June 2009 Story Contest

Competition Adventure by Britnie

Britnie, Shadow, Angel, and Artemis's Adventures #2   (editorial note: read part one here)

Introduction to the Characters:
Britnie: A brave and adventurous girl.
Shadow: A bay, Welsh X pony.
Angel: A light brown with white colored Chihuahua.
Artemis: A dark brown(Blue)with white colored Chihuahua

Britnie woke up at 7:00 A.M.. Angel was sleeping on her blue bed (Britnie's pillow) while Art (Artemis) was sleeping on her orange bed (Britnie's other pillow), chewing a rawhide. When Art saw Britnie moving, she came pouncing on her(probably peeing in her diaper with excitment), Britnie jumped out of bed to avoid Art's jumping and scratching. Art was still a puppy and wasn't house trained so she wore a diaper. Angel woke up, then stretched like a cat. Britnie walked to the door, took off Art's diaper , then let them out. While they were out, Britnie went use the bathroom, change her clothes and brush her hair and teeth. When she was done she went call her dogs in, then fixed their food which was mixed with water. She grabbed two dollars out of her wallet purse for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After Angel and Art were done eating, they all went out to Mrs.Crandal's barn.

When they got to the barn, Mrs.Crandal was saddling up JB.

"Good morning, Mrs.Crandal!",Britnie said.

"Oh! Britnie, I didn't hear you come in!", Mrs.Crandal said surprised.

"I'm a little quiet when I walk sometimes", joked Britnie. "What are you doing with JB?"

"Well, if you look on the message board, you'll find out. By the way, are you going to need help with Shadow's hooves?"Mrs.Crandal said.

"No, I think I'm going to try and do them by myself." Britnie answered.

"Okay, fine.",Mrs.Crandal answered.

Britnie walked over to Shadow's stall. He looked out, begging for a treat. Britnie walked in and gave him a one. "All you you ever want is treats, treats, and more treats, huh?", She said. As he munched it, she put his halter on, then curried and brushed each side of him. Then she got ready to do his hooves. She slowly slid her hands down his fore leg, then grabbed his feathers and pulled up, and he actually picked his hoof up! She let it back down and gave him a treat. She picked it up again, but held it and picked it out a bit, then let it back down, giving Shadow a treat and a pat. She then did the same thing again with the other legs, slowly putting her hands down his leg, grabbing his feathers, then picking it up. He picked his hoof up and Britnie cleaned out the whole hoove. She was surprised he let her do it, giving him another treat (Britnie cut one whole treat into little pieces so she could feed him a lot of treats) so he knew he did good.

She put his saddle pad and saddle on, then went to the message board. She saw the usual missing cat and Mrs.Crandal's lesson students, but then she saw something new. There was a competition coming up and to her surprise, she saw western competition in it too! She saw it was divided between English and western. Now she knew what Mrs.Crandal was doing with JB. She saw there was Jumping and Cross Country in the English. Mrs.Crandal had entered for both. Britnie looked to see what was in the western part. There was just barrel racing. Britnie was torn away from the board by Art's barking. She walked out the barn and saw Scout was looking at Art on top the barrel. Art wasn't too happy because she couldn't play with Scout if he was up there. Britnie then looked for Angel and found her quickly. She was sitting in the sun with her face pointing towards it, eyelids closed. Britnie went back inside the barn to look at the board again. Pam, Anna, and Lulu were entered in both the english events, along with a few of Mrs.Crandal's students. Britnie decided she would be the first to enter in the barrel racing, but she also always wanted to try a Cross Country Competition so she would enter in that too. She saw it was 5$ to enter in each event, so she hurried to her home and got $10, coming back in a rush. She got two of the envelopes you used to put the money and put 5$ in each, then dropped the envelopes in the entering box.

Britnie got Shadow out of his stall after she entered the competition, then brought him to the mounting block. She got on the block to put his bridle on, he always but his head up high. Once she got the bridle on, she called Angel and Art. Art came running while Angel walked slowly towards them, finally getting there after 15 seconds.

Britnie chose the Wiggins by pony pal trail, thinking about the competition. She then realized that Mrs.Crandal didn't have a barrel racing course! How would she practice! Britnie turned Shadow around and went to find Mrs.Crandal. When she got back to the barn, she saw she just got back from a Cross Country course practice.

"How did JB do?",Britnie asked.

"Excellent."Mrs.Crandal replied.

"Do you know where the pony pals are at?"Asked Britnie.

"I think they're at the first clearing." Mrs.Crandal answered."Okay, thanks, bye."

Britnie said,cantering away on Shadow, leaving Mrs.Crandal puzzled. The first clearing wasn't far so Angel would be able to catch up to them. When they got there,Britnie saw Lightning, Acorn, and Snow White. Then she saw the Pony Pals. She stopped Shadow, tied him, then patted him and gave him a treat. She saw Angel made it , while walking over to the Pony Pals.

