fingernails were about three inches long and painted green. Next to the woman, Garnet looked like a ten-hand pony.
Regaining her composure, Carole went up to greet the woman and shake hands. “Pleased to meet you, honey,” the woman said. “I’m Rose Marie Ambrosia Lee.”
Before Carole could say hello, Rose Marie continued, “I was just telling your friends how thrilled I was to see the ad for this horse. You see, I’m looking for a new horse to ride in my costume parades.”
“Costume parades?” Carole repeated. Lisa, Stevie, and Rose Marie all nodded.
“That’s right. She dresses up like a Southern belle,” Stevie said. Although she tried to make her voice sound normal, Carole could tell that Stevie was in as much shock as she was at the sight of the woman.
“I dress up like a Southern belle, you know antebellum, like. I wear a big hoopskirt and a hat with plumes and flowers—big plumes and flowers—and I decorate the horse to match my outfit. I’ve got lots of horse-rider combos that are just beautiful. There’s my yellow Belle of the Bali outfit and of course my Scarlett O’Hara …”
As Rose Marie chatted, the girls groomed. Whenever two of them were on Garnet’s off side, partially hidden from view, they would exchange horrified looks. The whole thing sounded frightening.
“… anyway, my last horse, poor thing, I had to sellhim at auction because he developed chronic back problems.”
“At auction?” Carole mouthed to the others. Only people who didn’t care at all about where their horses ended up sold them at auctions.
“How big a horse was he?” Stevie asked, fearing the worst.
“Oh, he was about the size of this here little ole dainty Arab. I always do like nice, dainty Arabs,” Rose Marie said, smiling.
“Right, right,” Stevie said. “Umm … listen, why don’t you get better acquainted with Garnet while we get her tack, okay?”
Leaving Rose Marie cooing over Garnet, the three girls practically sprinted to the the tack room to conference.
“Chronic back problems?” Carole whispered. “No wonder—with Two-Ton Tessie on his back. The woman needs a much bigger horse—a warmblood, maybe, or a nice stocky quarter horse.”
“Yeah, or a team of Clydesdales,” Stevie added dryly.
“What should we do?” Lisa asked.
“You’re doing the demo ride, right?” Steve asked.
Lisa nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think I should mess it up. She’s probably a good enough rider to tell if I fake anything.”
“True.” Stevie paused. “All right, just go ahead with it, and I’ll think up something.”
When they rejoined the woman, Stevie mentioned what a flighty, nervous horse Garnet could be. “You can see by the way the wood on her stall is all chewed.”
Rose Marie beamed. “Flighty? Nervous? That just about describes me! Sounds like Garnet and I are really going to hit it off.”
Watching Lisa lead Garnet toward the ring, followed by Carole and Rose Marie, Stevie sighed. “It sure does,” she muttered, “until poor Garnet collapses.”
As luck would have it, Lisa’s ride went better than ever. With all the buyers coming, Garnet was finally getting regular exercise. She had settled down a lot and behaved well. Lisa made sure not to show her off too much, but still, she knew the horse looked good. After fifteen minutes or so, she rode into the middle of the ring, dismounted, and reluctantly handed the reins over to Rose Marie. And after about another fifteen minutes, Rose Marie managed to get on. She had hopped around on the ground trying to get her foot in the stirrup until she finally heaved, panted, and groped her way up, aided at the last minute with a shove from behind by Carole.
“I do declare, it’s marvelous up here. Nice little mare,isn’t she?” Still grinning from ear to ear, Rose Marie picked up the reins and asked Garnet for a walk.
If the situation hadn’t been so desperate, The Saddle Club would have burst out laughing. Garnet’s
Regaining her composure, Carole went up to greet the woman and shake hands. “Pleased to meet you, honey,” the woman said. “I’m Rose Marie Ambrosia Lee.”
Before Carole could say hello, Rose Marie continued, “I was just telling your friends how thrilled I was to see the ad for this horse. You see, I’m looking for a new horse to ride in my costume parades.”
“Costume parades?” Carole repeated. Lisa, Stevie, and Rose Marie all nodded.
“That’s right. She dresses up like a Southern belle,” Stevie said. Although she tried to make her voice sound normal, Carole could tell that Stevie was in as much shock as she was at the sight of the woman.
“I dress up like a Southern belle, you know antebellum, like. I wear a big hoopskirt and a hat with plumes and flowers—big plumes and flowers—and I decorate the horse to match my outfit. I’ve got lots of horse-rider combos that are just beautiful. There’s my yellow Belle of the Bali outfit and of course my Scarlett O’Hara …”
As Rose Marie chatted, the girls groomed. Whenever two of them were on Garnet’s off side, partially hidden from view, they would exchange horrified looks. The whole thing sounded frightening.
“… anyway, my last horse, poor thing, I had to sellhim at auction because he developed chronic back problems.”
“At auction?” Carole mouthed to the others. Only people who didn’t care at all about where their horses ended up sold them at auctions.
“How big a horse was he?” Stevie asked, fearing the worst.
“Oh, he was about the size of this here little ole dainty Arab. I always do like nice, dainty Arabs,” Rose Marie said, smiling.
“Right, right,” Stevie said. “Umm … listen, why don’t you get better acquainted with Garnet while we get her tack, okay?”
Leaving Rose Marie cooing over Garnet, the three girls practically sprinted to the the tack room to conference.
“Chronic back problems?” Carole whispered. “No wonder—with Two-Ton Tessie on his back. The woman needs a much bigger horse—a warmblood, maybe, or a nice stocky quarter horse.”
“Yeah, or a team of Clydesdales,” Stevie added dryly.
“What should we do?” Lisa asked.
“You’re doing the demo ride, right?” Steve asked.
Lisa nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think I should mess it up. She’s probably a good enough rider to tell if I fake anything.”
“True.” Stevie paused. “All right, just go ahead with it, and I’ll think up something.”
When they rejoined the woman, Stevie mentioned what a flighty, nervous horse Garnet could be. “You can see by the way the wood on her stall is all chewed.”
Rose Marie beamed. “Flighty? Nervous? That just about describes me! Sounds like Garnet and I are really going to hit it off.”
Watching Lisa lead Garnet toward the ring, followed by Carole and Rose Marie, Stevie sighed. “It sure does,” she muttered, “until poor Garnet collapses.”
As luck would have it, Lisa’s ride went better than ever. With all the buyers coming, Garnet was finally getting regular exercise. She had settled down a lot and behaved well. Lisa made sure not to show her off too much, but still, she knew the horse looked good. After fifteen minutes or so, she rode into the middle of the ring, dismounted, and reluctantly handed the reins over to Rose Marie. And after about another fifteen minutes, Rose Marie managed to get on. She had hopped around on the ground trying to get her foot in the stirrup until she finally heaved, panted, and groped her way up, aided at the last minute with a shove from behind by Carole.
“I do declare, it’s marvelous up here. Nice little mare,isn’t she?” Still grinning from ear to ear, Rose Marie picked up the reins and asked Garnet for a walk.
If the situation hadn’t been so desperate, The Saddle Club would have burst out laughing. Garnet’s
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