Chapter 1

Makayla Edwards drove away from another farm, disappointed again. She had been looking all over for a job working at a horse farm and had been turned down over and over again. "We don't need any workers," one owner had said. "You're just not the type of person we need here right now." Makayla didn't understand why, but she didn't have to understand to know it was true.

Makayla was 18 years old. She had her own stallion, and she was in a riding club with some friends. She boarded her horse at the same stable where the club took place, but it was getting too expensive, so she need to find another job to

keep paying for it, or she would have to get rid of her horse, something she would not, could not do. Makayla already taught a couple of lessons a week at the stable where she boarded, but it wasn't enough money, and there weren't any other job openings at that stable. The only thing she really had experience in was horses, so Makayla was desperately trying to find a job working for one.

"What am I going to do?" she thought. "I don't think I have time to work at the stable, work with my horse, and work at a restaurant or something, and there are no jobs open at other stables. Well, I'll just have to figure it out later. It's time for my club meeting."

Makayla headed out for her meeting, worried about the job but looking forward to a distraction and some time with her horse. There were 7 other girls in the club, including her best friends, Ally, Liliya, and Marion. They all had their own horses too, but only Liliya boarded her horse. The others lived on farms, so they had a place to keep their horses. 

Makayla arrived at the farm and went to tack up Eclipse, her pinto Arabian stallion. Although a stallion, Eclipse was quite an obedient horse, especially when Makayla was around, and enjoyed the company of other horses, even Liliya's stallion. Makayla had bought Eclipse as a foal four years ago, and they had always had a special bond. She loved him from the day she got him, and gained his affection soon after.

After giving him a quick pat on the neck, Makayla hopped on Eclipse and rode outside, eager to get started with whatever the club would be doing today. 

Diana, the club leader, rode forward with her mare and spoke. "Hey, everyone! I have a couple of special announcements to make today. The first is that we have been invited to enter in the big rodeo this summer, which is super exciting! The second is that Thoroughbred Kingdom, that horse farm about a half hour away is closing down. Unfortunately, the owners went bankrupt, so they're selling their farm and moving away. So that's too bad, but I guess it will be fun to see who the new owners will be! That's all I have for you today, so let's get riding!"

Steering her horse over to the big grassy field while everyone else was chatting about the rodeo, Makayla's mind was turning. A horse farm, for sale? Well, if she bought it, she would be sure to have a job. But would she be able to afford it? Well, it depended on how much it cost. Maybe she could get a partner or two. Her friends might be interested...

"Makayla! Makayla?" Liliya shouted. 

"Sorry, what?"

"I called you like, five times! We were wondering whether you would rather practice for the rodeo, or just have a little fun today."

"Oh, uh, fun sounds good, I guess."

"Cool! That's five votes for fun, 3 votes for rodeo. Fun wins!"

"How about if we start with a little race to the end of the field?" Salli suggested.

"You're on!" shouted Makayla.

"Ready, set, go!"

All 8 girls kicked and yelled, urging their horses to go, go, go, to get to the end of the field, to run faster than all the other horses.

"Come, on, Eclipse. Let's go, boy! Run! Faster, please!"

The horses galloped on, stretching out more and more, never slowing down. They neared the end of the field, yet still, these competitive horses who had been together for years would not stop. Finally, the first horse passed the line that the girls always used to mark the end of the race, 

followed shortly by the others. 

"We won!" shouted Makayla.

"Well, you did get a head start!" Ally protested.

"Or maybe Eclipse is just faster than Ice," Makayla argued, while giving the palamino mare a pat. 

"Come on Ice, let's get away from these cocky kids," Ally joked, turning her nose up and telling Ice to walk away. 

Makayla slid off Eclipse and gave him a pat and a carrot. "I love you, Buddy," she said. "What would I do if I had to get rid of you?"

Horizon Horse Stable Girls Riding Club 2022

Makayla

Salli

Hanna

Diana

Ally

Stephanie

Liliya

Marion

Chapter 2

After the meeting, Makayla ran out of the stable to catch Diana before she left. She had a very important question for her.

"Diana! Diana!" she shouted.