"Hi, I got a Pony Pal problem!"Britnie said to them.

"What's the problem?"Pam replied, looking up from her game.

"I need to practice barrel racing, but Mrs.Crandal doesn't have a course for that!" Britnie said, a little sad.

They then all huddled in,then after a minute, they came back to her.

"We can make one in the woods!"They all said at once.

"Good idea! I didn't think of that!"Britnie replied.

So they all went back to Mrs.Crandal's, Britnie put Angel on her saddle because she was tired from running. As they walked back they came up with a plan.

"Okay, Anna and Britnie, I want you both to hold all the ponies, Lulu, you'll get the barrels, and I'll get a hoe and Shovel.",Pam ordered.

They all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good, remember what you'll have to do. We'll go in the woods and clear a BIG square, then we'll set up the barrels." Pam said.

Again, they all nodded their heads in agreement. When they got there, Lulu went find some barrels and pam went find a shovel and hoe. After a short while, Pam came with the tools they would use.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Lulu." Pam said.

Right after Pam said that, they all heard a lot of racket and then saw Lulu coming with three barrels. She was rolling them, one in front the other with her pushing at the back. All of a sudden she lost control of them and they went everywhere! Pam dropped her tools and ran to help get the crazy barrels. Britnie gave all the reins to Anna and and swung into action. Pam had gotten two and Lulu was still trying to catch the last one.

Britnie could run faster then Lulu, and catched the barrel before she could.

"Okay, change of plan." Pam said when they all got back to where Anna was."Anna, can you hold all the ponies?",Pam asked.

"Sure.", She answered.

"Okay, I'll take two barrels, Britnie you take a barrel and the shovel, Lulu, you take what's left, which is a barrel and the hoe." Pam ordered all over again. So they all started walking down the first trail to wiggins.

They got to the first clearing and were now looking for a spot to pick. Britnie was going threw some thick Christmas trees when all of a sudden, she was out of them, and was in a much bigger clearing then the one she came from. She ran back the direction she came to find the pony pals.

"Pam!!!! Anna!!!! Lulu!!!", Britnie screamed at the top of her lungs. She wasn't to close to the ponies so she wouldn't scare them. She waited for about a minute when some rustling started in the bushes.

Then Pam came out."What's wrong? Are did you find a spot?",She asked.

"I found a spot. Now that you came, all we have to do is wait for Anna and Lulu.", Britnie answered.

"Aaaaaaaaannnnnaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luuuuuuuuuuuuulllluuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", Pam shouted louder then Britnie did. They waited a minute and Anna and Lulu came out of the bushes.

"You'll found a spot?", They both asked.

"Britnie did.", Pam answered. Pam went get the shovel and hoe then came.

"Lead the way Britnie", She said.

They soon came to the big clearing and the Pony Pals were amazed at how beautiful it was.

"Wow! What a lovely place to practice.", Anna said.

"I agree.",Said Lulu.

"Let's get to work!", Pam said and started chopping with the shovel.

"Okay, we can take turns so we can all rest.",Said Anna, grabbing the hoe and beginning to chop.

They took turns for hours and hours and more hours, then finally got a pretty big square.

"Haa! That's the most work I think I've ever done!",said Britnie.

"Me too."Said Lulu.

"Me three!", said Anna.

"And... Me...four!" said Pam, who had did a fast round at the end of what they were doing.

"Okay...tomorrow...we"ll ...set..it up....with..barrels!"Pam gasped.

"I don't think you should ever do that much work again Pam!"Anna told her.

"I.. think..you're right.",Pam agreed. It was late so they all went back to Mrs.Crandal's barn, took care of their ponies, and then went to bed.

The next day, they did as planned. Pam and Britnie saddled their ponies and rode to the spot. Anna and Lulu were already there.

"Where's Angel and Art?" Asked Anna.

"I left them because I won't have time to watch them, where as when I go trail riding, I can watch them." Replied Britnie.

"Oh, okay." Anna replied.

"okay, let's set the barrels!" Said Pam.

They all went get a barrel and set it up, it looked like this:

After they were done, Britnie said "Okay, now all Shadow and I have to do is practice, thanks for helping Pony Pals."

"Your welcome!" They all said together.

"We can watch right?" Lulu asked.

"Of course!" Britnie replied to Lulu. Britnie hopped on Shadow, and turned him to the barrels. Britnie didn't know how well they would do for two reasons. Shadow was not the best at listening to which way Britnie wanted him to go and they never practiced barrel racing. Britnie walked Shadow up a few feet from the barrel.

"Alright, on three." Pam said.

Pam, anna, and Lulu counted. "One........two..........three, go!"

