Hide & Seek - Alyssa Brugman [33]
'I need to think about it.' She watched as the climate on Zeb's face changed from a sunny day to a brooding storm. He stared at her, and Shelby squirmed but she wasn't going to change her mind.
'Forget it,' Zeb said, tossing his hands up. Blue was startled and took a step backwards. Zeb stomped back towards his barrow.
'Would it make you feel better if you rode one of our horses?' Molly asked Shelby. 'They're used to wearing them.'
Before she could answer Zeb called over his shoulder. 'Forget the whole thing. Safety is everything. If she won't do it, then fine. She'd be a danger to us all.'
'That's not fair!' Molly protested.
Shelby watched as they argued. She didn't think trick riding was right for her anymore. She had always believed that, since Blue had no choice in what they were doing, the least she could do was ensure he would be comfortable. There were pieces of equip-ment that overstepped those bounds and it seemed to her that the tie-down was one of them.
Then Molly said, 'But we do need new riders for the troupe, Zeb. This girl is strong and fit, and she's keen. Why don't we give her a try?'
Shelby's heart started to race. They actually meant to try her for the troupe – for real? Imagine if she could give up school and ride full-time!
'OK, put her on Tex and we'll see what happens,' Zeb finally agreed, changing from cloudy to sunny just as quickly. 'What's your horse's name?'
'Blue.'
'Blue?' Zeb snorted. 'We'll have to give him a stage name.'
While Molly went to saddle up another horse, Zeb led Blue into the arena. Shelby was pleased to see that he had taken off the tie-down. He slipped his leg over Blue as easy as could be and then cantered him around the arena. Zeb rode effortlessly, as though he'd been in the saddle since he was three.
'What about Calypso? Or Comet?' he said on the way past. 'Or Deuce! Deuce is a good name.'
After he'd cantered around the arena a few times, Zeb started to move around. He leaned forward and back, dropped the reins and then picked them up again. He leaned over one side and then the other.
Blue skidded to a stop. Shelby could see him thinking, 'Whoa there, big fella! You're going to fall off!'
'Keep going, little Deucey,' Zeb said, urging the pony on. He seemed to be enjoying himself, the tantrum of just a few minutes earlier completely forgotten. It made Shelby nervous. She found it more difficult to switch moods.
'Nah, Deuce is no good. How about Dynamo?' he asked.
Shelby curled her lip. Blue was lots of things, but dynamic wasn't one of them.
Once Blue was in a canter Zeb started to move around again, swinging his legs up around Blue's shoulders, and leaning back on his rump.
'At the moment he's sensitive to your movements. If he's going to be a trick horse he has to get used to you being all over him – shifting your weight. He'll have to compensate for that. You want to teach him to keep at an even pace no matter what you're doing.'
Shelby folded her arms. She liked the fact that Blue slowed down when she lost her balance and stopped when she fell. It made him much safer. Zeb wanted to teach him to keep on going even if she was hanging off the side. What if she was actually dragging?
Soon Molly was back with the bald-faced quarter horse Shelby had seen before. He was wearing the same type of bit with the long shanks that Keisha had been using on the Lipizzaner.
'Fizz, Firebug, Fury . . . I've got it!' Zeb said, rocking from side to side. He dropped the reins and lifted his hands up as though he was holding a sign. 'The Great Fandango!'
Molly sighed and shook her head. She turned her attention to Shelby. 'Good, you're wearing joggers.'
Shelby looked down. She'd forgotten to change into her riding boots.
'No, that's good,' Molly assured her. 'You need to grip with your feet in trick riding. Normal boots are too slippery. On you hop.'
Soon Shelby was cantering around behind Blue. The