Crown Prince Challenged by Linda Snow McLoon Page A

day off, she would also scrub clean and fill all the water buckets. On Saturdays, she’d be doing a lot of sweeping—both aisles, the two tack rooms, the feed room, and the lounge—and it would be her responsibility to clean her horse’s stall every day. Somewhere in between she would find time for her top priority: Crown Prince.
    Braking to a stop in front of the barn, she felt a tingle of excitement. It would be like old times to connect with her horse at the beginning of the day. After parking her bike by the side door, she hurried to his stall, where Prince was standing by his window looking out at the turnout paddocks. He swung around when he heard her approaching, voicing a low nicker. She opened the stall door enough to slide through and went to her horse.
    â€œHi, buddy,” Sarah said, as she stroked Prince’s face and gently pulled his ears. He nuzzled her pockets for the carrot he’d come to expect, and made short work of it when she held it out to him. She hadn’t wrapped his leg the night before, and now she leaned over to check on it. A substantial scab had formed over the cut, and she felt no heat when she pressed her hand against it.
Awesome!
she thought.
    Sarah spent a few extra minutes with her horse before heading to the feed room. It was off limits to everyone except the regular barn staff, and she closely guarded the key Gus had given her. It always hung on a sturdy chain necklace she wore to the barn. She remembered the dire warning Gus had given her when he first presented it to her.
If a horse ever got into the grain room, there’d be hell to pay. Most would eat so much they’d colic and die.
She slipped the chain over her head and fingered the key as she approached the grain room’s extra-large door, wide enough to accommodate the grain cart that was pushed through it twice a day.
    After she fed the horses their breakfast and refilled the grain pails, Sarah tossed down hay from the loft. Her mind kept coming back to her planned ride on Prince in a few hours. After working in the ring, they’d go part of the way up the old orchard trail. She tried to quell the butterflies she felt already starting.
    With most of the paddocks unoccupied at that hour, Sarah decided to turn Prince out once he’d finished eating his grain. It would give her time to clean his stall and possibly get a head start on sweeping. On her way back from the paddock, Sarah saw Tim with Rhodes in the back aisle and considered stopping to say hello. But she wrinkled her nose when she noticed Kelly and Nicole standing close by while Tim groomed his horse.
    Sarah decided to avoid that scene. She would check in with Paige instead. She found the blonde girl in Quarry’s stall leaning over picking out her horse’s feet. Sticking her head through the partially open door, Sarah said, “Hey, Paige. What’s up?”
    â€œOh, hi.” Paige released Quarry’s near hind leg and stood up. “Tim and I are going to ride to the beach. I think the summer tourists are gone, so we can actually ride right on the beach.”
    â€œCool!” Sarah said. “It must take a while to get there, though. Which trail do you follow?”
    â€œThere’s an old path on the other side of Ridge Road that skirts around Quimby Farm. We discovered it by accident. Want to come with us today?”
    â€œHey, I don’t really think you want me coming along when you’re going on a beach ride with your boyfriend, do you?” After they both laughed, Sarah said, “Anyway, I don’t think Prince and I are ready to go that far. I’m going to take him up part of the old orchard trail again.”
    â€œAre you still planning to ride in Kelly’s class next week?” Paige asked, as she picked up Quarry’s near front leg and began picking packed bedding and manure out of his hoof.
    â€œI guess,” Sarah said. “Have you heard anything about