Headstrong by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497654129
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

ELEVEN

Callie was at Pine Hollow early again on Sunday. She headed for the schooling ring, hoping to get in some solid time before Max’s first private lesson a little later that morning. “Ready to get started, buddy?” she asked, patting Scooby soundly on the neck before bending over to adjust her left stirrup.

Scooby stood quietly until she was ready, then stepped forward smartly at her first light squeeze. Callie spent a few minutes warming him up, then moved on to some exercises she’d planned, working on some serpentines and figure eights and then trotting over a row of cavalletti.

Once again, the schooling session went very well. Scooby did just about everything she asked right away. While she could tell that they were going to have to work on a few things, it was nothing she couldn’t handle. Callie was already starting to think of herself and Scooby as a team, and she liked the feeling. She liked it a lot.

She was just thinking, reluctantly, that it was time to head in and let Scooby rest when she noticed that Ben Marlow had stopped by to watch again on his way back from the grain shed with a bag of feed. Remembering how helpful—and uncharacteristically talkative—he’d been the previous day, Callie stopped what she was doing and rode toward him, eager to take advantage of any new comments he might have about Scooby.

“Hey,” she greeted him as she brought Scooby to a halt. “How do we look today?”

As usual, Ben didn’t waste time on formalities. “Check your right side,” he said. “Looks like you’re still favoring it a little.”

Callie glanced down at her right leg, the one that had been injured in the accident and had kept her from endurance riding for so long. Though it had recovered fully, she realized that Ben might be right—she might still be automatically adjusting for its previous weakness.

“Thanks,” she said, readjusting her position slightly.

Ben nodded. Then his attention turned to Callie’s horse. “Scooby looks great. Happy with him so far?”

“Definitely.” Callie smiled and leaned forward to pat her horse fondly. “He’s doing terrific. Of course, we haven’t really been out in the woods together,” she added, her smile fading slightly. “The closest we came was a little trail around the pasture at Mr. Rayburn’s farm. And Mr. Rayburn said Scooby can be a little headstrong on the trail, especially when he’s feeling fresh.” That was the one thing that had been worrying her a little. She didn’t mind a horse who had a mind of his own and wasn’t afraid to show it, but a truly headstrong mount would be a constant struggle, and that could eat up a lot more energy than a good endurance team could afford. “I just hope a little early energy is all it is,” she muttered, more to herself than to Ben. She trusted Mr. Rayburn’s word—she wouldn’t have bought Scooby if she didn’t—but she knew that the farmer wasn’t an endurance expert. What might seem “a little fresh” to him might seem irretrievably headstrong to her, especially during a race.

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