Ulteriori informazioni
Informationen zum Autor Catherine Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and adults. She has written for series as a ghostwriter and has also authored original titles. She lives in Pennsylvania. Klappentext When she finds some papers in her mother's dresser, Maddie suspects that her mother is being transferred again and is torn between helping her best friend and spending all her remaining time with her favorite pony.A Winning Gift ? CHAPTER ? 1 “HOLD STILL, CLOUDY.” MADDIE MARTINEZ tightened her grip on her pony’s hoof as Cloudy tried to pull it away. “I have to finish picking out your feet, and then I have a surprise.” “What kind of surprise?” her friend Vic asked. Vic and her twin sister, Val, were fussing over a chubby bay pony in the next set of crossties. All three girls had just finished their group riding lesson at Solano Stables. Maddie and Vic were still working on their mounts’ post-ride grooming, though Val had thoroughly brushed her lesson pony, picked out all four hooves, and returned him to his stall at least ten minutes earlier. But that was Val for you, Maddie thought fondly. She and Vic might be identical twins, with the same wavy reddish-brown hair and wide hazel eyes, but in every other way they were as different as night and day. Val was one of the most efficient and organized people Maddie knew. And Vic, well, wasn’t. “What kind of surprise?” Vic said again, sounding a little impatient. “Chill. You’ll see in a sec,” Maddie told her with a laugh. She quickly finished cleaning out Cloudy’s hoof, then dropped it and straightened up. “Are you almost finished with Chip? Because I’ll probably need your help with this.” She glanced at Val. “Both of you.” “I’m done now.” Vic gave the bay pony one last swipe with her brush, then grabbed the lead rope she’d dropped on the ground by her grooming kit. “I’ll take him to his stall and be back in a flash!” As Vic hurried off, dragging Chip behind her, Val wandered over and picked up one of Maddie’s brushes. She started going over Cloudy’s already-immaculate palomino pinto coat. “She’s pretty clean,” she said. “Aren’t you going to take her back to her stall?” “Nope. She has to be here for the surprise,” Maddie told her. “You’ll see.” Val looked curious, but she didn’t ask any more questions. “So today’s lesson was fun,” she said instead. “Every lesson is fun. Especially when I’m riding Cloudy.” Maddie gave the pony a pat on the shoulder, smiling as she thought back over that day’s ride. She and the twins had regular group lessons together twice a week. Usually they rode on Saturdays, but this week they’d switched to Sunday afternoon because the twins had gone to a family wedding the day before. That had actually made things a little easier for Maddie, since she hadn’t needed to rush over to the barn after her Saturday-morning soccer scrimmage. Val glanced at Maddie over Cloudy’s back. “Speaking of Cloudy, did Vic tell you her latest theory?” “I don’t think so,” Maddie said, instantly curious. Vic was always full of theories and ideas. And since Val sounded mildly disapproving, that meant this one was probably fun or at least interesting. “What is it?” “She thinks your parents are going to buy Cloudy for you for your birthday.” Val used her brush to flick a speck of dust from Cloudy’s shoulder. “She thinks that’s why they were so quick to agree to let you have your party here next weekend.” Maddie laughed. “So Vic thinks Mom and Dad are going to tie a big bow on Cloudy and give her to me? I wish! Sadly, I’m afraid Vic is delusional.” She gave the pony another pat. “My parents made it pretty clear they weren’t interested in pony ownership when I tried to raise money to buy Cloudy over the su...