"Makayla, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you knew how much Thoroughbred Kingdom costs to buy."

"They were selling it for a pretty low price, I think so that they could get the money as soon as possible. I guess they really need it. I think it was about $30,000."

"Wow, that is a pretty good price!"

"Yeah, it is. Why did you want to know? You weren't thinking about buying it, were you?"

"Well, maybe. I mean, I want to get a job with horses, but I can't find a place that will hire me. I can't afford to keep paying for Eclipse to board here, but maybe I could make a living off the farm. A couple of friends might help me, and maybe my parents would be willing to pitch in, since this would basically be like going to college."

"That's I great idea, and I would love to see that farm go into good hands. Let me know if you need anything," Diana said, as she loaded her golden chestnut, Sunrise, into her horse truck. "Now, me and Sunrise have to get home, but I'll see you later."

That night, Makayla was sitting in a booth at her favorite resturant with her friends, a meeting she had not been able to wait for. She was so excited to tell them her idea, to see if they could agree, to see if her dream could really become a reality. 

"So, guys, I have a little idea that I'd really like to share with you," Makayla started.

"Sounds interesting," said Marion.

"Okay, so before you say anything, just hear me out. You know  Thoroughbred Kingdom, that horse farm that Diana said is for sale? Well, I asked her how much it cost, and she said it was only $30,000."

"Only?" Ally exclaimed. "That's like saying that this steak platter only costs $200. $30,000 isn't cheap."

"Well, it is for a horse farm. Anyway, let me finish. So, you know how boarding is getting so expensive at Horizon Horse stables? Well, if we bought that horse farm, Liliya and I wouldn't have to board there anymore, and we all could have room for much more horses. We could also spend our whole lives working around horses, which 

sounds absolutely amazing to me, and maybe our parents could help us pay for it, since it would be like if we went to college. It equals out to about $7500 apiece. We might have to keep giving lessons at Horizon or doing other jobs for a little while to make some extra money, but I think this is just too good an opportunity to pass up. So, what do you say?"

"Well," started Liliya," I do want to get a job working with horses, and it would be nice to have Neptune around more. So, I guess if we can scrounge up the money, I'm in!"

"I know I should be saying what a ridiculous idea this is, but I really, really want to do this, so I'm in!" said Marion.

All eyes turned to Ally.

"I can't be the one to ruin your idea! I'm in!" she said. 

The girls looked at their bank accounts. They called their parents to ask if they would pitch in. And, between the four of them, they were able to make up $36,000, more than enough to buy the farm.

Makayla called the farm's current owners and made arrangements to take a tour of the farm the next day at 9 a.m. This was really happening. They were really buying a horse farm.

Horizon Horse Stables Girls Riding Club Horses 2022

Diana: Sunrise, an 8-year-old chestnut Quarterhorse mare

Hanna: Fred, a 12-year-old bay Clydesdale gelding

Salli: Tar, a 6-year-old black Quarterhorse gelding

Makayla: Eclipse, a 4-year-old Pinto Arabian stallion

Ally: Ice, a 10-year-old Palamino Quarterhorse mare

Stephanie: Blaze, a 15-year-old red roan Quarterhorse gelding

Liliya: Neptune, a 5-year-old blue roan Paint horse stallion

Marion: Shotgun, a 9-year-old bay Quarterhorse gelding

Chapter 3

Makayla hopped out of bed at 5:30 a.m., too excited to sleep. There were still 3 and a half hours till the tour of the farm, but Makayla couldn't wait. She decided to spend the extra time doing the one thing that could take her mind off anything: spending time with Eclipse.

Makayla got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and hopped in her car, eager to get to her horse. Once she arrived at the stable, which was only about a five-minute drive away, she immediately went to Eclipse's stall. He was standing there, as usual, waiting for her. 

She put on a halter and led him outside, looking forward to a calm morning of riding. She slipped a bridle over his head, fastened it so that it would fit his head, and hopped on. No need for a saddle,

bareback riding was just as good. 

Makayla trotted Eclipse over to the riding arena to warm him up, then set up some barrels. The rodeo was still months away, but Makayla had to practice if she and Eclipse were going to perform in it. 

