A Winning Gift by Catherine Hapka Page B

horses.”
    â€œHmm.” Bridget looked thoughtful. “I guess if you’re sure Wizard will be okay . . .”
    â€œI’m sure,” Maddie told her, relieved. Bridget could be stubborn, and when she got stubborn, she also tended to get dramatic. And Maddie didn’t feel like dealing with that today. “Come on. I’ll help you get him ready.”
    Fifteen minutes later, Maddie was slipping the bridle over Cloudy’s ears. “Ready to go, baby girl?” she whispered as she buckled the noseband and throatlatch.
    She’d already helped Bridget get Wizard ready, leaving the two of them standing by the ring with Vic and Val while she raced to get her own mount tacked up. Pulling the reins over Cloudy’s head, she gave a cluck.
    â€œLet’s go, Cloudy,” she said. “Don’t want to be late.”
    They hurried through the barn and out the back. Vic and Val were already mounted and walking their ponies around on the rail. Ms. Emerson was holding Wizard by the mounting block. Bridget was standing on the block, looking nervous.
    Maddie held her breath, watching as her friend swung aboard the stout gray pony. “Good,” Ms. Emerson said. “Pick up your reins, and I’ll double-check your girth. . . .”
    Maddie let out her breath as Ms. Emerson continued talking to Bridget, explaining the proper way to hold the reins and telling her a little bit about Wizard. Leading Cloudy into the ring, she waited until they’d moved away from the block, then checked her girth and mounted.
    She settled into the saddle, smiling at the familiar feel of Cloudy beneath her. “Let’s go, girl.” She clucked and gave the faintest squeeze with her legs to move the pony away from the mounting block.
    Ms. Emerson was walking beside Wizard. When she saw that Maddie was ready, she stopped the quiet gray pony and called for attention.
    â€œAs you all know, this is Bridget,” she said. “Since she’s new, we’ll take it easy and stick with a lot of walking for our warm-up.”
    â€œOh.” Bridget blushed beneath her borrowed helmet. “Are you sure? You don’t have to change everything you usually do just because I’m here.”
    â€œIt’s fine.” Ms. Emerson shot her a quick smile. “It’s good for all riders to revisit the basics now and then. There’s a lot one can do at the walk. For instance, we’ll start by doing windmills. Maddie, can you demonstrate for Bridget, please? Right arm first.”
    Maddie immediately shifted both reins to her left hand. Then she stuck her right arm up and started swinging it around in a big circle. The twins did the same, keeping their ponies walking along the rail at the same time.
    â€œOkay, now you try, Bridget,” Ms. Emerson said. “I’ll lead the pony so you don’t have to worry about steering just yet.”
    Bridget imitated what the others were doing. “Like this?” She giggled. “This is fun! It’s sort of like an acting exercise we do to loosen up.”
    â€œExactly.” Ms. Emerson smiled. “It does the same thing in this case, plus it helps you find your balance in the saddle. All right, now we’ll switch to the other arm. . . .”
    As the lesson continued, Maddie could tell that Bridget was having fun. She was having fun, too. They stuck to a walk for quite a while, and she could tell that Cloudy was getting a little impatient with the slow pace. But Maddie knew it was good for both of them to do something different, as Ms. Emerson had said.
    They ran through a variety of exercises similar to the windmill one. Then Ms. Emerson started teaching Bridget to steer with her reins and legs by having her follow the other ponies. That went pretty well, and by the end of the last figure eight, Bridget was grinning.
    â€œThis is kind of fun,” she said after bringing Wizard to a