|
LISA AND THE MYSTERIOUS
STABLE by Pam
Csordas
"Mom, why do we have to move?"
twelve-year-old Lisa Westray wailed to her mother.
"We've talked about this over
and over," her mom responded. "We're moving
because I got a new job in the city!"
Lisa and her mom and just moved
to Lexington, Kentucky from Winchester, Connecticut.
So far, it had been the worst decision of their
lives. As they passed the ongoing fencing of the
paddocks, Lisa wondered how she would adjust to
the country life — living without her friends
and going to a new school.
"We're almost there,"
her mom said cheerfully. She didn't seem to mind
one bit about moving.
Lisa took out a pencil and paper
and decided to draw some of the horses in the paddocks
as she miserably waited for her new fate. Her mom
was a wonderful artist. She had been enrolled in
one of the greatest art schools in Kentucky, so
she couldn't wait to finally arrive in Lexington.
As her mom turned the car into
a short, wide driveway, Lisa glared out the car
window. Straight in front of her was a small, white
colonial-style house with a one-car garage. The
house had a light brown door with four clear windows.
A small wood of evergreen trees bordered the tiny
property of land that surrounded the house. But
Lisa had to admit — the house wasn't that
bad. Out of the corner of her eye she could see
a dark red building. What was that? Her mom hadn't
told her anything about neighbors.
After unloading several boxes,
Lisa's mom told her with a smile, "OK, now
that the kitchen dishes are done, you can explore
the new house. But instead of peeking up in the
attic or taking a look in the basement, Lisa decided
that she would visit the mysterious red building
next door.
Lisa carefully walked through the
small, dark woods, the building becoming larger
and clearer as she approached. She soon noticed
what it was and gasped with surprise. Lisa ran over
to thew hite wooden fencing and excitedly surveyed
the vast area of land. This was the place she had
always wanted to be, and being the kind of person
she was, Lisa opened the heavy wooden door to look
around inside. She moved to each stall like a mouse
scurrying on the concrete floor. She had just started
to pat the noses of many different colors when she
heard a man yell down the aisle.
"What do you think you're
doing, young lady?" he called, making Lisa
more and more frightened with every word.
Lisa quickly made her escape. As
she ran out the red door, she caught a quick glance
at his denim overalls and dark brown hair. She ran
into the woods and kept running until she noticed
that he hadn't been following her. Realizing how
cowardly she had been, she turned around sharply
and decided to jog back and face the man.
Lisa walked nervously on the concrete
floor. This time she wasn't going to leave.
"I thought I told you to scat!"
the man said in a strange voice, spitting tobacco
on the floor near her boots.
"I want to take riding lessons,"
Lisa responded, clasping her cold hands together
and trying to sound sure of herself.
"Well then," he said,
his voice softening and sounding much nicer than
before. "I'll teach you, kid." "Larry
Smithings," he added, shaking her hand. "You
can ride Ginger."
They walked down the stable aisle
to where Ginger was stalled. Lisa gasped. She was
the prettiest horse she had ever seen in her life,
a chestnut Quarter Horse mare with a white star
on her forehead. Ginger whinnied as Lisa and Mr.
Smithings approached.
Lisa showed Mr. Smithings her house
from a nearby barn window and invited him to meet
her mom to sign papers for her riding. Lisa's mom
was more than happy to let Lisa ride, seeing that
such an activity would improve Lisa's behavior toward
the move to Lexington. And it did. Lisa and ginger
took a quick liking to one another and Lisa learned
to ride, fast, her fears of moving vanished.
On a sunny day in early September,
Lisa and Ginger were practicing cantering on a lunge
line when Mr. Smithings commented, "There's
a great three-day event at Lexington Hills this
weekend, and I think you and Ginger have a great
chance of winning." Lisa had never competed
in a show before and the thought excited her.
The weekend arrived in the blink
of an eye. When she, Larry, and Ginger stepped out
in Lexington Hills, Lisa gasped. Right in front
of her was Olivia Hill, a big name around Lexington.
She was the best rider in the city.
"Don't worry about her,"
Larry said, noticing her nervous expression. "I
heard she hasn't been doing so well this season."
When Lisa looked around to get a second look at
Olivia, she had vanished.
After Lisa had gotten Ginger settled
in her stall, memorized the dressage course, and
walked the cross-country course several times, she
heard strange voices coming down the aisle. She
turned away from Ginger after quickly finishing
the last braid on her mane and peeked out the large
stall door. There was Olivia, her instructor yelling
forcefully in her face.
"I told you not to warm up
Flightful in the ring quickly," she screamed.
"And look at him! Now he's lame!"
Olivia ran down the aisle, frightened
for her beloved horse. However, when she saw Lisa,
she halted, saying, "Hi Lisa!"
"How do you know me?"
Lisa asked.
"Oh, I've seen you around,"
Olivia responded quickly.
Lisa took a quick liking to Olivia
Hill. She didn't seem mean at all! When Olivia left,
Lisa continued to groom Ginger and tack her up.
After she had cleaned up and led Ginger to the dressage
ring, where she would meet Larry, she saw Olivia
again. She was watching the current rider in the
ring. Lisa jogged over, already knowing was she
was going to say. She wanted to get to know Olivia
better and get some riding tips from her along the
way. Lisa felt so bad for her, not having a horse
to ride for the competition!
"Olivia, would you like to
borrow Ginger to ride?" Lisa asked.
"Wow, are you sure, Lisa?"
"Positive."
Lisa handed Olivia the reins. As
soon as they were in her hand, Olivia hopped in
the saddle like a rabbit and trotted tight circles
in front of Lisa.
"She feels great!" Olivia
exclaimed. "I can't thank you enough, Lisa."
As she heard her name being called
over the loudspeaker or the dressage test, Olivia
called, "You won't regret this, Lisa! Be ready
for a trophy!"
Lisa turned around and saw that
Larry had been watching the whole thing.
"I ... I'm," Lisa started,
but she saw that Larry was smiling and sighed with
relief; she had done the right thing.
"Come on, Lisa. Let's watch
Olivia win ... on your horse."
Read
some more Horse Tales!
| 