Hopping back on her horse, Makayla pressed the start button on her stopwatch and loped her horse forward, around the first barrel, making a wide turn that should have been tighter. She sped up going on to the next barrel, making Eclipse wrap around it as tightly as he could. That turn went better. On to the last barrel. Makayla urged her stallion to go right around the barrel, almost touching it but not knocking it over, using up as little time around the turn as possible. Finally, they were around the third barrel, and Makayla was urging her horse to run as fast as he could, through the finish. 

Makayla clicked stop on the watch and looked at the time. 30 seconds. She was going to have to do much better if she even wanted to think about entering that rodeo. The only thing to do was practice.

Makayla went through the cloverleaf pattern a few more times with Eclipse, getting him used to it. Then, it was 7:30, time to put Eclipse away and head back home, so she could get ready to leave for Thoroughbred Kingdom. She could not be late.

1 hour later, Makayla was pulling her car into the small lot of Thoroughbred Kingdom. Ally and Marion were already there, and Liliya said that she was on her way. Makayla was anxious for the tour to begin. She hopped out of the car, greeting her friends. 

"Hey, guys!"

"Hi, Kay!" Ally said. 

"So, are you guys as excited as I am for this tour to begin?" asked Marion.

"Yes!" they both shouted.

Just then, Liliya pulled up. 

"Hi, Liya!" all the girls said.

"Hey, guys! I'm so excited for this!"

"So are we!"

A man and woman stepped out of the house. 

"Hello, girls," the woman said. "I'm Elenor Adams, and this is Frank Adams. We're the current owners of this farm. Since you're all here already, how about if we get this tour started a little bit early?"

"Sounds good to me!" Makayla said.

"Great, then let's get going. My husband and I want to get out of here as soon as we can, so we hope you'll decide to buy the farm. We'll start off with a tour of the house. We've already packed up almost everything we own, so it's pretty empty right now. I think you'll like it, though."

The house was a pretty big place, with 4 large bedrooms, 2 smaller bedrooms, and 4 small bathrooms. It also had a nice kitchen, a small dining room area, 2 offices, a living room, and a large basement with an empty room. It would definitely be large enough for the four girls to live in. 

The farm had 4 stables, a large pasture, 3 smaller paddocks, a small circular riding arena, a large rectangular riding arena, and a few storage sheds. It would be the perfect place.

"Well, girls, that concludes our tour of the farm," said Mr. Adams. "Do you want it? We'll give you a minute to talk about it."

The girls walked about 10 feet away and started talking.

"It's really a nice place," said Makayla.

"It might need a tiny bit of work in some places, but that shouldn't take long," said Marion.

"It really is an amazing deal. $30,000 for all of this!" Ally said.

"I think we should take it," Liliya concluded.

"Yes!" they all agreed.

The girls walked back over to where the Adams were standing. 
"We'll take it," the girls said.

"Great!" said Mrs. Adams. "Give us a week to get out of here, and then it'll be all yours. Now, there's a few things we need to tell you. 

One is that we had a lot of business here before we went bankrupt, so you probably will too if you can get the farm started up again. We sold everything possible, including all our horses, tack, and other equipment. All that's left are a few halters that no one bought and some hay bales. Feel free to help yourselves to those things."

"Anything else we should know?" asked Makayla.

"I don't think so. We have the deed for the farm here, sign the papers, and hand over the money, and it will be all yours."

"Sounds good!"

The girls all took the pencil and signed the papers. Then, they took out the money. They had been required to pay in cash, which took a little bit of work to take out of the bank, but they were able to get it all together. They gave the money to the Adams.

"Thank you, girls!" said Mr. Adams. "We really didn't want to sell the farm at all, especially not for such a low price, but we needed money as soon as possible. At least it seems like it's going into good hands."

"Take good care of it, girls," Mrs. Adams said, sadly.

"Don't worry, we will," said Liliya.

"So it's all yours in three days. Good luck!" Mr. Adams finished.

That day, the girls went to their favorite diner for lunch, and to talk about plans for the farm.

"I still can't believe we bought it!" Marion exclaimed.

"I know! I'm so excited!" Makayla agreed. 

