were within the allotted time, and let out a triumphant whoop that was loud enough to carry to where Stevie, Phil, and Todd were standing. They grinned and whooped back. Then Phil hurried off to prepare for his round.
“This means a jump-off,” Todd told Stevie.
Stevie nodded. “And there are still plenty of riders to go. This is good. This is very, very good.” The next rider was already entering the ring. Stevie glanced at her. “Ugh, it’s that snotty girl, Arianna,” she said. “Even though I can’t stand her, I hope she goes clean. The more people that ride in the jump-off, the more fences you have to clear to win, and the more money we’ll have when this is all over.”
Stevie got her wish. Arianna rode clean. So did Phil, who went next. That meant that not only was there a jump-off, but a rider had to be in it to have any chance at one of the top ribbons.
By the time Phil finished his round, Lisa had bitten her fingernails down to the nubs. It was getting harder and harder to watch and wait and worry about how she would do when her turn came. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to think about something else. As the rider after Phil brought down the top rail on the veryfirst fence, Lisa did her best to remind herself of everything she had accomplished in the last couple of weeks. She had stayed up until almost three A.M. the night before finishing another book, so now she only had six books left to go on her reading list.
For a moment she frowned, wishing it could be fewer. Camp was ending the next day, and she wasn’t going to be able to finish six more books by then. But she comforted herself with the thought that she was sticking to her diet, even though she was hungry almost all the time now. Despite how hard everything else seemed to be these days, dieting had actually turned out to be pretty easy.
Lisa hardly heard the polite applause that accompanied the rider’s exit from the ring as she thought about her diet. She had stopped eating breakfast entirely, except for the sips of juice she would take whenever her friends were looking at her. At lunch and dinner, she tried not to eat more than three bites of anything, and if something looked particularly fattening, she would skip it. For instance, that day she had eaten three carrot sticks, a single spoonful of the rich beef stew, and half a piece of unbuttered toast, but she had left the chocolate pudding untouched.
The words danced in her head as she thought about them, turning into a sort of a chant:
three carrots, spoonful of stew, half a piece of toast … three carrots, spoonful
of stew, half a piece of toast … three carrots, spoonful of stew, half a piece of toast…
Another round of applause brought Lisa back to her senses. She shook her head to clear it, feeling annoyed with herself. She had to stay alert until it was her turn to ride. This was no time to start spacing out—she couldn’t afford a mistake today.
B Y THE TIME Stevie’s turn came, only one more rider had made it into the jump-off. Three more had knocked down the big oxer, and the others had had other jumping or time faults. She took a deep breath and patted Belle on the neck as she waited for Betty to give the signal to start.
The first few fences were no problem. Belle seemed to understand exactly what was expected of her, and she tucked her rear hooves neatly under her as she sailed over each obstacle.
Then they approached the oxer. Belle cantered to it in perfect position, but as soon as her hooves left the ground, Stevie could feel that her horse hadn’t taken off quite as powerfully as she had on the earlier fences, even though this double fence was the largest one on the course. Her heart leaped to her throat as she waited for the telltale sound of rails clattering to the ground. Instead, she heard something even more nerveracking—the sound of the mare’s rear hooves scraping the top of theback rail. Stevie tensed her shoulders, waiting for
“This means a jump-off,” Todd told Stevie.
Stevie nodded. “And there are still plenty of riders to go. This is good. This is very, very good.” The next rider was already entering the ring. Stevie glanced at her. “Ugh, it’s that snotty girl, Arianna,” she said. “Even though I can’t stand her, I hope she goes clean. The more people that ride in the jump-off, the more fences you have to clear to win, and the more money we’ll have when this is all over.”
Stevie got her wish. Arianna rode clean. So did Phil, who went next. That meant that not only was there a jump-off, but a rider had to be in it to have any chance at one of the top ribbons.
By the time Phil finished his round, Lisa had bitten her fingernails down to the nubs. It was getting harder and harder to watch and wait and worry about how she would do when her turn came. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to think about something else. As the rider after Phil brought down the top rail on the veryfirst fence, Lisa did her best to remind herself of everything she had accomplished in the last couple of weeks. She had stayed up until almost three A.M. the night before finishing another book, so now she only had six books left to go on her reading list.
For a moment she frowned, wishing it could be fewer. Camp was ending the next day, and she wasn’t going to be able to finish six more books by then. But she comforted herself with the thought that she was sticking to her diet, even though she was hungry almost all the time now. Despite how hard everything else seemed to be these days, dieting had actually turned out to be pretty easy.
Lisa hardly heard the polite applause that accompanied the rider’s exit from the ring as she thought about her diet. She had stopped eating breakfast entirely, except for the sips of juice she would take whenever her friends were looking at her. At lunch and dinner, she tried not to eat more than three bites of anything, and if something looked particularly fattening, she would skip it. For instance, that day she had eaten three carrot sticks, a single spoonful of the rich beef stew, and half a piece of unbuttered toast, but she had left the chocolate pudding untouched.
The words danced in her head as she thought about them, turning into a sort of a chant:
three carrots, spoonful of stew, half a piece of toast … three carrots, spoonful
of stew, half a piece of toast … three carrots, spoonful of stew, half a piece of toast…
Another round of applause brought Lisa back to her senses. She shook her head to clear it, feeling annoyed with herself. She had to stay alert until it was her turn to ride. This was no time to start spacing out—she couldn’t afford a mistake today.
B Y THE TIME Stevie’s turn came, only one more rider had made it into the jump-off. Three more had knocked down the big oxer, and the others had had other jumping or time faults. She took a deep breath and patted Belle on the neck as she waited for Betty to give the signal to start.
The first few fences were no problem. Belle seemed to understand exactly what was expected of her, and she tucked her rear hooves neatly under her as she sailed over each obstacle.
Then they approached the oxer. Belle cantered to it in perfect position, but as soon as her hooves left the ground, Stevie could feel that her horse hadn’t taken off quite as powerfully as she had on the earlier fences, even though this double fence was the largest one on the course. Her heart leaped to her throat as she waited for the telltale sound of rails clattering to the ground. Instead, she heard something even more nerveracking—the sound of the mare’s rear hooves scraping the top of theback rail. Stevie tensed her shoulders, waiting for
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