slope to meet her. Dude, Christine’s dog, frolicked between the horses.
“Hi, everybody.” Christine introduced herself to Emily, and Emily to Dude.
“So this is the show dog,” Emily said.
“The obedient dog. You bet he is! I was really proud of him yesterday. He’s got the commands down pat. Now all he needs to work on is his speed. Watch this!” She rode down the hillside to where a row of sagebrush bushes grew in a line like soldiers. “Dude! Weave!”
To their surprise and delight, Dude wove inand out through the line of brush, passing one bush on the left side and the next on the right. They cheered. “That’s amazing,” Lisa said. “I wish I’d seen—well, I wish the trial had been some other time, so we could have been there.”
“Yeah,” Christine joked, “it’s too bad they don’t hold them at midnight. That’s okay. We’ll show you all our tricks out here on the prairie.”
“First we need to find a breakfast spot,” Carole suggested. “I’m starving.”
Christine looked around. “Why not right here?”
Kate shook her head. “Nope.”
“Why not? It looks fine.”
“Because I can’t mount from the ground by myself,” Emily explained. “I need something to climb onto, and even then it has to be the right sort of something.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Christine looked a little embarrassed.
“How could you have known?” Emily asked her. “Besides,” she added, with a playful grin at Kate, “if this horse were thoroughly trained, I wouldn’t need to worry.”
Kate and The Saddle Club laughed. Christine, who knew perfectly well what a highly trained horse Spot was, looked confused. Emily explained how P.C. could drop to his knees.
“That’s a pretty specialized trick,” Kate commented. “I might try to teach Spot someday—but it’s asking a lot. Horses don’t often lie down in the wild, because they’re more vulnerable that way. They’d have to really trust their rider to do it on command.”
“P.C. is just naturally brilliant,” Emily informed them.
“What does
P.C
. stand for?” Christine asked.
“Pennsylvania Countryside,” Emily replied. “That’s where he was born.”
The others laughed and again Christine looked confused. “When I asked you what it meant, you told me Pesky Critter,” Kate said.
“What
P.C
. means changes from time to time,” Lisa explained.
“P.C. himself, though,” said Emily, “stays pretty much the same.”
After a careful search, they found the perfect breakfast spot near a small stream. A fallen tree made a decent mounting ramp. Emily dismounted and played with Dude while the othersoffered the horses water and unpacked breakfast. “You know,” Emily said, washing half a biscuit down with a slurp of hot chocolate, “that’s another suggestion for your dad, Kate. Maybe he could build some mounting blocks out here.”
“That’s a great idea,” Kate said. “We’ve got several spots where we often set up picnics or barbecues. I’ll tell him.”
“And tell your mother she makes good biscuits,” Emily said, reaching for another.
After breakfast they rode over some more of the range, and then they rode Christine home. “I promised my mother I’d go into town with her,” Christine said. “I’ll come back later. Nice to meet you, Emily. See you soon.”
“Do you think we should take Emily up to Lookout Point?” Stevie asked. It was the highest spot on the ranch.
“I hate to say this, Stevie, but I’m actually getting a little tired,” Lisa said. It was true, but even if it hadn’t been, Lisa would have been ready to go back. She didn’t want Emily to get worn out again.
“So am I,” Emily said. “Do you mind if we see Lookout Point on another ride?”
“Sure,” Stevie said. “We’ve got dozens of rides left.”
“Dozens?” Carole asked. “We’re only going to be here another three days.”
“So if we average four rides a day, that’s a dozen,” Stevie said.
“Oh, good.” Carole
“Hi, everybody.” Christine introduced herself to Emily, and Emily to Dude.
“So this is the show dog,” Emily said.
“The obedient dog. You bet he is! I was really proud of him yesterday. He’s got the commands down pat. Now all he needs to work on is his speed. Watch this!” She rode down the hillside to where a row of sagebrush bushes grew in a line like soldiers. “Dude! Weave!”
To their surprise and delight, Dude wove inand out through the line of brush, passing one bush on the left side and the next on the right. They cheered. “That’s amazing,” Lisa said. “I wish I’d seen—well, I wish the trial had been some other time, so we could have been there.”
“Yeah,” Christine joked, “it’s too bad they don’t hold them at midnight. That’s okay. We’ll show you all our tricks out here on the prairie.”
“First we need to find a breakfast spot,” Carole suggested. “I’m starving.”
Christine looked around. “Why not right here?”
Kate shook her head. “Nope.”
“Why not? It looks fine.”
“Because I can’t mount from the ground by myself,” Emily explained. “I need something to climb onto, and even then it has to be the right sort of something.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Christine looked a little embarrassed.
“How could you have known?” Emily asked her. “Besides,” she added, with a playful grin at Kate, “if this horse were thoroughly trained, I wouldn’t need to worry.”
Kate and The Saddle Club laughed. Christine, who knew perfectly well what a highly trained horse Spot was, looked confused. Emily explained how P.C. could drop to his knees.
“That’s a pretty specialized trick,” Kate commented. “I might try to teach Spot someday—but it’s asking a lot. Horses don’t often lie down in the wild, because they’re more vulnerable that way. They’d have to really trust their rider to do it on command.”
“P.C. is just naturally brilliant,” Emily informed them.
“What does
P.C
. stand for?” Christine asked.
“Pennsylvania Countryside,” Emily replied. “That’s where he was born.”
The others laughed and again Christine looked confused. “When I asked you what it meant, you told me Pesky Critter,” Kate said.
“What
P.C
. means changes from time to time,” Lisa explained.
“P.C. himself, though,” said Emily, “stays pretty much the same.”
After a careful search, they found the perfect breakfast spot near a small stream. A fallen tree made a decent mounting ramp. Emily dismounted and played with Dude while the othersoffered the horses water and unpacked breakfast. “You know,” Emily said, washing half a biscuit down with a slurp of hot chocolate, “that’s another suggestion for your dad, Kate. Maybe he could build some mounting blocks out here.”
“That’s a great idea,” Kate said. “We’ve got several spots where we often set up picnics or barbecues. I’ll tell him.”
“And tell your mother she makes good biscuits,” Emily said, reaching for another.
After breakfast they rode over some more of the range, and then they rode Christine home. “I promised my mother I’d go into town with her,” Christine said. “I’ll come back later. Nice to meet you, Emily. See you soon.”
“Do you think we should take Emily up to Lookout Point?” Stevie asked. It was the highest spot on the ranch.
“I hate to say this, Stevie, but I’m actually getting a little tired,” Lisa said. It was true, but even if it hadn’t been, Lisa would have been ready to go back. She didn’t want Emily to get worn out again.
“So am I,” Emily said. “Do you mind if we see Lookout Point on another ride?”
“Sure,” Stevie said. “We’ve got dozens of rides left.”
“Dozens?” Carole asked. “We’re only going to be here another three days.”
“So if we average four rides a day, that’s a dozen,” Stevie said.
“Oh, good.” Carole
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