"We're all excited, but we should probably get over that and start making plans. We move in in three days," Liliya said.

"You're right," Makayla agreed. "So, first of all, we should decide what we're going to do with the farm. How will we bring in money?"

"Well, I think it would be good to do a little bit of everything," Ally answered. "We could raise foals and sell them, buy horses, train them, and sell them for more, rescue horses and either keep them or find a new home for them, compete with our horses, and do lessons! And maybe we can board horses too."

"That's sure a lot of things, but I wouldn't be able to decide on just one. I think that doing them all is a great idea!" Liliya said.
"I agree," Makayla decided.

"Me too," said Marion. "So, now that that's decided, maybe we should think about everything we'll need to buy for our farm. We'll need tack, hay, grain, supplies for caring for the horses, and barrels, cones, that sort of thing."

"Right, and we'll need horses, of course!" Ally added.

"We can get half-price food, supplies, and tack from the Horse Supply Store since we caught their runaway ponies last summer," said Makayla.

"I have some barrels, cones, and poles at home that we can use," Marion said. "Hopefully we have money for everything else, though."
"The Horse Supply Store already has great prices, so half off will be very affordable," Liliya assured her. 

"Now, it's time to find some horses we can buy," said Makayla. "I know that Horizon has some for sale, but since their farm is so close to ours, I don't know if people would come to our farm just to see the same horses."

"That's a good point," Ally agreed. "We can look online and see 

if we can find any horses for a good price."       

"I'll do that now," said Makayla.

"I can help you," Liliya offered.

"And I'll look at the prices of everything at the Horse Supply Store and see how much it would cost to buy everything, for let's say, our four horses, plus maybe two more right now." Ally said.

"I can start figuring out ways we can make more money right now so that we can afford everything," Marion put in.

"Okay, let's get to work," Makayla said.

The girls worked and ate lunch for about an hour, before putting everything they had found out together.

"So," Ally started," I figured out that to feed all the horses for a month, plus buy sets of tack for two new horses, it would take $1000."

"That's not so bad," said Makayla. 

"I figured out that if we keep giving lessons as we do at Horizon, and we put all our money together, we can make $2000 in one week," Marion said. "Also, we need furniture for our house, so I figured if we bring the furniture we own for our bedrooms and then ask our parents if there are any old pieces we can use, we should be in good shape for that. We also need to pay for our food and things like that, so we can use some of our lesson money for that. Now, let's get into the best part, the horses!"

"Okay, so we found three horses that seem to have the potential to be good horses for our farm. They're all Quarterhorses. One is a fifteen-year-old bay gelding named Dart. He would be a good lesson horse, and he's selling for $2500." said Makayla.

"He sounds pretty promising," said Ally.

"Next," Liliya continued," is Whirlwind, a 6-year-old chestnut mare. She has some experience with barrels, and she's a little bit fiesty, but a good horse. She could use some more training, so she's one that we could train and sell, keep for competing, or use for breeding. She costs $3000." 

"Finally," said Makayla," we have Belle, a one-year-old filly. She's a brown, the daughter of two gentle but competitive barrel racers, who we could train for barrels, potentially keep for lessons when she's old enough, or sell eventually. She costs $500. It might be a risky 

investment, but I think she's worth it. All three of these horses are right here in Texas, not very far from here."

"I think we should buy Dart and Belle," Marion said.

"That's a good idea," Ally agreed. "Then we have a horse for lessons and a cheaper horse that we can work with. We can always use our own horses for barrel racing, at least for now."

"Okay, Liya, I'll call Dart's owner, you call Belle's owner?" Makayla asked.

"Sure!" Liliya agreed.

The girls dialed the numbers and made arrangements with the owners. Dart could be picked up on Thursday, the day the girls would get the stable, and Belle would have to be delivered to Marion's house on Wednesday, where she would stay until the next  

day. 

"This feels like a dream," Makayla said.

"Hey, that's a perfect name for the farm! Dream Farm," Liliya said.

"I like that," Makayla said.

"Me too," said Ally.

"Me three," said Marion.

"Then it's settled," said Liliya. "This farm is our Dream Farm."

