It was Thursday—the day before we were leaving for the show—and I had been packing and repacking all day. Every time I turned around, I would pack something new. The fifth time I repacked my bag, I included a diary. I planned to write in it every day. When I told Felicity and Sandra about it, they decided to pack one also. I wanted to make sure I would remember every moment of the show!
Just as I was finally finished packing, I realized I had forgotten to pack my lucky ring that my great-grandma had given me when I was a baby. How dare I forget something so important! I ran to get it and stuffed it in my bag. I couldn’t leave that behind, or I would have no chance of winning. I was so glad I remembered it before we left, because I don’t think Mom and Dad would have been too thrilled to turn around and come back for it.
The night before we had to leave, I wrote in my diary:
Dear Diary,
Today I went to school, and then to my riding lessons and worked with Miracle to get ready for the show. Then I went over and hung out with Sandra and Felicity for a while. Today was fun except for the school part. We leave tomorrow for the big horse show, and I am so excited. I don’t think I will be able to sleep!
Ellie
Because we were leaving the next morning,
I went to bed earlier than usual and tried to get at least a little sleep. It didn’t work.
The next morning, I jumped out of bed, got ready, and rolled my suitcase to the car.
I almost fainted—it was so heavy! We pulled out of the driveway at 10:00 a.m., and I was sound asleep when we arrived in Atlanta a little less than an hour later.
My mother carried me into the hotel and tucked me in bed so I could continue resting. I was so disoriented when I woke up and stretched that I thought I would bang my head on the roof of the car.
I finally realized we were already at the hotel and said, “So we’re here finally. I can win now.”
My mom smiled and responded, “Not exactly. You still have five days until the show.” I just mumbled at her and nodded as I realized all of the things I had to do before I could win.
First things first, I had to practice and get myself and Miracle familiar with the arena. I was only allowed a half-hour each morning and a half-hour each late afternoon. I hoped that Miracle and I could get enough practice with the limited time we had. But I had faith in us! Later that day at my assigned time, I walked to the arena to practice, practice, practice. The only problem was Miracle wouldn’t move— that’s right, I was here for a competition and my horse wouldn’t move. Great! But after a lot of coaxing, she started to feel comfortable and not frightened at all.
Now it was down to business. Miracle was a very good horse, and it didn’t take long before we had memorized the pattern and all of the jumps we would have to take in the show. I hoped my buddies would be able to memorize their patterns too.
Dear Diary,
It’s Tuesday, and we’ve been here since last Friday. I’ve been so busy practicing, I haven’t had much time to write. But the practice is paying off. Miracle got used to the pattern very quickly, and she’s a natural jumper. I memorized the pattern for the show, and my practice days are over. The show starts tomorrow! Ellie
I hadn’t written in my diary in a long time, but Tuesday was nearly over and it was my last practice day. After practice, I had to braid Miracle’s tail and mane, and groom her. That shouldn’t have been hard, but it was. As a matter of fact, it was extremely hard because Miracle wouldn’t stand still for anything. I think she was nervous, but we got through it. I can get through anything.
Sorry. I was thinking about myself—I caught myself in the act. Code red. What I meant to say was WE can get through anything, Miracle and I.
When I finished cleaning and perking Miracle up a bit, I roamed around town with Felicity and Sandra. We found a horse store that had exquisite show outfits, saddles, and other cool horse gear. I begged Mom to buy me everything. She kept saying “no,” but finally gave in. I really didn’t need anything because I had just received lots of new gear for Christmas, but I thought a new outfit and saddle would help my chances of winning the show. Mom was always really cool when I needed her help with something really important.
When I got back to the hotel, I saw Felicity’s diary sitting out. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I peeked inside and stopped on a page that I couldn’t help but read. It said:
This is Felicity. I want to tell you who I have a crush on. He’s a very special guy whose name is . . . Jeremy. He is so cute and sweet. He is also the same guy Ellie wants as her stall cleaner. I love him. I can’t help it. Don’t tell ANYONE. FELICITY
I turned around and you would never guess who was there. Felicity! Uh-oh, spaghetti-o. What was I going to do?
I thought if I could explain everything, it would be okay. But I was way off. I was off by a mile, maybe even more. She was angry and said, “I’m not going to talk to you until after I win the show.” Then she stomped off down the hotel hallway.
Okay, I thought a little boastfully, I guess that’ll be never. But I really wondered how I was going to win if I knew she was mad at me and wouldn’t talk to me ever again. I knew I would be distracted, and I was worried. I had to try and make it right. She was, after all, one of my best friends. Then I remembered my lucky charm: my great-grandma’s ring. It was the key to my success, whether it was trouble with a best friend or winning a horse show.
But then it was time for dinner, so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about what I was going to do to make it right with Felicity. My parents and I were going to eat at the best place in town—Maggiano’s—so I had food on my mind.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and watched a few movies. I fell asleep pretty early, about 9:00 p.m. I was really tired and the show was the next day, so I needed my sleep. I’ll figure out what to do about Felicity tomorrow.
That evening, my Mom and Dad met some of the other parents to enjoy “some grownup time.” That’s when they found out the bad news, but they decided not to tell us girls until the morning.
Totally unaware that my world was going to come crashing down in the morning, that night I dreamed about the show. I dreamed that Miracle, Dream, and Babe tied for first in the state competition and also at the national competition. Then, at the world competition, guess who was voted first place? It was a tie! Babe, Dream, and Miracle—again! Can you believe it was all three of us again? But that was just a dream, and, in reality, it would never happen. It could be really close, but it would never be an exact tie for first place. Even if I wished really hard, which I did.
I woke up in the morning ready to participate in the competition . . . and win . . . but that’s when I heard the bad news.