Gold Medal Rider by Bonnie Bryant Page B

ring. Her heart thudded with excitement. The afternoon had gone by so quickly! Nigel’s horse, Campfire, had ended up in tenth place in his division, and Nigel had been thrilled. Now it was Kate’s turn to shine.
    The competitors for the advanced division were the last to go, and they jumped in reverse order of standings. That meant that the lowest-placed horse jumped first, and the highest-ranked one—Karen’s gray, Singalong—jumped last. Southwood was second to last.
    One by one the advanced horses went into the ring. Stevie hadn’t paid too much attention to the early ones,since they didn’t have a chance of beating Kate. She and Lisa and Carole had done their best to keep Kate laughing and calm. This was Kate’s last competition, and they wanted her to enjoy the final day.
    Inside the arena, a small black horse tackled the course bravely. Stevie watched him jump a green wall and a wide Swedish oxer, then turn the corner toward the triple combination, a series of three jumps in a row that a lot of horses were knocking down. The black horse jumped the first two parts correctly, then nearly stumbled and hit the third with a crash. Rails fell to the ground. Stevie watched the ground crew rebuild the fence. A sudden thought made her hurry back to the center of the warm-up area.
    “Kate,” Stevie said, “come watch the next horse go through the triple combination. I think there’s something funny about the ground right before the last part. I think that’s why so many people are having it down.”
    Kate trotted Southwood to the edge of the arena. “You’re right,” she said as she watched the next horse go. “It looks like the ground’s gotten torn up by the other competitors. There must be a soft spot there—a puddle or something. But look! The rider can’t see the problem until she’s already jumped the second fence, and then it’s too late to avoid the bad spot.”
    Kate watched another horse flounder through the triple, scattering rails. “Thanks, Stevie! That’s a huge help!”
    Now only three riders remained in the warm-up: Kate,Karen, and the man who was in third. Lisa and Carole set one of the warm-up fences to five feet tall, and Kate popped Southwood back and forth over it a few times. In the show ring the third-place man jumped and had two rails down. It was Kate’s turn.
    Stevie, Carole, and Lisa clustered by the gate. When Lisa had watched Kate do cross-country, she had thought it was the most exciting thing she’d ever seen; but now her heart beat even faster, because she knew Kate had a chance to win. She realized this event was Kate’s last chance, and she really wanted Kate to end her competitive career as a champion.
    Kate circled at the far end of the arena, asked Southwood to pick up a canter, and pointed him at the first fence. He jumped beautifully, snapping his knees beneath his chin. They soared over the fences one by one until they came to the triple. Stevie had been taking pictures again, but she lowered her camera. She wanted to see this clearly.
    Kate turned wide and approached the first fence far to the left-hand side. She took Southwood through the triple so close to the left sides of the jumps that Carole was afraid Kate’s left leg would hit them, but Kate’s line avoided the trouble spot in front of the third fence. Southwood jumped the last part of the triple as cleanly and easily as he had jumped the first. Kate and Southwood flew over the final two fences and galloped toward the gate. A perfect round!
    Kate pulled Southwood up just outside the arena anddismounted into her friends’ arms. “You did it!” Carole shouted.
    “Here,” Kate said in return, thrusting Southwood’s reins into Carole’s hands. “Hold him for a second—I’ll be right back!”
    Kate ran toward the gate. She got there just before Karen rode Singalong into the arena. “Karen—stop!” she called. Karen halted her horse and looked at Kate strangely. Kate blushed, knowing that Karen