House

Stables

Small paddocks

Pasture

Circular

Arena

Rectangular Arena

Storage sheds

Chapter 4

It was Thursday morning, the day the girls could move to the farm. They already had everything they were taking packed up, ready to move into the house, and they were planning on getting an early start. A 5 a.m. start. They decided they would get all their stuff into the farm and put all their tack into the stables and sheds first, then make the minor repairs, get stalls ready, and finally, go get the horses. 

All the girls arrived at the farm and unloaded their things into their bedrooms. After that, they unloaded their tack for their horses and the new tack they had bought. Then, they went around the farm, looking for things to fix.

Makayla walked around one stable, looking for things to fix. She 

noticed a broken board on the of the stalls, so she found some boards in a pile and fixed it up. 

Marion discovered that there were several small holes around the farm. She began filling them with a bag of dirt that they had boughten, just in case, when she noticed a shiny metal object in one of them. She lifted it up but discovered that it was only a bit. 

Other than a few more small issues, the farm was in great shape, so the girls went to work getting stalls ready for the horses. 
They decided that since all their horses seemed to get along pretty well, they would keep them all in the same barn, at least until they got more horses. 

After the stalls were all ready, and everything on the farm was in shape, it was time to bring the horses in. 

The girls piled into Marion's truck and drove the 25-minute drive to her house, where they would pick up Belle and Shotgun. They loaded them into the trailer, then drove the 15-minute drive to the farm where they would pick up Dart. They got his ownership papers, loaded him into the trailer, and drove to Ally's house to pick up Ice, then finally to Horizon Horse Farm to pick up Eclipse and Neptune.

Finally, with all the horses in the trailer, the girls drove to their farm to introduce the horses to it. 

Makayla untied Eclipse's lead rope and led him around the farm a little bit, getting him used to the place. The other girls did the same with their horses. All the horses seemed curious about their new home, but none acted nervous or afraid. 

Makayla led Eclipse into the stable, then to his stall, stroking him and 

talking to him quietly. She untied the halter and slipped it off his head.

"Okay, Eclipse," she said," this is our new home now. It's going to be a lot of work to run it, but it'll be fun, and this way I can keep you. I'll probably have to spend a lot of time with horses other than you. But you'll always be my favorite, and you'll always be my horse." 

She gave him a kiss on the nose, then stepped out and shut him in his stall. She walked back to the trailer and untied Dart's lead rope, walking him around the farm a little bit before putting him in his stall as well. Marion took care of Belle, and then it was time to get to the business part of the farm.

"We have to figure out a way to get people to find out about the farm," Ally said.

"We could put up fliers or something," Liliya suggested.

"We can start with that," Ally agreed," but we might need something more."

"Hold on, I'm getting a phone call," said Makayla, walking away. "Hello?"

"Really? That would be great!"

"Today would be great! Thank you, bye!"

Makayla walked back over. "That was the Channel 3 News. They want to do a story tonight about our farm like they do with most new businesses. They're coming around 2."

"That's great! It'll help lots of people find out about our farm! We could still use some fliers, though." Ally said.

"Well, let's go make some," Marion suggested.

The girls made fliers advertising thier farm and the services that it 

included. They printed a bunch off and drove to all the nearby businesses, hanging up the fliers for all to see. By then, it was around 1:00 p.m.

"We better get ready for the newspeople to come." Ally said.

Half an hour later, the news van pulled up, and it was time for the interview.

That evening, Makayla saddled up Dart, wanting to see how easy it was to ride him and to make sure he would really be a good lesson horse. 

She walked him a lap around the circular arena, then told him to trot. He responded well to her commands and his trot wasn't too bumpy. That was a good thing, because he didn't need to bounce anyone

off. After trotting him for a little while, Makayla brought Dart into a slow lope. Around and around they went, Dart not changing pace until he was told to, alert for the slightest command from Makayla. He wasn't the fastest horse in the world, but he was gentle and obedient. 
Finally, Makayla brought him into a gallop. Although it seemed to tire Dart out, he listened, and Makayla slowed him down eventually. He backed up nicely, and he would be the perfect horse for lessons. 

