Moonlight Mile by Catherine Hapka Page B

one moment, a flashback to her dream overwhelmed her, and she swore she smelled mothballs and wood smoke. . . .
    What was that? she wondered, turning her head to look. Probably just a horse’s tail or something . . .
    As her eyes searched the crowd, she felt Breezy’s stride wobble slightly. Quickly turning her attention back to what she was doing, Nina saw that the pony was veering to the left side of the jump. Was he thinking about running out, as Freckles had done in their lesson the other day?
    They were only two strides out by now—not much time to correct their course. Nina kicked sharply with her left leg, tugging on the right rein at the same time. Breezy tossed his head and leaped to the right, his stride choppy. He was back in front of the jump now, but crooked and moving a little too fast.
    â€œGo, Breezy!” Nina cried, kicking with both legs.
    But it was too late. The pony tossed his head again and slammed on the brakes, almost sliding into the rails as he skidded to a stop.
    Nina had already been leaning forward in anticipation of the coming jump; she was flung onto the front of the saddle and had to scramble to stop herself from sliding off over Breezy’s shoulder. Somehow she shoved herself back into her seat, fishing for the stirrups she’d lost and grabbing for her reins as they slipped onto his neck. Her face flamed as she heard a sympathetic “Oooooh” go up from the watching crowd.
    â€œIt’s okay, Nina!” Miss Adaline’s voice floated out from the rail. “Circle and try again.”
    Nina nodded, already turning Breezy away from the jump. She kicked him back into a canter, looping back around to approach the jump again. This time she kept him firmly between her hands and legs, and Breezy cleared the jump nicely.
    The crowd cheered as they cantered on to the next jump, but Nina’s mouth was set in a grim line. I can’t believe I did that! she thought. Totally my fault. Breezy and I are supposed to be working as a team, and I just abandoned him right before the jump. So much for making my pony look good. . . .
    She shook her head to banish the thought, not wanting to get distracted again. Luckily, Breezy wasn’t easily flustered, and he recovered quickly from the stop, completing the rest of the course with no trouble at all.
    â€œNina!” Jordan hurried over with Freckles trailing behind her at the end of his reins as Nina rode out of the ring. “Oh my gosh, what happened?”
    â€œI spaced out,” Nina said with a sigh, giving Breezy a pat. Then she forced a grin. “Actually, I should probably blame it on Great-Aunt Serena.”
    â€œWhat?” Jordan’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
    â€œNothing.” Nina smiled and shook her head as she slid down from the saddle and ran up her stirrups. “Something I saw outside the ring distracted me, that’s all.” Her gaze wandered toward the area where she’d seen the flutter of gray. What had it been? There were no horses over there, and nobody wearing gray, either.
    Jordan followed her gaze, still looking alarmed. “Do you really think—”
    â€œAbsolutely not.” Nina cut her off with a laugh, reminding herself that this was real life, not some moonlight-­fueled dream. “Anyway, Serena might have gotten us this time, but Breezy and I will make up for it in our next round!”

CHAPTER
    6
    â€œREADY TO GET BACK IN there, Breeze- man?” Nina said as she checked her pony’s girth.
    She glanced toward the ring, where riders were already entering for the flat class. All the horse s and the riders in their division would be asked to walk, trot, and canter for the judge, who would be watching the quality of the animals’ gaits. Since this show was supposed to be a learning experience for the students, the judge would also add or deduct points for the riders’ position and use of aids, even though the