A Star Discovered by JoAnn S. Dawson

tailgate down,” Willie said, looking at his
     pocket watch. “We don’t have a lotta time.”
    Even before Willie had finished his sentence, the girls were out of the truck, Mary waving Willie back to the perfect spot
     on the hill and Jody poised to bring the tailgate down as soon as the truck was in position. In a flash, Star was led from
     the makeshift trailer and down the hill.
    “Now, just walk him around to get the kinks out of his legs while I find a place to park,” Willie instructed. “Then you’d
     better git entered in your classes.”
    Star lifted his head and gazed curiously in all directions—ears up and sniffing the air. He had only been off the farm once
     before, and that excursion had been a terrible mistake.
    “I hope Star doesn’t have any bad memories of his last trip away from the barn,” Mary commented. “Maybe we should take him
     down to the ring, so he can see it and get used to the idea. We still have a little time before we have to enter our classes.”
    “Good idea,” Jody agreed, turning toward the outdoor ring where a class was in progress. As the girls neared the ring, they
     saw a group of about ten young horses lined up for inspection. The judge paced up and down the front of the line, jotting
     down notes on a clipboard and occasionally stopping to speak to one of the competitors.
    “Look, Jody—these are just babies! This must be the weanling class. They sure aren’t squared up!”
    “Or even standing still,” Jody observed. It was all the handlers could do to get the weanlings to stop fidgeting and pawing
     when the judge approached.
    “Star, you can do better than that!” Mary assured the colt. But Star wasn’t listening to Mary. As he caught sight of the ring
     full of babies, he flung up his head, snorted once, and let out a joyful whinny of greeting.
    “Star, shhhhhh!” Jody warned. But it was too late. At the sound of Star’s hello, the weanlings became agitated, some whinnying
     back, some turning in circles, but all devoting their full attention to the black-and-white colt by the side of the ring.
     The competitors and even the judge turned to determine the cause of the disturbance.
    “Uh-oh,” Jody began, but she was cut short by a gnarly hand pulling the lead rope from her grasp. She looked up to see Willie
     turning Star abruptly from the ring.
    “Didn’t I tell ya to get over there and enter your classes?” he hissed, hobbling away from the ring as fast as he could go
     with Star in tow and the embarrassed girls trailing behind. “You don’t bring a horse down by a ring when a class is goin’
     on, especially a ring full of weanlings. Haven’t I taught you anything?”
    “Sorry, Willie,” Jody squeaked. “We thought it would be good to get him used to it.”
    “Oh, ya did, huh? Well, if you don’t get over there and sign up, you’ll miss your classes altogether, and there won’t be any
     reason to get him used to anything. And Jody, are you plannin’ on changin’ your clothes anytime soon?”
    Without another word, Mary headed to the entry booth and filled out the paperwork for two yearling classes, while Jody retrieved
     her show clothes from the truck and changed into them in the bathroom of the barn.
    “I got your number, Jode. Your first class is grooming and showmanship,” Mary informed Jody as she emerged from the bathroom.
     “Wow! You look good,” she continued, surveying Jody’s outfit of white blouse, tan pants, green tie, and black paddock boots.
    “I don’t know how I’m going to stay clean,” Jody wondered while Mary tied the cardboard number around Jody’s waist. “I wanted
     to give Star one last going-over before the class. Willie said the judge is really picky about any dust or dirt they find
     on the coat. And they ask if you groomed the colt yourself, so it has to be me.”
    “I think you could do that and stay clean,” Mary observed. “We scrubbed him so well at the farm that he shouldn’t have a