Makayla led Dart back to the stable and untacked him, brushed him, and put him back in his stall, whistling all the way. She always felt great after a ride, no matter which horse she was riding. 

"Makayla, the news is going to be on!" Liliya shouted.

Makayla gave Dart one final pat and hurried inside to watch.

The news story was great! It told all about the farm and expenses, and the girls knew it would get lots of people to come there. 

As Makayla lay in bed that night, she was happy and relaxed, knowing that the farm was under control, they had gotten the word out about it, and she was where she belonged.

Dream Farm

4586 Crestview Road, Bandera, TX

Lessons, Boarding, Rescue Horses, Horses for Sale, Will Buy Horses

Contact us at 830-796-8350

Chapter 5

Makayla awoke to the house phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello. I know it's quite early, but I found out about your farm on the news last night, and I wanted to get a lesson scheduled for my 8-year-old daughter right away."

"Okay. We're pretty much available for lessons anytime right now."

"How about tomorrow afternoon at 4?"

"Sure."

"How long are these lessons?"

"You can choose either one or two hours, but it costs $15 per hour."

"We'll just start with one hour. My daughter has no experience with

horses. Is that a problem?"

"Nope. Don't worry, we have a very gentle, cooperative horse for her. See you tomorrow at 4."

"Okay, thank you. Bye."

"Who was that?" Liliya asked, walking down the stairs.

"A lady who wanted to set up a lesson. Sure was an early call."

"Yeah, but if she thought she had to call early, that means she thinks we're going to be busy. That's a good sign."

"That's true."

"Now that we're awake, we might as well get started with chores. We would have to get up in about 20 minutes anyway."

"Good point. Let's start mucking out stalls. The old owners left a lot of straw."

The girls put on their boots and sweatshirts and headed out to the stable. They grabbed wheelbarrows, pulled open the doors, and stepped inside, greeted by happy nickers.
"Hey, guys!" Makayla said. She went over and patted Eclipse, Liliya doing the same thing to Neptune.

"Maybe we can put the stallions each in their own small paddock, at least well we much out the stalls," Liliya suggested.

"Good plan."

Makayla slipped a halter over Eclipse's head and led him out of his stall. 

"Time for some freedom, boy."

Then, the girls began mucking out stalls. 

It was just after lunch, and the girls saddled up their horses for a relaxing ride. There were lots of trails in the woods behind the farm.

"C'mon, let's take this one!" Marion said. "It's supposed to go down by the river, which would feel great in this heat, then loop around through an open field and back to the start."

Everyone thought that was a great idea, so they started off down the trail at a walk. They passes trees and flowers, plants, and beautiful scenery, but the scenery didn't change the fact that it was really hot. By the time they had trotted down to the river, the girls wished they could actually swim in it, but it would be hard to ride back all wet.

Instead, they dipped their feet in for a few minutes, then put their socks and boots back on, mounted, and rode across the bridge.

They rode out into the open field, then decided it was time for a little competition.

"Let's race across the field," said Ally.

"Count me in!" shouted Marion and Makayla.

"Let's go!" screamed Liliya.

Makayla kicked Eclipse and clucked to him over and over, urging him to go as fast as possible. She patted him on the neck and stroked him, uttering words of encouragement that only he could hear. He stretched out into a lope, then into a gallop, flying across the field. 

The others were ahead of Eclipse, but he was really going now. He passed Ice, then Shotgun. Neptune was still in front of Makayla and Eclipse, but they wouldn't let that stop them.

"C'mon, baby! Don't let them beat you! Go, go, go!"

Eclipse stretched out even more, running like he'd never run before,

going hard but refusing to stop. He ran and ran, and finally passed Neptune, still running harder. He ran past the edge of the field, winning the race, Makayla pulling back on the reins, trying to get him to slow down, to stop. 

Eclipse kept running, entering the woods now, going onto the trail, still not slowing down. 

"We have to stop, Eclipse! We have to stop! Woah, boy! Stop!"

Makayla kept pulling back on the reins, squeezing with her legs, telling her horse to stop, doing everything she could. They were barreling into the woods at high speed, and they could run into a tree, go into the brush and fall, go into the river. Makayla had to slow down, to stop.

