Stable Hearts by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant [Bryant, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82563-6
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

LISA DIDN’T HAVE the best lesson of her entire life, but she enjoyed the chance to ride Prancer again. Much as she loved trail rides, she also loved lessons, because they gave her the chance to improve specific skills. Of course, on the trail she had plenty of opportunities to improve her general riding and horse handling, but there she rarely thought about the finer points of body control; for example, whether her heels were down as much as they could be or whether Prancer’s neck was curving gently through the turns.

Today Max had them riding over fences without their stirrups. This was something Lisa would never practice on the trail, because she found it a little nerve-racking, but she had to admit it was great for her leg position. Without stirrups, it was easy to let your leg swing loose, but over a jump you didn’t dare!

Lisa knew, too, that her confidence had been shaken by that horrible Pony Club rally. After an hour of jumping she felt proud of herself and of Prancer, and her confidence was restored. Stevie and Carole also rode well, so Lisa was sure they would both feel better, too.

“Wasn’t that great!” Carole said as they began walking their horses up and down the driveway to cool them off before they untacked them. “Starlight just flew, and riding without stirrups is so much fun!”

Lisa wouldn’t have called it fun. She laughed at her friend’s enthusiasm. Carole truly loved everything about horses.

“Stevie, Belle looked fantastic!” Carole continued. “Remember last week when she didn’t want to jump the brush box? She never even looked at it today—she just went over it!”

“Yeah.” Stevie reached up to stroke Belle’s neck, but she didn’t sound as happy as either of her friends thought she should. “It was a good lesson, but you know, I just can’t stop thinking about Mrs. Reg and her total lack of imagination regarding the dance. Balloons and streamers! Everyone does balloons and streamers!

“It’s just so mundane,” Stevie continued. “And that’s not all. Phil told me they’re hiring a DJ for his school dance. I asked Mrs. Reg if we could hire a DJ, since she insists that we can’t have a live band, and she said it was too expensive!”

“It probably is too expensive,” Lisa said. “Phil’s school probably charges an admission fee for the dance, and, anyway, the school would have a budget for social activities. This bam dance is just something Max and Mrs. Reg do because they’re nice. It’s just so we can all have fun.”

Lisa exchanged looks with Carole. They were thinking the same thing, that Stevie was making way too big a deal over the dance. She only saw Phil every few weeks anyway. Why was Valentine’s Day such a big deal? And if it was such a big deal, why didn’t Stevie just go to Phil’s dance?

Lisa wondered if she would understand better if she had her own boyfriend.

“How can it be too expensive when it’s so important?” Stevie demanded.

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