Stable Groom Read Online Free Page B

almost surely on the same level as Denise. But he had never had the time to belong to Pony Clubs, get an instructor certification, or take a university course in equine studies. There was no diploma—no piece of paper—that said Red O’Malley was a great rider and knew an incredible amount about horses, even though it was true. And he didn’thave ribbons and trophies either, because he wasn’t particularly interested in competitions. Therefore, to Veronica, he was just an ignorant stable hand, while Denise was someone to look up to.
    Stevie let her eyes rest on Red’s group for a minute. She knew from experience that his teaching style was very different from Denise’s. He wouldn’t ask them to write their feeding charts on paper. All his knowledge about horses was in his head, and he expected his students’ to be, too. He didn’t talk very much when he taught, and he didn’t ask too many questions. But somehow, at the end of a session with Red, you had always learned the right answers—answers that stayed with you long after the meeting.
    Of course, Veronica was always too busy ignoring Red to learn from him. With Denise, on the other hand, she was all ears. The thought annoyed Stevie. She was glad Denise wasn’t going to have to deal with Veronica’s outbursts, but it just didn’t seem fair that Red always got the brunt of Veronica’s bad temper. As Denise collected the feed charts, Stevie sighed contemplatively. Max’s wedding aside, The Saddle Club just had to find a way to help Red.
    When the meeting ended, most of the riders left the stables. Everyone knew that sticking around afterward usually meant that Mrs. Reg would find extrachores that needed doing. Veronica thanked Denise profusely for teaching her so much, and then disappeared. As soon as she was out of earshot, Stevie gathered The Saddle Club. She wanted to share what she’d realized during the meeting. Besides, none of them minded helping out if it meant they could all hang out at the same time.
    When they were finally alone in the grain room, Stevie told Lisa and Carole about Veronica’s instant adoration for Denise.
    Lisa nodded. “Just what I expected. I saw a gleam in her eye the minute she heard ‘A-rated Pony Clubber.’ ”
    “It’s so unfair,” Stevie continued. “If Red could impress her like that somehow, Veronica would treat him ten times better.” Lisa and Carole agreed. Both of them believed that Red was as knowledgeable as someone like Denise—he just didn’t have the paperwork to prove it.
    Mrs. Reg stuck her nose into the grain room. “I thought I heard voices in here. Listen, there are a few saddles in the tack room that could use soaping, and you know,” she concluded brightly, “you can always talk and work at the same time.”
    The three girls followed Mrs. Reg good-naturedly into the tack room, where she pointed out the dirtytack she had noticed. Denise was inside, looking around.
    “Thought I’d get a better lay of the land,” she explained. “This is one of the best-organized tack rooms I’ve seen.”
    Mrs. Reg brushed off the praise, thanking Denise for instructing at the Pony Club meeting.
    “My pleasure,” Denise replied. “And did I hear something about some tack cleaning? Because I’ve always enjoyed soaping saddles.”
    Carole beamed. “Really? Me too! But I always thought I was the only one.”
    Mrs. Reg looked fondly at Carole. All of Max’s students’ personalities were well known to her, including Carole’s passion for
anything
having to do with horses. Then she turned to Denise, saying, “That’s very kind of you, but—”
    Denise held up her hand to stop Mrs. Reg from protesting. “All right, then. I’m staying. Somebody hand me a sponge.”

T HE S ADDLE C LUB was thrilled that Denise had decided to join them. Almost at once, the four of them began an animated conversation. The girls were eager to fill Denise in on the Pine Hollow traditions. They told her about the starlight