Moonlight Mile by Catherine Hapka

have time to worry about that right now. She reached Breezy’s stall, unlatched the door, and swung it open.
    â€œReady to go, Breeze-man?” she sang out. “Let’s go show ’em what we’ve got!”
    Five minutes later, Nina was swinging into the saddle just outside the warm-up ring. Breezy normally stood stock-still for mounting—maybe almost a little too still, since Nina usually had to give him a couple of kicks to get him moving. Not that day, though. As soon as her left foot hit the stirrup, she felt the pony’s weight shift. “Easy, boy,” she said, quickly swinging her right leg up and over. As she did, Breezy hopped forward, and Nina collapsed heavily into the saddle to avoid overbalancing.
    â€œYou okay?” Miss Adaline asked, hurrying over from nearby, where she’d been helping another rider adjust his stirrups.
    â€œYeah,” Nina replied breathlessly, shoving herself into position and tucking her right toe into the stirrup. “He just took me by surprise, that’s all. He’s not exactly his usual lazy self today.” She gathered up her reins. Breezy had stopped, though he still felt a little tense.
    Miss Adaline smiled. “The horses know it’s a big day too. Don’t overdo your aids—he’ll be on his toes and probably won’t need as much pressure as usual.”
    â€œGot it.” Nina took a deep breath. “Here we go!”
    Miss Adaline gave Breezy a pat on the neck, then stepped out of the way. Nina nudged the pony with both heels, expecting a sluggish step at most. Instead, Breezy practically leaped forward, and for a second Nina thought he might actually trot off instead of walk.
    She laughed. “Okay, I get it, pony boy,” she said. “Easy with the aids, like Miss A said, right?”
    Breezy flicked one ear back at her, then turned it forward again as a tall black horse trotted past. As soon as Nina asked him to move off, Breezy swung into a ground-covering walk—the kind of nice, forward walk it usually took Nina about half a lesson to get out of him.
    This is kind of nice, she thought as they rode through the gate and joined the flow of traffic in the ring. If Breezy’s actually going to volunteer some energy today, I might as well sit back, save my leg muscles, and enjoy it!
    She and Breezy were trotting a few minutes later when she heard someone calling her name. Glancing toward the rail, she saw Trinity standing there, waving.
    Nina waved back, then rode over. “Hey, Trin, you made it!” she exclaimed. “Did anyone else come?”
    â€œYeah, the gang’s all here.” Trinity waved a vague hand in the direction of the bleachers and lawn chairs set up near the main ring. “Livi, Chelle, the whole bunch from school.” She shaded her eyes and peered out at the crowd of horses and ponies in the warm-up ring. “Is that Jordan?”
    Nina glanced over her shoulder. Freckles was near the middle of the ring, trotting a sloppy circle. “Yeah, she’s a little nervous.” Seeing Jordan made her think of Brett. Her gaze wandered over the crowd, wondering where he was.
    She didn’t see him, but she did spy a large crowd of familiar-looking people heading her way. She smiled and waved as her father, at the head of the group, spotted herand lifted his hand. Nina’s mother was right behind him, along with Gramma Rose, Aunt Toni, Cousin DeeDee and Tim, Cousin Tommy and his three kids, and several others.
    Soon the whole group was at the rail, greeting Nina and Breezy and saying hello to Trinity.
    â€œThis is so exciting!” Aunt Toni exclaimed, reaching out to give Breezy a pat on the nose. “Nina, it’s like you’re in the Olympics or something!”
    â€œMaybe not quite like that.” Nina laughed. “It’s fun, though, right?”
    Just then a horse cantered past right behind them, and Breezy jumped and turned halfway