Horse Sense by Bonnie Bryant

her—even more important than the pin itself—was what the pin represented. It told her, and the people who mattered to her, that she cared deeply about horses—that she loved them and could ride them and that, after her friends, horses were about the most important thing in the world to her. She was sure the sun gleaming off the shiny surface of her horse-head pin made it even more beautiful.
    Just then, Estelle’s chauffered Citroën pulled into the drive. The rear door opened slowly and Estelle emerged sedately. That was an interesting thing about Estelle, Lisa thought as she waited for her. There wereonly about three minutes until class. If
she
were that late, she’d be running at full speed. Estelle, however, never seemed to be in a hurry. As a result, Max was forever speaking to her about keeping other people (especially him) waiting. That didn’t speed her up, though.
    “Hi, Estelle,” Lisa said brightly, falling in step with the French girl.
    “Oh, good morning, Lisa,” she replied, walking toward the stable.
    “I’ve got some good news for you,” Lisa said, hoping she sounded as cool and sophisticated as Estelle always did.
    “Yes?”
    “It’s about The Saddle Club,” Lisa said. “There was a meeting Friday night and you were voted in.”
    “Voted in?” Estelle repeated. “What does this mean?”
    “It means you’re now a member of The Saddle Club,” Lisa told her, grinning proudly. “And as a member, you’re entitled to wear our pin.”
    “Oh?”
    Lisa was pleased by Estelle’s obvious interest and she handed Estelle her pin. It was wrapped in tissue so it wouldn’t get any fingerprints on it.
    Estelle carefully unwrapped the tissue and then held the pin in her hand for a moment. “It’s a horse head,” she said flatly.
    “Yes, and isn’t it pretty? See how nice and shiny it is? We can all wear our pins on our jackets and thatcan show other riders that we’re all friends. Here, I’ll help you pin it on,” Lisa offered.
    “Thanks, but I can put it on myself,” Estelle said. “I’ll do it later. I’m late now.” For once, Estelle seemed to be in a hurry. She shoved the pin in her pocket, letting the tissue fall onto the ground. “See you in class,” she told Lisa, turning to the stable.
    Lisa was too stunned to move. Could she be mistaken? Lisa was trying to share one of the most important things in her life with her new friend, and unless she was totally off her mark, Estelle wasn’t in the least bit excited, either about the Club
or
about the beautiful pin. How could that be?
    It just wasn’t possible, Lisa decided. Estelle really
was
in a hurry. She’d probably have her pin on in time for class.
    Once Lisa had given Estelle the pin, she felt very relieved. The deed was done. If Stevie and Carole didn’t like it, that was their problem. They should have come to the meetings.
    M AX WAS IN an especially strict mood that day. He had all of his students working harder than ever before. There was no fooling around at all, all day long.
    “Boy, if he tells me to keep my heels down one more time, I’m going to scream,” Lisa confided to Carole during the chore period. Lisa had hoped to be assigned to do something with Estelle so they could talk about the Club some more, but Estelle and Veronica were tending to the horses in the paddocks. As it turnedout, Lisa, Carole, and Stevie were all assigned to cleaning tack.
    “He’s got a thing about heels today, that’s for sure,” Carole agreed, “and toes. I found myself forcing mine inward every time he was facing me!”
    “
That
must be why I heard him tell you not to stick your heels out!”
    “Just my luck,” Carole said. “I hope he’ll go a little easier during jump class.”
    “You always do well then, don’t you?”
    “Not always,” Carole said.
    “I wish you could be in jump class too, Lisa,” Stevie said.
    “Me too. I like riding on the trail, but the only students there are the babies, except for me