Britnie nudged Shadow and he put his hind quarters down and took off leaving dust behind. They came to the first barrel, Britnie slowed Shadow down, but he didn't slow down much. When they reached the barrel, Britnie pulled the left rein, then the right to go around the barrel. Shadow made a VERY wide turn. As soon as they were around the barrel, Britnie nudged Shadow again and they were galloping with dust behind them. They came to the second barrel, Britnie pulled the right rein, then the left, turning Shadow around the barrel. He took another wide turn, then galloped to the third one. They came to the third barrel, Britnie pulled the right rein, then the left, taking another wide turn. They galloped off back to the finish line. When they past the finish mark, Britnie slowed Shadow down and dismounted him.

"That was......uh.......sort of good. You and Shadow are VERY fast but Shadow needs A LOT more training on turning." Pam said.

"I know, Shadow is just HORRIBLE at turning." Britnie said sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll get him trained for that by the time the competition day comes." Anna said, putting her hand on Britnie's shoulder.

"Well, I hope so, also, I need to buy a saddle for Cross Country! I always wanted to see how cross country was." Britnie said.

"How much money do you have?" Lulu asked.

"I have $250." Britnie answered her.

"That should be enough for a good saddle, even if it's used." Anna said. "How about we go to Kline's and see what they have any? Besides, our ponies could use a good drink from badd brook." Anna suggested.

"Okay!" Pam, Lulu and Britnie all said together.

So Britnie walked Shadow around so he would cool down and wouldn't get any cramps while Pam, Anna, and Lulu got on their ponies.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." Pam said.

"Me too!" Lulu said.

"Me.........er....... ....three.....", Anna said, trying to get on Acorn who was moving all around.  

Britnie got on Shadow, who was busy eating some tall grass. When Britnie was on Shadow she looked around. Anna was on Acorn now and they were all waiting on Britnie. "Alright, ready to go?" Britnie asked.

"Yes!" They all said.

"Okay, who will lead?" Britnie asked.

"I'll lead." Lulu said, moving Snow White towards the second trail to Wiggins. Pam was second, then Anna, and then Britnie.

When they all got to Wiggins, they unsaddled their ponies then put them in Acorn and Snow White's paddock, then headed to Kline's.

"I wonder if there will be any used tack?" Britnie said, wondering.

"Might, usually it's new." Pam said.

"That' true." Anna agreed.

"We'll find out when we get there." Lulu said.

It didn't take long and they were at the front door. Pam opened the door and let them pass through.

"Thanks." Britnie said to her.

"Your welcome." Pam said, letting the door close.

Britnie looked around. There was a beautiful western saddle for $1,000 dollars. "Whew! Glad I don't have to buy a new western saddle she said.

"Yeah, you need an English saddle." Pam agreed.

Britnie walked over to the English saddles, looking for a used one. All she found was brand new though. The lowest price was $950 dollars and she didn't have enough time doing things around the barn to earn that many dollars more! She decided to go ask the store tender if there was any used english saddles at the back of the store.

"Excuse me Mrs.......uh" Britnie startled, she didn't the womans name.

The woman turned around and said "Becky, Mrs.Becky."

"Oh, okay. Mrs. Becky, Do you know if there are any used saddles?" Britnie asked.

"Oh, sorry! We just sold our last one!" She said sadly.

"Oh.....well, thanks anyway." Britnie answered her, while turning to go to Pam.

"Hey Pam, I just went ask the store tender if there was any used saddles, but she said they sold their last one." She said to Pam.

Pam said,"Hmm......This is a Pony Pal problem. Let's go find Anna and Lulu." So they walked around and soon found Anna and Lulu looking at the grooming supplies.

"Ya'll don't need anymore grooming stuff." Pam said jokely.

"We know! We're just looking at the stuff!" Anna said.

"Well, anyway, we have a Pony Pal problem." Pam said,seriously.

"What's wrong?" Anna and Lulu said both asked.

"Britnie can't afford to buy a new saddle and kline's just sold their last used one." Pam answered them.

"That's definetly a problem." Lulu said.

"Yeah, it sure is." Anna said.

"Okay, how about tomorrow we meet at Acorn and Snow White's paddock with some plans. and remember to write them down." Pam said to them all.

They walked off together, talking about the show.

"I hope me and Shadow can shape up before the show." Britnie said, worried.

"Of course you'll will!", Pam said, assuringly to her.

"Don't worry Britnie, we have Pony Pal power." Anna said, happily.

"All you have to do is practice, practice, practice!" Lulu said.

"I guess." Britnie said, still worried. So they got off the subject of Britnie and Shadow's training and talked about their ponies.

"Snow White's going to be so good in the junior devision of Show jumping and Cross Country!" Lulu said excited about the competition.

"I bet Lightning's going to do good too!" Pam said, proud of her chesnut Connemara.

"Acorn's going to do good on Cross Country, I hope he does good in Show Jumping." Anna said, dreaming her and Acorn would come first in Show Jumping.

"I wonder if Shadow will do good in Cross Country?" Britnie questioned herself and the others. "He should, I wouldn't see why not." Pam said, trying to figure out why he wouldn't come in the top six.

