Liberty and the Dream Ride by Stacy Gregg Page B

horses, they won’t be looking at me.”
    She was wrong about that. The crowd that had gathered for the trotting-up gave Issie the loudest round of applause when she stepped forward, leading Comet alongside her in his bridle to take her turn.
    And when she took the reins with Liberty and trotted the mare back and forth to the approval of the judges, who passed both her horses as fit and healthy, the crowd went wild.
    â€œI don’t understand it.” Issie was bewildered and in a daze when she arrived back at the cabin with Stella. “There were loads of famous riders there. How did the crowd even know who I am?”
    It turned out that the reason was Tiggy Brocklebent. The writer from Horsing Around magazine had been blogging about Issie on her website.
    â€œTiggy has half a million readers,” Stella said excitedly, “and she’s written a whole column about you. Listen to this…”
    Stella began to read Tiggy’s blog aloud to Issie: “ She’s the youngest rider ever to compete here at Kentucky – and not content with trying to get a fourteen-two pony round one of the world’s toughest courses, this determined seventeen-year-old girl has now taken on an even greater challenge – a chance ride. Filling in for the injured Marcus Pearce, Isadora Brown will now be riding the Valmont Stables’ star performer, Valmont Liberty, as her second mount here in Kentucky. Can this teenage girl change the course of eventing history? Keep reading my blog to find out!”
    â€œOhmygod!” Issie groaned. “That’s all I need…”
    There was a knock on the door of their cabin and Avery stuck his head round the corner. “Come on,” he said, “Comet is waiting for his workout.”
    After Issie had put Comet through his paces and Stella had tacked Liberty up in her dressage saddle, Issie got some last-minute words of advice from Marcus.
    â€œLiberty is the most sensitive horse I’ve ever ridden,” he told Issie. “You have to ride her really quietly in the dressage arena because she’s prone to, well, explode.”
    â€œExplode?” Issie squeaked, “What do you mean ‘explode’?”
    Marcus winced at the question. “The last time I was competing her she got a bit upset when we were doing the flying changes through the middle of the arena and she had a bucking fit.”
    Issie’s eyes went wide. “You didn’t tell me any of this before!”
    â€œI didn’t think it was a big deal!” Marcus said. “It wasn’t really a fit – it was only three or four bucks. It’s not like she was trying to throw me off or anything – she was just a bit excited. And we managed to finish the test after that. I’m sure she won’t do it again.”
    He had finished adjusting the stirrups and stepped back. “There! All done. Shall we head over to the arena?”
    Avery and Tara came over with them to watch, but it was Marcus who took control of the first half of the training session. He was the one who had been riding Liberty for the past six months and he knew the mare best.
    â€œShe’s better on the left rein, so ride that way first to warm up,” Marcus told Issie. Issie began to ride Liberty around the arena, walking her at first and then trotting and cantering. The mare’s paces were huge and ground-covering compared to tiny Comet and her trot was so floaty and elevated that it took Issie a moment to get into the groove.
    â€œDon’t ride her too much,” Marcus called out. “Sit really quiet on her. All you need to do is make the slightest move and she’ll—”
    He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence because Issie, who was trying to get Liberty to canter, had put her legs in the wrong spot and felt the mare go into a huge extended trot down the side of the arena.
    â€œOops!” Issie said as she brought her back to