then said, “Right.”
That’s how it happened. I swear it. I had nothing to do with it. They thought of it themselves.
I was still crying when Lisa turned to me and said, “I promise, Stevie, that as long as you can’t ride, I won’t ride.”
“Me, too,” said Carole.
That made me stop crying. I could hardly believe it. When I think back on it, it was the craziest thing any of us had ever done, but at the time, it seemed totally logical. My friends were trying to make me feel better and I’ve got to tell you, it made me feel better. How could anyone ask to have more generous friends than I do?
“It’s a pledge from our hearts,” Lisa said, putting her hand on her heart. She can be very dramatic sometimes.
“Absolutely,” Carole promised.
Now, that would have been enough for me and I would have been glad to have it end there, but Lisa decided to carry it one step further. The next thing I knew they’d added an “or else” to the pledge. If any one of the three of us rode a horse before the doctor declared me well, that person would have to invite Veronica diAngelo to join The Saddle Club.
A word about Veronica diAngelo:
Bleaaaaaaaaauuugh!
If, for a second, I had doubted my friends’ sincerity about their pledge, all doubt was now gone. The very idea of inviting Veronica to join us was so horrible I knew neither one would break the pledge.
I couldn’t imagine how they’d manage to do it, but over the next few days they each dropped a bomb. Lisa and her mother were going to Los Angeles to visit a sick aunt. Carole was going to New York with her father. That simplified the whole pledge thing for them. As long as they weren’t going to be around horses, they wouldn’t even be tempted!
The problem was that that left me all alone in Willow Creek, Virginia, with nothing to do.
“Don’t be silly,” Carole said in her most matter-of-fact, motherly voice. “Of course you’ve got lots of things to do. First of all, you can spend every day here, helping out. You know there’s always a lot to be done with horses that you can do standing up.”
“Sure,” I said. “Then what’s the second thing I can do?”
“Get into trouble!”
Lisa and Carole laughed at that one. I’ll even admit that I did, too.
Later on, I figured out that Carole is a very wise girl, because I proceeded to do both of the things she’d suggested!
I NEED TO tell you a little bit about Max Regnery and his mother. They own and run the stable. We call Max by his first name and we call his mother Mrs. Reg. Max is our main riding instructor and he’s a really great teacher. I can’t say that about everybody who teaches me things (like don’t get me started on my science teacher!), but Max is wonderful. He makes us work very hard and he doesn’t take any nonsense. He won’t even let us talk in class. I swear he can see out of the side of his head, too, because he can give instructions to three riders at once and he never makes a mistake about what they’re doing wrong.
Mrs. Reg is the stable manager. She takes care of the business of the stable and that includes chores. Everybody at Pine Hollow is expected to work. We all tack up ourown horses before we ride and then untack, groom, and water them when we’re done. If Mrs. Reg catches anyone standing idle, the next thing they know, they’ve been handed a pitchfork and pointed toward a stall that needs mucking out.
When I realized I wasn’t going to be able to ride for at least three weeks, I was afraid I’d spend the entire time mucking out stalls. It didn’t turn out that way at all. I reported to Mrs. Reg for job assignments and she turned me right over to Max.
“Oh, Stevie! This is terrible!” Max said. Of course he understands how awful it is not to be able to ride. Then he got a look on his face that said that maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
“But if you can’t work on your own riding skills, perhaps you’d like the opportunity to help others work
That’s how it happened. I swear it. I had nothing to do with it. They thought of it themselves.
I was still crying when Lisa turned to me and said, “I promise, Stevie, that as long as you can’t ride, I won’t ride.”
“Me, too,” said Carole.
That made me stop crying. I could hardly believe it. When I think back on it, it was the craziest thing any of us had ever done, but at the time, it seemed totally logical. My friends were trying to make me feel better and I’ve got to tell you, it made me feel better. How could anyone ask to have more generous friends than I do?
“It’s a pledge from our hearts,” Lisa said, putting her hand on her heart. She can be very dramatic sometimes.
“Absolutely,” Carole promised.
Now, that would have been enough for me and I would have been glad to have it end there, but Lisa decided to carry it one step further. The next thing I knew they’d added an “or else” to the pledge. If any one of the three of us rode a horse before the doctor declared me well, that person would have to invite Veronica diAngelo to join The Saddle Club.
A word about Veronica diAngelo:
Bleaaaaaaaaauuugh!
If, for a second, I had doubted my friends’ sincerity about their pledge, all doubt was now gone. The very idea of inviting Veronica to join us was so horrible I knew neither one would break the pledge.
I couldn’t imagine how they’d manage to do it, but over the next few days they each dropped a bomb. Lisa and her mother were going to Los Angeles to visit a sick aunt. Carole was going to New York with her father. That simplified the whole pledge thing for them. As long as they weren’t going to be around horses, they wouldn’t even be tempted!
The problem was that that left me all alone in Willow Creek, Virginia, with nothing to do.
“Don’t be silly,” Carole said in her most matter-of-fact, motherly voice. “Of course you’ve got lots of things to do. First of all, you can spend every day here, helping out. You know there’s always a lot to be done with horses that you can do standing up.”
“Sure,” I said. “Then what’s the second thing I can do?”
“Get into trouble!”
Lisa and Carole laughed at that one. I’ll even admit that I did, too.
Later on, I figured out that Carole is a very wise girl, because I proceeded to do both of the things she’d suggested!
I NEED TO tell you a little bit about Max Regnery and his mother. They own and run the stable. We call Max by his first name and we call his mother Mrs. Reg. Max is our main riding instructor and he’s a really great teacher. I can’t say that about everybody who teaches me things (like don’t get me started on my science teacher!), but Max is wonderful. He makes us work very hard and he doesn’t take any nonsense. He won’t even let us talk in class. I swear he can see out of the side of his head, too, because he can give instructions to three riders at once and he never makes a mistake about what they’re doing wrong.
Mrs. Reg is the stable manager. She takes care of the business of the stable and that includes chores. Everybody at Pine Hollow is expected to work. We all tack up ourown horses before we ride and then untack, groom, and water them when we’re done. If Mrs. Reg catches anyone standing idle, the next thing they know, they’ve been handed a pitchfork and pointed toward a stall that needs mucking out.
When I realized I wasn’t going to be able to ride for at least three weeks, I was afraid I’d spend the entire time mucking out stalls. It didn’t turn out that way at all. I reported to Mrs. Reg for job assignments and she turned me right over to Max.
“Oh, Stevie! This is terrible!” Max said. Of course he understands how awful it is not to be able to ride. Then he got a look on his face that said that maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
“But if you can’t work on your own riding skills, perhaps you’d like the opportunity to help others work
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