"If he gets a ribbon that means he did good." Pam continued.

"And I'm sure he'll get a ribbon, even if it's sixth place." Anna said.

As they chattered on, they soon came to the pony's. They all went get their lead ropes first, then get their pony's. Anna knew Acorn would run away, so she waited till the others left with their pony's.

Britnie was having trouble catching her pony. He kept cantering away, playing his "Tag" game. Britnie decided to head over to Anna.

"Having a hard time catching Shadow?" She asked, although she knew the answer.

"Yeah, he's being himself, naughty." Britnie answered her. Anna got a small apple out her pocket, then began to eat it. Acorn started coming, although Shadow didn't. When Acorn was close enough, Anna grabbed his halter and then clipped the lead rope on. She gave the apple to Acorn. Britnie saw Shadow wasn't near about to come. She went to her saddle and got an apple out, then went sit in the middle of the paddock. She heard hoofsteps soon but didn't move. A few seconds later, she felt warm breath on her head. She looked up slowly, then grabbed Shadow's halter.

"Got you!" She said teasingly, although Shadow was more worried about the apple. "Here, you can have the apple" she said, giving it to him. While he munched it, she walked him over to the mounting block and tied him there, then went get his saddle, bridle, and saddle pad. When she turned around to come back with the tack, Shadow had pulled down on his lead rope enough to be able to eat grass.

"huuuuuuuuuhhhhhh." She sighed. Shadow was always being naughty. How would they ever make it in time for the show? As she walked back, Britnie made sure she had all the tack, which was: The bridle. The saddle. The pad. The girth. The breastcollar. All check, she thought to herself. When she got to Shadow, she made sure there was nothing on the pad that would poke him, then put it on his back. Then she put the western saddle on. She buckled the breastcollar to make sure the western saddle was on right, then pulled the girth. Britnie had to walk Shadow aroung because he held air in his stomach. After she walked him around a bit, she pulled the girth again. Then she snapped the lower strap of the breast collar on the girth, which she wasn't able to do earlier because the girth wasn't pulled up. She got the bridle and got on the mounting block. Shadow always put his head high so she had to have something to stand on so she could put the bridle on. When she got the bridle on, she made sure everything fit right, then buckled the throat strap. She then monted Shadow, and tapped him with her heel to go toward the other riders, Pam, Anna, and Lulu.

"Oh, I was wondering when you would join us!" teased Pam.

"That's Shadow and his Bad habits that slowed us down." Britnie said while patting Shadow on his neck.

"So, it's only 12:30, where should we ride on a beautiful day like this?" Britnie asked.

"Hmm, I don't know." Pam aswered.

"Me either." Said Lulu.

"How about we just let our ponies decide?" Asked Anna.

"Okay, let's do that!" Pam said cheerfully. So they turned their ponies on toward a trail and tapped them on the sides to tell them to go. They walked in single file with Lulu in front, Anna second, Britnie third, and Pam last. They soon came to Badd Brook and the ponies stayed there, they didn't want to go any farther.

"I guess we can just stay here for a while." Anna said.

"I guess so." answered Britnie.

So they got off their ponies and went sit down under a shady tree.

"Have a sat!" Britnie said jokely to them. They stayed there for some hours just talking.

When Anna looked at the time she jumped up, surprising the others, and said, "It 4:00!"

"Already!" Pam said a little loudly, surprised.

"Yeah!" She replied to her. Pam, Lulu, and Britnie were completely badoozled at what time it was.

"It's time to head home then." Lulu said, getting up.

"Yeah." Pam said.

"Yep, I better head home too." Said Britnie. So they all gathered their ponies and rode home.

Anna and Lulu rode home together since they lived next door and Britnie and Pam rode home together because they lived next door to each other, although Britnie's pony lived at the Crandal's place. When they got to the barn, they untacked their ponies, brushed them, then let them out in the pasture for the night.

"Bye Britnie! See you tomorrow!" Pam yelled as they  both parted to go to their own home.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow too!" Britnie yelled back. When she got to her home, she remembered Art was not housetrained and probably pooped in her diaper. She opened the door to the house and walked in. Her family looked at her, they were all on the sofa.

"What you been doing?" Asked her mom.

"I've been doing A LOT!" She answered her.

"Like what?" Her mom asked again.

"Well..........to sum it all up, basically I just been riding Shadow." Britnie said. "And I'm also entered in a competition, one in barrel racing, another in Cross Country."      

"Oh, well okay. Fine, except you don't have an English saddle to jump with." Her mom pointed out.

"I'm going to have to buy one." Britnie answered her.

"And a bridle, and all the leg wraps and bell boots maybe." Her mom kept adding stuff Britnie never thought of. "Plus, your most biggest problem is Shadow isn't trained that well for barrels, and Jane (Mrs.Crandal) doesn't have a arena set up for that." Her mom just kept on talking.