She kept pulling back, kept talking to him, and gradually he slowed down, to a lope, to a trot, and finally to a walk. She stopped her 

horse and waited for the others to catch up.

"Wow, Kay, you guys were really going!" Ally shouted.

"Yeah, are you okay?" asked Liliya.

"Well, now that I finally got him to stop, yes," Makayla replied. "Now, let's get back to the farm."

Ally taught the lesson on Friday because Ice was a gentle mare and worked well with Dart. She was a good horse to use for demonstrating how to do things. 

By the end of the next week, Dream Farm had 5 boarders: Todd and Margo, Gingerbread, Sparkle, and Lightyear. They also had 3 students who would come in for weekly lessons. Life was busy around the farm for Makayla, along with everyone else. She would have to get up early for chores, then go and help make breakfast.

During the rest of the day, there were lessons to teach at Horizon Horse Farm and Dream Farm, horses to ride and train with at the farm, and other jobs to do to make money. It was all worth it though because even though it had only been open for a week, the farm was the best thing that ever happened to Makayla.

"Hey, guys, check this out!" exclaimed Marion.

"What is it?" asked Ally.

"I found this flier for a big horse competition happening in two weeks! They have lots of different events, and you can enter in up to 3 of them. The first place prize for each event is $3000, the second place prize is $2000, and the third place prize is $1000. I think we should all enter. It would make some great money for our farm!"

"Great idea! We'll have to do some practicing, but I think we could do great!" Makayla said.

"The deadline for entering is tonight, so we better look at the events and decide which ones to enter!"

After a few minutes of looking, the girls decided which events they wanted to enter in.

"I'm going to enter in the pole bending and show jumping competitions for mares, and the big race," Ally said.

"I'm going to do the cross country event, the big race, and the pole bending competition for geldings," said Marion.

"I'm going to do the cross country event, freestyle dressage, and the big race," Liliya said.

"And I'm going to enter barrel racing, the obstacle course, and the big race," said Makayla.

For the next two weeks, the girls worked hard on all their events. Finally, the day of the competition arrived, and the girls loaded their horses into the trailer and drove to the competition grounds.

First up for Makayla was the obstacle course. She had to walk Eclipse over to a small set of stairs, then climb on top of it and jump onto Eclipse's back. From there, she had to make him trot over to a log, which he would have to sidestep across. Then, she would have to steer Eclipse through a set of cones, then lope him through a tunnel. Next, she would have to ride him up and down a ramp, then back him through a set of barrels. Finally, she would have to lope a big circle around the whole arena before exiting. Points were awarded for how well each part of the course was performed, plus the fastest time.

Makayla and Eclipse were up last. The time to beat was 2:19, and the score to beat was 97 points.

Makayla walked Eclipse over to the stairs and jumped onto him with ease. 8 points. Next, she easily sent him into a trot and got him to sidestep over the log, something they hadn't practiced much. He did well enough to earn 10 more points. Makayla steered Eclipse through the cones easily, and he stayed perfectly on course and didn't knock down a single one. 20 points. She loped him through the tunnel. 8 points. 

Makayla brought Eclipse down to a walk, and he went smoothly up and down the ramp, without hesitation. 20 points. She backed him up, and he went through the barrels without hitting one, without stumbling. 14 points. Finally, Makayla loped Eclipse in a big circle

around the arena. 5 points. 

Makayla's total after that was 85 points. That wasn't enough to win unless her time was less than 2:19. Makayla waited, hands shaking, to hear what her time had been, and whether or not it would give her enough points to get first place.

"Makayla Edwards earned 85 points from the course, with a time of 2:12, giving her a score of 98 points and the first-place title! Congratulations, Makayla!" said a voice over the loudspeaker.

"We did it, Boy!" Makayla said excitedly, hugging Eclipse's neck. "That's $3000 for the farm, and you can't forget the blue ribbon!"

"Hey, Kay!" Liliya called. "Congratulations!" 

"Thanks, Li! What's your first event?"

"Freestyle dressage. I'm so nervous! I don't think Neptune is really