Gold Medal Rider Read Free Page A

galloped over a cross-country course of solid fences to prove its jumping ability, stamina, and speed. On the final day the horse competed over a course of show jumps, which would fall if the horse so much as brushed them.This tested the horse’s jumping style, precision, and accuracy. Eventing was a complete test of the horse’s skills.
    “Are there any events here this weekend?” Lisa asked.
    “As a matter of fact, yes,” said Nigel. “One of the last horse trials of the year starts on Saturday, and we’re entered. You’ll get to see Campfire, one of my young horses, go.”
    “What about Southwood?” Carole asked, remembering the beautiful young horse she’d ridden when she had visited Dorothy’s farm. “Will we see Southwood?”
    Dorothy and Nigel exchanged uneasy glances. Nigel frowned.
    “Maybe,” Dorothy said at last.
    “I hope not,” Nigel added. “But probably you will.”

N IGEL TURNED DOWN a long gravel driveway. “Here we are!” he said. The pine trees thinned, and the girls could see a small white house and a very large barn. “Do you want to unpack first?” he asked them. “I can show you where you’re going to sleep. Or are you guys hungry? We could order a pizza.”
    The Saddle Club exchanged glances. “Let’s go see the horses first,” Stevie said. The others nodded.
    Dorothy roared with laughter. Nigel shook his head, grinning. “Five bucks,” Dorothy said to him. “Hand it over.” Nigel took out his wallet.
    “I should have known better,” he said. To the girls heexplained, “Dorothy made a bet with me that you’d head straight for the stable no matter how late you got here.”
    “And you thought we wouldn’t?” Kate sounded amazed. “I mean, I know you don’t know me very well yet, but you know them.” She nodded her head toward her friends.
    “I know, I know,” Nigel replied. “Don’t rub it in. Follow Doro to the horses. I’ll do bellboy duty and toss your bags on the porch. I’ll be right with you.”
    Dorothy led them through a small door in the side of the giant barn. “It’s not quite as big as it looks,” Dorothy said. “But we’ve got an indoor arena. See, the lights are on.” The Saddle Club could see a yellow glow spilling into the main aisle halfway down. “We share the stable with another couple, David and Karen. All of their horses are on the far side, past the entrance to the arena, and all of our horses are down here.” Dorothy snapped on the aisle lights.
    “Wow!” Carole turned on her heel, looking around her. “What a lot of horses!” One by one, the horses stuck their heads over the tops of their half doors: chestnuts, bays, blacks, and grays—all beautiful horses, all in top condition.
    “You’ve got almost as many horses here as there are at Pine Hollow!” Stevie said.
    Dorothy smiled. “Not quite. But we do have quite a few. Happily, our business is growing.”
    “Do they all belong to you?” Lisa asked. She couldn’t keep the wistful tone out of her voice. She knew she wasn’treally ready to have her own horse, but she wanted one so much!
    Nigel, coming into the stable, heard her question. “No, no,” he said, laughing. “Maybe half. And most of those are very young horses that we’re just beginning to train. Some of the others belong to students of ours, who’ll come down here to ride after Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the rest are owned by people who don’t ride but like to own show horses.”
    “Like Lord Yawelkesleigh,” Lisa said, remembering the evil man whose horses Nigel had ridden in England. His name looked ridiculous, but it was pronounced simply “Yaxley.”
    “Yes, like Yawelkesleigh, but not entirely,” Nigel said, a faint grin flitting across his face. “To the best of my knowledge, none of my current owners is a criminal.” Lord Yawelkesleigh had been sent to jail after plotting to kill his horse for insurance money.
    “Aren’t any of your students here with you now?” asked Stevie.