"Okay, for starters, me and my friends set up a place in the woods where I can practice with Shadow. Mrs.Crandal already has a Cross Country course"

"I know she has a Cross Country Course set up,"

"Anyway, thanks for coming up with problems I never thought of. I'm also already looking for a English saddle," Britnie said.

"You just said you're going to buy one." Her brother butted in, Britnie ignored him though.

"Well, good luck practicing" Her mother said. "Thanks," Britie said and was about to turn when she remembered from Art's bouncing to ask her mom if Art pooped in her diaper. "By the way, did Art poop in her diaper?" Britnie asked. "No, I took her and Angel out for you this morning. You should take them out again though." Her mom answered her. So Britnie took Art's diaper off then her and Angel out, waited for them to do their business, then let them back in, putting Art's diaper on outside because she had the habit of peeing when you called her. After that, she got a pencil and some paper to write her idea down about how she would get all the English tack she needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Britnie decided to bring Angel and Art with her so she brought some leashes because she was sure they were going to go into Wiggins town again like they did yesterday. As she walked to the barn, she heard some nearby bushes shake, making a lot of racket. Angel and Art jumped away, then started barking at the rustleing bush. Britnie wasn't sure if she should scared or not because it could be a ferociouse animal or it could just be Scout. Then, out of the bushes, a little white tail stuck out, then the tail went back in. Angel and Art were trying to get as close as possible without getting to close.  Then, a little paw stuck out and there came a whole kitten named Scout.

"Ha Ha! You had me scared there for a second Scout, you crazy little kitten" Britnie laughed.

Art started to bite playfully at him and he started whacking her with his paws. Art then took off running to the barn and Scout did too, chasing her. Angel was chasing Scout, trying to keep up. Britnie ran up to the barn and looked around for Pam, Anna, and Lulu. She heard their voices coming from a stall so she peaked inside it, then saw her friends eating brownies on a blanket. "Good Morning!" She said while she opened the door to go inside.

"Good morning!" Lulu said.

"Good Morning!" Anna Said.

"Good Morning to you too!" Pam said.

"Okay, who's going to go first with their ideas?" Britnie asked, while taking a brownie.

"I'll go first," Said Anna. She opened up her peice of frawing paper and there was a big barn and a couple of ponies by it.

"I think we should go to Mr.Olsen's farm and see if he has any tack," Anna explained.

"Hey! That's my idea!" Pam shout.

"That's mine too!," Britnie exclaimed, eating small bites of her brownies.

"Yeah, I guess we all have the same idea." Lulu said, looking at her idea."I have the same idea as all of ya'll." She continued.

"I guess we should saddle up our ponies and go to Mr.Olsen's farm." Said Pam. So they all got up, folded the blanket, then groomed and saddled up their ponies.

When they headed out, Britnie made sure her dogs were following and that their leashes were packed in her saddle bags.

They headed out on Pony Pal Trail, Anna and Acorn were leading.

"I hope Mr.Olsen has a saddle." Britnie was worried about him not having one.

"If he doesn't, you can borow one from the Crandal Barn." Pam said, not worried that much.

"Oh! I forgot to tell ya'll, my mom found some more problems for me and Shadow. I don't have enough money to buy any bell boots for Shadow if I buy a saddle. I have noticed he has been hitting his feet when he lands from a jump." Britnie said.

"You can borrow some from the barn," Pam said.

"Thank you so much!" Britnie said happy she didn't have that problem no longer. She knew it wouldn't be much of a problem if they jumped on the trail, for there was not many jumps. But in the Cross Country Course, there will be a lot of jumps.

The rest of the way, they talked about the compitition and dreamed of themselves winning first place.

"I hope I win First place." Pam said.

"You might. maybe I'll win first place." Lulu said.

"Maybe I'll win first place in Barrel Racing." Britnie dreamed of Shadow wearing a blue ribbon on his fancy Show Bridle. She had gotten a show bridle and breast collar for her birthday in March. the two peices were beautiful. they had turquise colored stones in them, and where the bit attaches to the cheek strap, there was a turquise star on each side. She had a used western bridle and breastcollar for when she would trail ride around wiggins. Her saddle was made of cordura, which is really easy to clean. Her show stuff was made of leather though. They soon came to wiggins and tied their ponies at Anna's house. Britnie got her dogs' leashes out of her saddle bag and clipped them onto Angel and Art. Pam, Anna, and Lulu waited for her, then they all headed to Olsen's farm.

When they got to the farm, Mr.Olsen was lunging a horse in the round pen.

"Hi Mr.Olsen!" Pam said.

"Hello girls," He said while turning in a circle with the horse.

"Can I help ya'll?" He asked.

"Actually, yes." Britnie said. "Do you have a used English saddle? Inluded with a used bridle?" She continued.

"Whoa," Mr.Olsen said to the horse. then turned his attention to Britnie. "Well, I have a few used ones for sale I think," He said to her.

