GOOD BOY, EDDIE

By Rennie Dyball

Preorder your copy at theplaidhorse.com/books

CHAPTER 1: NEW BARN

Up, FLOP. Up, FLOP. Up, FLOP.

“That’s it, you’re starting to get it: Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. That’s how you post the trot,” says the instructor. “But try to sit more lightly on Eddie and not come crashing down like a sack of potatoes, okay?”

I’m teaching my first lesson at New Barn and things are going pretty well. I am a school horse, and it’s my job to teach people how to ride. The instructor, Melissa (she’s the person who teaches the lesson with me), is standing in the middle of the ring while I trot around her in a big circle. The way my rider flops down in my saddle doesn’t hurt, it’s just a little uncomfortable. But I can tell that she’s new to riding, so it’s fine with me. We go around and around the ring. There are walls on every side to keep the wind out. Wooden beams crisscross the high ceiling and I think I can see some birds’ nests tucked up in the corners. Before I came here to this New Barn, I taught lots of riding lessons at a place much bigger than this one. I was one of about fifteen school horses back at the Old Barn. I had so many riders I