectacular.”

Max raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Modesty from you, Stevie? Now I really
am
alarmed. Let me take a look at your head.”

Stevie squirmed. “I’m okay, Max, it’s Belle who’s hurt. Could you please check on her?”

“Stevie, you know how strongly I feel about horses, but people come first,” he said firmly. “Now tell me how you’re feeling. Are you nauseous or dizzy?”

“She said she was dizzy when she tried to stand up,” Lisa volunteered.

Max nodded. “How’s your vision?”

“I saw stars at first. Now things just look a little fuzzy around the edges,” Stevie confessed. She was glad to have an adult around to take charge. Truth was, she didn’t feel all that great and was a little scared.

Max took her head between his hands. “Let me look into your eyes.” After a moment he seemed satisfied and released her. “I would guess that you have a mild concussion. Nothing to be alarmed about, but you’ll have to go to the hospital for a checkup just to be on the safe side.”

Stevie nodded her consent. “Now will you look at Belle?” she pleaded.

Max smiled and touched her gently on the cheek. “Yes, now I’ll look at Belle.” He picked up a backpack he had brought with him and approached the horse. Belle looked alert but was holding her foreleg slightly off the ground. He knelt down and gently ran his hand down the leg. Belle twitched uneasily.

Stevie winced in sympathy with her.

“Do you think it’s serious, Max?” Carole asked.

“Any injury to a horse’s leg should be taken seriously,” Max replied, continuing his examination. “It could be a sprain of the fetlock joint or the tendon. It’s difficult to tell with this much swelling.”

Stevie struggled not to cry. “How will we get her home? Can she walk on it?”

Max opened the bundle. “We’re going to have to apply a pressure bandage. That should give her enough support to make it back to the stable.”

They all watched closely as he placed thick cotton wadding evenly around the leg. “This cotton will keep the bandages from injuring her skin. Carole, can you hold it in place while I wrap?”

Carole did as he asked.

Max carefully wound the long crepe bandage around Belle’s leg, making sure it covered well above and below the actual injured area, and pulled it as tightly as he could. “It’s too bad we can’t hose it down with cool water first,” he said as he worked. “That often helps reduce the swelling in these situations.”

When he was finished he stepped back to study his work, then had Carole lead the mare forward a few steps while he observed. Belle still favored the leg but
didn’t seem quite as distressed about putting weight on it as she had before.

Max returned to Stevie and the others. “If we take it nice and slow she should make it back to the stable without any problem. Before Zach and I left, I asked Mrs. Reg to call Judy Barker and your parents, Stevie. They’ll probably be there by the time we arrive.”

Stevie started to climb to her feet. For a moment the world swirled dizzily around her. If it hadn’t been for Lisa and Max steadying her, she might have fallen again.

“Take it easy,” Max warned. “Normally it’s a good idea to get back in the saddle right after a fall. In this case, however, I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“Why do you have to get right back up on a horse when you fall?” Zach whispered to Lisa.

“The idea is to not give yourself too much time to think about what happened,” she explained. “If you do, you could lose your nerve.”

“On the other hand,” Max continued, “you’re in no condition to walk all the way back.”

Stevie agreed. She really didn’t feel much like walking, but it was an unwritten rule of riding that you always put your horse’s needs before your own. “I have to lead Belle home,” she said determinedly.

“I can do that,” Carole volunteered, “and you can ride Starlight. He’s very steady.”

Max nodded. “Good idea, Carole. Thanks for offering.” He turned back to Stevie. “Now let’s get you up and back to Pine Hollow. No arguments.”

Although Stevie’s head swam a little when she first mounted Starlight, she was okay once she was up.

The little group began the long, slow trip back home.

Stevie was relieved when she finally spotted the stable. As Max had predicted, she saw her family’s car parked in the driveway.

Max helped her dismount. Even before her feet touched the ground, her parents were beside her, hugging her tightly.

“Stevie, honey, are you all right?”

Stevie was embarrassed by the fuss. “Sure, Mom, it was only a little fall. No big deal, happens all the time.”

“ ‘Happens all the time’ is not exactly what we want to hear, sweetheart,” her father scolded her gently. “I think we’ll take you over to the hospital for a checkup.”

Stevie was too tired to argue. “Okay, Dad. But what about Belle?”

“Don’t worry,” Lisa assured her. “We’ll take care of her until Judy can get here.”

Stevie smiled wearily, knowing she could count on her friends. She walked over to where the mare stood patiently, planted a gentle kiss on her velvet-soft nose, then slipped her arms around her neck. “I’m sorry, Belle,” she whispered, close to tears.

After a moment she felt her dad’s hand on her shoulder. “Come on, honey, time to go.”

They headed for the car.

“Call us when you know something, okay?” Lisa yelled.

Stevie waved and nodded, then slid gratefully into the backseat and closed her eyes.

It wasn’t far to the hospital, but there was a long wait in the emergency room. Stevie spent the time fretting over Belle. She knew everyone at Pine Hollow would do their best for the horse, but not knowing the extent of her mare’s injury was really distressing her. After what seemed like hours, her name was finally called.

Dr. Laurie Trudell had kind dark eyes and a friendly smile. She checked Stevie over thoroughly, including looking at her eyes, cleaning up her bump, and asking her questions about the accident.

Finally the doctor turned to Mr. and Mrs. Lake. “I’m satisfied that your daughter hasn’t suffered any major
trauma. She’s got a mild concussion, though, and you’ll need to watch her closely for a few days.

Her parents looked relieved.

“Just to play it safe, I want to send her down the hall for a CAT scan. After we get the results, you can probably take her home.”

“Not home,” Stevie protested. “I have to get back to the stables.”

“You’ve done all the riding you’re going to do for a few days,” the doctor told her sternly. “You need to go to bed.”

“Please, doctor,” she pleaded passionately. “I have to check on Belle.”

“Belle?” Dr. Trudell looked inquiringly at Mr. and Mrs. Lake.

“That’s her horse,” Mrs. Lake explained.

Stevie was racked by worry and guilt. “She was hurt, too, and it’s my fault because I wasn’t paying attention. Please, I need to check on her.” The room was getting blurry around her but it wasn’t from the concussion, it was from the tears in her eyes.