"Good,"  Britnie replied.

"What do you need it for?" He asked.

"I signed up for the Cross Country and Barrel Racing competition that's going to be here and I need the saddle for the Cross Country part." She said.

"Okay, let's go see what I have," He replied to her. So they walked over to the barn.

"Now I was going to wait till the competition to sell them but this is important so I'll sell you one now." He said before opening the tack room. There were saddle almost everywhere.

"Pick one out and I'll tell you the price or if it's not for sale," Mr.Olsen said. Britnie looked around, there was new saddle and used saddles. She looked at just the used ones, trying to find one that had a bridle with it. She saw one that was still in good shape and had a bridle and breastcollar to match, it was black, and still had some shine to it. "How much is this one right here?" Britnie asked him, pointing at the saddle.

"That one is five hundred dollars." He said.

"Oh," Britnie replied, knowing she couldn't afford it.

"But for friends, It's two hundred dollars," He said with a grin on his face.

"Really?" Britnie asked, although she knew he wouldn't tease her.

"Yeah really," He said.

"Thank you!" She said excitedly. "I'll come back in a little while with my money and carry to Mrs.Crandal's barn," Britnie continued.

"Deal. Shake on it?" He said.

"Sure," She reached her hand out and shood Mr.Olsen's hand. Then she said bye and thank you again and raced Pam, Anna, and Lulu back to their ponies. As they mounted their ponies, they talked to each other what a fine deal Britnie got.

"Britnie, that saddle looked just as good as my used saddle and cost half the price of  it," Pam said.

"And the good news is that I'll still have enough money left over to buy some bell boots." Britnie was grinning like a possum in a persimmon tree. She mounted Shadow, gathered the reins, then nudged him with her heel. They walked back to the barn, talking about each saddle they saw.

"There sure were some fancy saddles," Lulu said.

"Yeah, there sure was," Anna said.

"I saw one I wish I could afford, it was black, shiny, and new," Pam said.

They kept talking about their dream saddles all the way back to the barn.

"Okay, I'll go get my money now," Britnie said. She ran all the way to her house, got all the money she had, just in case Mr.Olsen changed the price, he probably wouldn't but just to be sure, then ran all the way back.

"Where are you going, Ms.B?" Mrs.Crandal joked.

"I'm going get my English saddle," Britnie said proudly.

"How are you going to bring it back?" Mrs.Crandal asked.

"I'm going to carry it." Britnie answered her. "I don't think you're going to be able to bring a saddle, probably half the size of you, all the way over here. I'm going to go with you in my vehicle because I could just imagine you, Pam, Anna, and Lulu each holding one side going down the road." Mrs.Crandal said, going fetch her keys. Britnie laughed to herself, that would be a sight. Four girls going down the road trying to keep a big peice of leather from falling down on the dirty ground. She went with Mrs.Crandal to the vehicle, signaling for Pam, Anna, and Lulu to come. When they saw Britnie get in the vehicle, they smiled, they were glad they didn't have to walk all that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I finally got a set of English stuff!" Britnie said, looking at her new, used saddle. She thought how she would get some of her leather cleaner and massage it in the leather. Mrs.Crandal was heading to kline's so Britnie could buy some Bell Boots for Shadow with her extra money. Mr.Olsen had kept his promise and it was only two hundred dollars for the saddle.

"Yeah, I know the feeling of getting another saddle," Pam said.

When they got to the shop, Britnie jumped out of the vehicle, and ran to the door. She opened it for Mrs.Crandal, and the others.

"Thank you, Britnie," Mrs.Crandal said politely.

Britnie then went in herself. She looked at each aisle, then found the different boots. There was medicine boots and lots of others. Britnie was beginning to get worried, he didn't see the bell boots. She was almost hopeless, when she saw.

"Okay, I need to find a pair of blue ones," She said out loud to herself. "There they are, all the way at the top," She reached up, but she was just a hand too short. She tried to jump, would get her hand on the box, but didn't stay up high enough to pull it down. She looked around. "There's no one looking. I'll just climb a little on the shelves and get it." She wispered to herself. She began to climb up. She was soon able to get the box. "Almost...got....it.....ah ha! Got it," She talked to herself some more. She climbed and looked at the box. "Yep, I was seeing the hoof size right. Cob size." She talked some more to herself. The Bell Boots would cost ten dollars, but they were on sale. If they weren't, they would be twenty.

Britnie then started to look for Mrs.Crandal. she was looking in the saddle pad section when she saw a lovely blue english pad that matched the boots. "Darn it, I forgot I needed a pad too! Riding a pony sure is expensive." She muttered to herself while looking at the price of the pad. It was on sale too and was thirty dollars. "I should have enough, plus tax that should be close to fifty dollars," Britnie said. She picked the pad up and continued her search for Mrs.Crandal.

