she raised it and aimed. She squeezed the trigger. Blue dye shot from the nozzle, landing on the ground in front of the target. She squeezed again, harder. Same result.
“Higher!” she heard Chad yell.
“Come on, Lisa! You can do it!” Stevie screamed.
She pointed the nozzle higher. It didn’t work.
“Higher!” Chad yelled again. Then she understood what she had to do.
She leaned forward, almost resting on Penny’s neck, pointed the squirt gun into the air, well above her target, and squeezed with all her might. The blue dye arced into the air and landed—square on the target. She did it!
“Yahoo!” she yelled, turning Penny around and heading back to the starting line.
The Clubs were neck and neck with the Diamonds, and the Spades were close behind. There wasn’t a second to lose. Stevie bolted off the starting line like a greyhound, and handled her part like a pro. She returned a few seconds later, grinning and triumphant. It was Carole’s turn.
Lisa thought she could breathe easy now. She was sure they’d won. Almost every eye in the place was on Carole, since she was such a good rider. Lisa, however, thought that it might pay to watch Veronica diAngelo, the Diamonds’ captain, two lanes over.
Veronica and Carole left the starting line at almost the same instant. They arrived at the shooting line simultaneously. They took aim together. The yellow streams of dye shot out together. Because it was such a light color, it was hard to see it land, but Lisa had the distinct impression that Veronica had missed the target. Veronica turned her pony around right away, though, and headed back to the finish line. But Carole’s first shot missed. She took careful aim, shot again, and this time, hit the target.
Hard as she tried, and fast as she rode, she couldn’t beat Veronica back to the starting line. That meant they’d come in second and the Diamonds had won for the day. The Spades came in right behind the Clubs in the fourth race. The Hearts were last.
The Diamonds’ families and friends were cheering them on. Then the Saddle Club’s own families and friends were yelling like crazy. Even Lisa’s parents were cheering. Second place wasn’t bad. It kept them in the competition. But it wasn’t as good as first.
Kate and Red went out to pick up the targets. Lisa noticed that Kate examined the Diamonds’ target, and waved to Red to join her. He walked over and looked at it, too. Then, the two of them took the target over to the judges’ table. There was a lot of buzzing and chatting there. The judges spent time looking at their charts and looking at the target.
The P.A. system crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the head judge said. “We have a correction to make on the final race. A close examination of the targets reveals that one of the riders on the Diamond team did not, in fact, hit the target. Therefore, the team is automatically disqualified and comes in fourth. The new order for the final race is: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds. The final point standing for the day is: Clubs, thirteen; Diamonds; eleven; Hearts, nine; and Spades, seven. Teams, please line up for the presentation of ribbons.”
They’d won! Lisa had been right when she’d thought Veronica hadn’t hit the target. Good old Veronica had tried to cheat and she’d been caught at it!
The Clubs’ ponies stood still and proud as the judges pinned the blue ribbons on their bridles. It was as ifthey knew what they’d done and were as proud as their riders. Lisa leaned forward to admire the shiny blue satin. She decided then that it would be the first of many, many blue ribbons she would win in her life as a rider. She glanced at her best friends. The big smiles on their faces told her they all felt exactly the same way.
It seemed to Lisa then that it almost didn’t matter if they won the next two days of the gymkhana. Winning the first day was almost wonderful enough for a life-time. Almost.
I T TURNED OUT to
“Higher!” she heard Chad yell.
“Come on, Lisa! You can do it!” Stevie screamed.
She pointed the nozzle higher. It didn’t work.
“Higher!” Chad yelled again. Then she understood what she had to do.
She leaned forward, almost resting on Penny’s neck, pointed the squirt gun into the air, well above her target, and squeezed with all her might. The blue dye arced into the air and landed—square on the target. She did it!
“Yahoo!” she yelled, turning Penny around and heading back to the starting line.
The Clubs were neck and neck with the Diamonds, and the Spades were close behind. There wasn’t a second to lose. Stevie bolted off the starting line like a greyhound, and handled her part like a pro. She returned a few seconds later, grinning and triumphant. It was Carole’s turn.
Lisa thought she could breathe easy now. She was sure they’d won. Almost every eye in the place was on Carole, since she was such a good rider. Lisa, however, thought that it might pay to watch Veronica diAngelo, the Diamonds’ captain, two lanes over.
Veronica and Carole left the starting line at almost the same instant. They arrived at the shooting line simultaneously. They took aim together. The yellow streams of dye shot out together. Because it was such a light color, it was hard to see it land, but Lisa had the distinct impression that Veronica had missed the target. Veronica turned her pony around right away, though, and headed back to the finish line. But Carole’s first shot missed. She took careful aim, shot again, and this time, hit the target.
Hard as she tried, and fast as she rode, she couldn’t beat Veronica back to the starting line. That meant they’d come in second and the Diamonds had won for the day. The Spades came in right behind the Clubs in the fourth race. The Hearts were last.
The Diamonds’ families and friends were cheering them on. Then the Saddle Club’s own families and friends were yelling like crazy. Even Lisa’s parents were cheering. Second place wasn’t bad. It kept them in the competition. But it wasn’t as good as first.
Kate and Red went out to pick up the targets. Lisa noticed that Kate examined the Diamonds’ target, and waved to Red to join her. He walked over and looked at it, too. Then, the two of them took the target over to the judges’ table. There was a lot of buzzing and chatting there. The judges spent time looking at their charts and looking at the target.
The P.A. system crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the head judge said. “We have a correction to make on the final race. A close examination of the targets reveals that one of the riders on the Diamond team did not, in fact, hit the target. Therefore, the team is automatically disqualified and comes in fourth. The new order for the final race is: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds. The final point standing for the day is: Clubs, thirteen; Diamonds; eleven; Hearts, nine; and Spades, seven. Teams, please line up for the presentation of ribbons.”
They’d won! Lisa had been right when she’d thought Veronica hadn’t hit the target. Good old Veronica had tried to cheat and she’d been caught at it!
The Clubs’ ponies stood still and proud as the judges pinned the blue ribbons on their bridles. It was as ifthey knew what they’d done and were as proud as their riders. Lisa leaned forward to admire the shiny blue satin. She decided then that it would be the first of many, many blue ribbons she would win in her life as a rider. She glanced at her best friends. The big smiles on their faces told her they all felt exactly the same way.
It seemed to Lisa then that it almost didn’t matter if they won the next two days of the gymkhana. Winning the first day was almost wonderful enough for a life-time. Almost.
I T TURNED OUT to
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