Trail Mates by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant [Bryant, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780307824820
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2012-09-25T14:00:00+00:00

“LISA, YOU SHOULD sit back a little in the saddle, especially when you’re trotting,” Carole advised her friend. “Just try sitting up straighter and you’ll find you balance better.”

Lisa straightened her back and immediately improved her seat. “It seems so simple when you say it. The only problem is remembering it when you’re not here to remind me!” Lisa said.

“Oh, you’ll remember in time,” Stevie said. “You just get so used to it that it becomes natural.”

“I can’t wait for that moment!” Lisa said.

Carole smiled. Lisa had been working very hard at her riding since she had started only a few months before. If only she knew how long it took most riders to be as good as Lisa had already become!

“Patience,” Carole advised. “You’re doing great!”

The three girls were out on a trail ride by themselves on Monday morning. Stevie had talked Max into letting them take a picnic into the woods. They had all hopped onto their horses and headed for the cover of the forest before he could change his mind.

It was a beautiful summer day. The sky was a deep blue with a few wisps of white clouds for contrast. It wasn’t too hot, for once, and it wasn’t muggy at all. In the forest, the sunshine made a dappled shadow pattern, which changed constantly when the soft breeze swished through the leaves.

Carole brought Diablo to a walk and the others followed. Horseback riding was something Carole could count on. Often it seemed to her that the world was confusing and unreliable. Her mother’s death had proved that, and now Scott’s unwanted attention and her father’s insistence about the dance next weekend seemed to confirm her suspicions that she couldn’t control events. But whenever Carole was riding, she was in charge of the world, or at least the part of the world that mattered to her. Her body moved in perfect rhythm with Diablo’s walk. She felt the power of the animal underneath her and she knew that power was hers. It was a very comforting feeling.

Ahead, the trail split in two. One way led to an open pasture. The other, to the right, followed Willow Creek, after which their town was named. Carole gently turned Diablo to the right. Her friends followed on their horses. Carole was in charge. And she liked it that way.

“I thought we’d stop at the place where the creek gets so wide,” she said. “We can have our picnic and water the horses—”

“And wade,” Stevie finished the sentence for her.

Carole nodded. The creek’s cool water would feel good on her feet and ankles, which had been encased in hot leather boots all morning. “Let’s trot for a while, then we can canter where the trail crosses the meadow and walk until we get to the creek.” She signaled Diablo to trot, and once he had a nice collected trot she began posting, rising and sitting with the rhythm of his gait.

When the path widened, Stevie drew Comanche up next to Diablo and Carole.

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