She soon found Mrs.Crandal. "Okay, I'm ready to check out," She said.

Mrs.Crandal looked at the stuff, then they went find Pam, Anna, and Lulu. they went to the register and Britnie gave the money to the woman.

"Did you find a saddle?" The lady was Mrs.Becky from yesterday.

"Yeah, I did." Britnie answered.

"I'm guessing ya'll met?" Mrs.Crandal asked.

"yeah," Britnie answered her. They walked out and went home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days, Britnie and Shadow practiced hard. Everyday that passed, Shadow learned to turn better and jump better. Soon, it was only a week from the competiton. Shadow was as quick as a flea around the barrels. He jumped very good on the Cross Country Course. The shortest time they had around the barrels was 33.1, and that was REALLY good. Their average was 35.4 and that was good enough to get a ribbon, maybe even first place.

They were in the beginner class in Barrel Racing with four other people. In Cross Country they were in beginner class with ten other students, including Pam, Anna, and Lulu.

Soon the day had come. Britnie woke up to neighs and hoof sounds from her alarm, and remembered the day had come. She packed two leashes, some dog food, two carrots, and two apples, in a lunch bag. She ran with her dogs to the Crandal's barn. There were people everywhere, mainly students from Mrs.Crandal.

Britnie went to Shadow, petted him and gave him a cookie. He wore a sheet so he wouldn't get dirty because the other day Britnie gave him a bath. He was very shiny. Britnie had braided his hair after his bath so when it came out, it would be thick and curly for the show, like a friesians main and tail. Britnie went to the tack room. She got her western tack, which included: Her saddle, her saddle pad, her show bridle, and her show breast collar. She went put it where all the other tack for the show was.

She came back and got her English tack, that included: The saddle, the pad, the bridle, the breast collar, and the bell boots. She brought that tack to where she put her Western tack. She saw people load up their horses so she went look for Mrs.Crandal to find out which trailer Shadow was in. She soon found her and asked her where to put him.

"Put him in that trailer over there." She pointed to a freshly painted trailer. Britnie said thank you to her then went get Shadow.

"Okay Shadow, be good." Britnie said to him while she clipped his lead rope on. He was very excited about all the people passing by. He knew something exciting was happening. Britnie led him into the trailer, and put him in one of it's open stalls. She raced back to get some hay and a little feed for his breakfast. "There you go, that should keep you busy for a while," Britnie said while putting the food in it. She then grabbed the water bucket, filled it with some water, then put it back. She saw Lightning, Acorn, Snow White, and JB were already in the trailer. This must be the Pony Pal trailer Britnie thought.

Thirty minutes later, they were all heading to the show. The English, novice classes came first and Mrs.Crandal came first in both Cross Country and Show Jumping. Britnie went to see Shadow after watching Mrs.Crandal's round. She took off his sheet and groomed him as good she ever had before. He shone like there were light coming out of him. Britnie thought he was the most beautiful pony in the world. She got caught up staring at him and when Pam came with Lightning all tacked up.

"You haven't even tacked him up yet!?!" Pam was bewired.

"Why?" Britnie asked. "Because our turn is up next!" Pam practically yelled.

"Oh! Now I have to be in a hurry, good thing I already have my English outfit on." Britnie said.

"Well, hurry up," Pam said and walked off. Britnie tied Shadow up. Then tacked him up for Cross Country, but when she came to the bridle, she didn't leave the halter on, she took it off. She undid his braides and looked at him. He was even more beautiful! She led him out of his stall and to the excercise ring. She was the last student in that round, number ten.

She first walked Shadow around the ring, then trotted, then cantered, then went over a few jumps. She slowed him down after he was well worked out, and waited for her number. So far, the highest score was 96.1 scored by Pam and Lightning.

Soon it was Britnie turn. She moved Shadow over to the start and waited for the lady to count down the seconds. "Three, two one, go!" The lady said. Britnie nudged Shadow and it didn't take a second for him to gallop.

"Whoa!" Britnie pulled back the reins and slowed him down to a canter. They came to the first jump, it was made of hay. Britnie counted Shadow's strides, coming to the last stride.....and they jumped! Clearing it perfectly. The next jump was made of peices of wood. No problem for Shadow, he jumped it with flying colors. jump number three was a small step-up. She just stepped over it. The rest of the ride was smooth. Jump number ten was a water jump, and Shadow jumped it without getting a drop of water on him. They cleared the rest of the ride fine and was coming to the last jump when some bushes rustled Shadow went sideways a little, but kept going to the jump. It was a two and half foot tall log. Shadow cleared it with a eight inches to spare.

When they got to the finish line, Britnie dismounted Shadow and petted him over and over while walking him around. She said good boy, too, over and over. She went over to where Pam, Anna, and Lulu were waiting on her.

"What a wonderful round Britnie!" Pam said.

"It was," Anna said.

"It was better than all of ours!" Lulu exclaimed.

