Read Online Horse Power by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online

explained the joke to Kate.
    “Your friends are really nice,” Kate said.
    “Yeah, and you’re going to love riding with them,” Carole told her.
    Kate was quiet for a moment. Her eyes were on the black colt and his mother, but Carole knew her mind was somewhere else. Idly, Kate plucked a long stalk of grass from the knoll and chewed on the end of it.
    “Carole,” Kate began with a sigh, “I don’t ride anymore.”
    “Well, I know it can be tough sometimes when your dad is stationed at a base without horses, but once you’re moved into Willow Creek, you’ll be able to come to Pine Hollow.”
    “No, that’s not what I mean. I mean that no matter where we live, I don’t want to ride anymore. I’ve told my parents. I told them after my last show.”
    “But you’re good enough to go to the top!” Carole said, astonished by Kate’s announcement.
    “Maybe,” Kate said.
    “Just because you lost one show doesn’t mean you should quit!”
    “But I didn’t lose,” Kate said. “I took a first in three events, a second place in two. I’ve got a wall full of ribbons and a cabinet of silver cups. I’m no loser.”
    Carole shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I mean, I decided to quit riding once, when Samson’s father had to be put down and I thought the world had come to an end. But after a while, I realized that I just loved horses too much.”
    “I love horses, too. That won’t stop. It’s riding I don’t like.”
    Kate stared thoughtfully at the sky and continued chewing on the stalk of grass. Carole waited. There were times to ask questions. But Carole sensed this was a time to wait, so she watched the foal until Kate was ready to speak.
    Samson flicked his tiny tail furiously, trying to get rid of an annoying fly, but the fly apparently was unimpressed with the colt’s efforts and kept pestering him. Wisely, Samson sidled over to his mother. As soon as Delilah spotted the fly, she brushed her long tail around her foal’s hindquarters, and the fly retreated.
    “I’ve done all the riding I ever want to do,” Kate said finally. “I know how
you
feel. I know how much
I
used to love riding, but I don’t anymore. I’m done with it. Period.”
    How could anything be that final?
Carole wondered.
    How could such a thing have happened at all?

O N M ONDAY MORNING , Stevie and Lisa were eager to talk to Carole. They wanted to hear all about the rest of her visit with Kate.
    “Oh, she’s so neat!” Lisa said. “I really like her. And her clothes. You know, there’s just something about the way she walks and talks. She’s older than we are, but not much. She’s only fourteen, but she’s so grownup!”
    “I think you grow up fast on the competition circuit,” Carole said. “We talked about it a little, and she said it’s like you’re always on display. Actually, she didn’t really want to talk about riding.” She looked at her friends seriously. “In fact, she’s quit.”
    “Quit?! How could somebody so good—a champion—quit?” Stevie asked.
    “She didn’t want to talk about
why
, but she’s definitely made up her mind. And, she’s determined.”
    “Hah!” Stevie huffed. Lisa and Carole looked at her. “This sounds to me like a job for The Saddle Club!”
    “What are you talking about?” Carole asked.
    “We’ll just have to show her how wrong she is,” Stevie said.
    “Come on, you can’t interfere with somebody else’s life,” Carole told her.
    “Oh, yes you can!” Stevie retorted. “When you see somebody making a
terrible
mistake, and it’s your friend, well, you’d just
better
interfere. That’s what we do for each other, isn’t it? I mean belonging to The Saddle Club means helping friends—even when they don’t know they need your help.”
    “But Kate isn’t
in
The Saddle Club,” Carole reminded Stevie.
    “Not yet,” Stevie said.
    “I think I’m beginning to like this idea,” Lisa said. She looked at Carole for a