Chapter Four

Ethan Westfield from Holly Hills

Mark Bristow, the Rock Creek trainer, moved his arm like he was throwing a ball. That was the signal to start moving.

Mark and Chase rode at the front of the line. There were six Holly Hills Farm riders, six Rock Creek owners, and four Rock Creek lesson kids, counting me. Alice and Rory spaced themselves between us. Rory is fourteen, but he works at the barn, so he doesn’t count as one of the kids.

At first, Chloe and I were riding in the middle of the group. But then we had to walk single file on the trail through the woods.

That’s when the trouble started.

“Get that stupid pony moving!” Owen complained from behind us.

“You’re holding up the line!” someone else shouted.

I glanced back, and Savannah was glaring at me. “At this speed, it’ll be dark when we get to the campsite,” she said.

The jokes were embarrassing, but they were also true. Joker walked too slowly. I kicked him into a jog, but it didn’t help much.

Messages to MonicaLuvsHorses, Horses4Chloe, Guitar_Rory, OwenIII, Pretty_Megan, JenniferHeartsShopping

	AliceAtTheStable said: Remember, all horses have three basic gaits: Walk, trot, and canter.
	AliceAtTheStable said: A jog is a slow trot. A lope is a slow canter. And a gallop is a very fast canter.
	OwenIII said: Then there’s the Joker. That means walk as slow as possible.
	Pretty_Megan said: And get in everyone else’s way.
	JenniferHeartsShopping said: And slow everyone else down.

When the trail got wider, Chloe and I stopped. We let the other horses pass us.

“I guess we’re stuck bringing up the rear,” I told Chloe.

“I don’t mind,” Chloe said. She made Rick-Rack slow down so we could ride side by side. It was easier to slow Rick-Rack down than to speed Joker up.

We both fell behind, trotted to catch up, and fell behind again.

“I’m glad this isn’t a scary movie,” I said. “The last guy in line always gets hurt.”

Chloe laughed. “And nobody notices.”

“I’d notice,” a voice said. I turned around to see who was talking. It was a guy I’d never met. He was cute, with curly black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a cool graphic t-shirt and comfortable-looking jeans.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“And where did you come from?” Chloe added.

“Ethan Westfield, from Holly Hills,” the boy said.

“I meant where did you come from now,” Chloe said. “I thought we were last in line.”

“I doubled back to check on you,” Ethan said. “Riding on trails can be dangerous.”

I almost laughed. Chloe and I rode on the trails around Rock Creek all the time.

“We’re fine,” Chloe said. “You can go back to your friends.”

“That’s okay,” Ethan said. “I’ll stay with you and the slowpoke.”

I frowned. For a second, I had thought this Ethan guy was being nice. But now I could see he was just like all the other horse snobs.

Chloe and I both tried to ignore Ethan. That was impossible.

“I’ve been getting Major ready for the Regional Horse Show,” Ethan said, riding alongside us. He patted his dark brown horse. “Are you going, Chloe?”

“Probably,” Chloe said.

“I’d love to ride in the Regional show,” I said.

Ethan laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” He shook his head.

Chloe frowned. “Are you making fun of Monica?” she asked.

Ethan looked hurt, as though Chloe was being mean. “She rides western,” he said. “The Regional is English only.”

“I ride English,” I said. “This isn’t my horse. I borrowed him.”

“Her horse lost a shoe,” Chloe explained. “She had to borrow Joker or miss the trail ride.”

“Oh.” Ethan shrugged. “Have you been showing long, Monica?”

“No,” I said. I had ridden in small, local horse shows. I was pretty sure Ethan wouldn’t be impressed.

It was soon pretty clear that Ethan Westfield was a horse snob. He kept bragging about all the prizes his horse had won.

“My dad built a special display case for my ribbons and trophies,” Ethan said. “It takes up a whole wall.”

Chloe glanced at me and rolled her eyes.

I thought maybe he’d get bored and leave. But once Ethan started talking, he didn’t stop.

Ethan told us he thought Holly Hills Farm was better than Rock Creek Stables. He thought Chase was a better trainer than Mark, and he thought Chloe should switch barns.

“You’ll start winning more ribbons if you switch to Holly Hills,” Ethan said.

“I like Mark, and I like my friends at Rock Creek,” Chloe said. “That’s more important than ribbons.”

Ethan didn’t talk to me at all. He only wanted to talk to Chloe. Not that I wanted him to talk to me. He was one of the most stuck-up, self-centered, obnoxious boys I had ever met.

The worst part was that we couldn’t get rid of him, no matter what we did. Chloe dropped a bunch of hints.

* * *

Chloe: “Monica and I have to talk about a school project.”

Ethan: “What’s the project? I know a lot about a lot of stuff. Maybe I can help.”

* * *

Chloe: “Savannah is waving at you. I think she wants you to ride with her.”

Ethan: “Savannah can’t have everything she wants.”

* * *

Chloe: “Three’s a crowd, Ethan.”

Ethan: “I know. Maybe Monica will leave.”

* * *

Finally, we gave up.

The trail narrowed again, and Ethan had to drop back. Major didn’t like leafy branches in his face.

Leaves didn’t bother Joker, so I moved up to ride next to Chloe.

“Ethan is driving me crazy!” Chloe hissed. “He’s like a mosquito buzzing around my ear. I wish he’d go bug Jennifer.”

“He has a crush on you,” I said.

Chloe shook her head. “Gross. I’m not interested.”

“Even if you’re not interested, he is,” I told Chloe. “It’s pretty obvious.”

“We have to ditch Ethan,” Chloe said, “but I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Let’s catch up to everyone else,” I said.

“That won’t help,” Chloe said. “Joker has to jog to stay caught up.”

I pretended to think about it. “Let’s see,” I said. “Should I jog Joker or listen to Ethan brag? Hmm. I think I’ll jog.”

Jogging Joker wasn’t hard. The little horse wasn’t as bouncy as the bigger horses. But staying with the group didn’t solve our problem.

Ethan stayed right behind us. He would not go away and leave Chloe alone.

Messages to MonicaLuvsHorses

	Horses4Chloe said: HE IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
	MonicaLuvsHorses said: :(