"It was?" Britnie asked. "I know it was good but I didn't know it was THAT good."

"Yeah it was THAT good." Lulu said.

"What palce did ya'll come in for Show Jumpng?" Britnie asked.

"I came first, Lulu second, and Anna third." Pam said.

"Good for all of you!" Britnie said.

"Thank you, but now they're about to announce the winners for the Cross Country part." Pam said.  

Britnie remounted Shadow with Pam, Anna, and Lulu.

"First place winner is Britnie ****** entered on Shadow!"

Britnie heard all kinds of claps and shouts. Lots of people must have liked Shadow. "Second place winner is Lulu Sanders entered on Snow White!" More claps and shouts.

"Third place is Pam Crandal riding Lightning!" Some more claps and shouts.

"The fourth, and last ribbon, goes to........Anna Harley riding Acorn!" More claps and shouts.

The ribbon giver came out, and brought Britnie the Blue ribbon. Britnie put it on Shadow bridle.

She rode out while the ribbons were given to Pam, Anna, and Lulu. She had to go get Shadow ready for the Barrel Racing part of the show. She lead him into his stall, untacked him, groomed him, and have him a apple. The novice class for Barrel Racing was still going on so she gave him a little bit of hay too. She put her English tack up and got her western tack out.

Britnie then went change into her western outfit. When she came out, she saw the novice horse and riders come out. Some had ribbons which told Britnie she had to tack Shadow up. When She came to his stall, he was done eating and was looking out at all the horses and ponies.

"Okay Shadow, it's time for us to win another blue ribbon," Britnie said while putting his halter on. She tacked him up, taking off his halter when it came time to bridle him. She lead him out and was bringing him to the excercise ring when she was stopped by a little girl.

"Hiya! Your pony is so cute! Especially with those curls in his mane and tail! I hope he comes first!" She said, then continued before Britnie could thank her for her kind words. "Can I pet him?" She asked.

"Sure, and thank you for you good words," Britnie said to her. The girl petted him a couple times when her mother called her.

"Madison!" Her mother called.

"Coming!" She yelled. "Bye!" She said and ran off to her mother.

Britnie started walking Shadow to the excercise ring again. When she got there, she mounted Shadow and walked him around a bit. She didn't need to give him much since he just finished the cross country course. After a while, she heard the announcer call her number, which, she was first, number one.

Britnie looked at the course, she had studied the map of it and could see where to. The woman next to her counted down. "Three, two.....one go!" She yelled when she said go. Britnie nudged Shadow and it didn't take a second, he put his hind quarters down and galloped at a amazing speed. He must have known that he had to do his very best today.

They were coming close to the first barrel. Britnie pulled the and Shadow turned around that barrel in a few seconds, and was off galloping again, leaving a big cloud of dust. The second barrel came in no time at all. Of course, Shadow didn't hardly need any guidance. He turned around the barrel like he did the last one, then galloped off to the third one was just as easy as the other ones. They raced to the finish line, doing a sliding stop, which they secretly practiced. The crowd roared with the performance.

"That was Britnie ****** on Shadow with a time of 30.1 seconds, I think this little lady might be getting the blue ribbon." The announcer announced. Britnie walked Shadow around. Pam, Anna, and Lulu came running up from their seats.

"And you were worried Shadow wouldn't be able to be trained in!" Pam said.

"You're sure to win that blue ribbon!" Anna said.

"I figured you would be better than you thought!" Lulu said knowingly.

"Well, it's not about winning and is only for fun but....wining is nice too!" Britnie answered them. She watched the other beginner riders go out. Usually they either knocked down the barrel or came out with a late time.

The last rider finally came, and was a little red haired girl with a expensive looking pony, with expensive stuff to match. "I'm gunna beat that time!" She yelled out. "I'm gunna win!" She continued. they all ignored her. The little girl nudged her pony into a gallop, they went around the barrels pretty fast, but not even close to Shadow's speed.

"And that was Amber T********* on Twinkle Star, with a time of 39.9! I think we all know who the blue ribbon winner is!" The announcer said.

" Yay! I won!" The little girl shouted.

"let her just beleive that," Pam said, giggling. They all giggled with her.

"Okay, and the blue ribbon winner is.............." The announcer said, then continued. "Britnie ****** on Shadow! Sorry little girl."

 "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The little girl screamed, spooking her pony which took trotted away suddenly, making her fall into the dust. "You stupid pony!" She yelled at it.

The announcer called the rest of the kids who won. Britnie went and collected her ribbon, putting it on Shadow's bridle. She nudged Shadow and they galloped around the ring faster then they ever had before.

THE END  

Coming soon.......         

Britnie, Shadow, Angel, and Artemis's adventures #3  --  The horrifying adventure
Description:    Britnie, Shadow, Angel and Artemis were out riding when they saw a unfamiliar trail. Curious, they went down it, but what they found was unpleasant.