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all if we want to beat Riley.
    She shortened her reins another notch, pushing her pony forward into a working trot. As she rounded the far end of the dressage ring, she heard the tinkle of the bell.
    â€œTime to go,” she whispered to Wings, turning and heading for the entrance to the dressage ring.
    As they entered at A , Haley looked straight forward toward the judge’s table behind the letter C . Wings felt good beneath her, forward and focused.
    Here we go, she thought as they trotted up the center line for the first time. What’s that thing Nina always says? Aim for the stars?
    That made her think about the Pony Post. Had she remembered to check in with them that morning as she’d promised?
    As she tried to think back, she realized Wings was almost at the other end of the ring already. She quickly closed her leg and pulled on the right rein for the turn, then realized they were supposed to turn left at C , not right.
    Oops! she thought, quickly correcting. Wings tossed his head, a little surprised, but obediently veered to the left.
    Whew, that had been close. Haley felt her cheeks turn pink as she realized she’d almost made the same mistake as that nervous older woman earlier. That wasn’t the way to win.
    She didn’t make any more big mistakes after that, but her concentration had been blown by the near disaster, and even as she swept into her salute at the end, she knew it hadn’t been their best ride. She kept a smile on her face until they turned away from the judge, then blew out her breath in a whoosh, slumping in the saddle as she exited.
    â€œNice ride,” Riley said as Haley passed.
    Haley shot her a look, wondering if the older girl was being sarcastic. But Riley had already turned to watch the next rider enter.
    Jan hurried over to meet Haley as she rode away from the ring. “Well done, Haley,” she said. “Saw your bobble at the beginning, but you recovered well.” She patted Haley on the knee, then gave Wings a rub on the neck.
    â€œThanks, but we definitely could’ve done better,” Haley said.
    â€œYou can always do better.” Jan raised an eyebrow at her. “If not, why even bother competing?”
    â€œYeah, I guess,” Haley muttered.
    Just then a woman over by the results board called Jan’s name, and the trainer looked that way. “I’d better see what she wants,” she told Haley. “You okay?”
    â€œSure.” Haley forced a small smile, and Jan hurried away.
    Andrew dismounted and led Turbo over to where Haley and Wings were standing. Kyle rode after him. “Good job, Haley,” Andrew said. “Your transitions were really accurate.”
    â€œThanks, but I know we messed up.” Haley sighed, giving Wings a pat. “It was totally my fault. I spaced out when we came in and, well . . .”
    She let her voice trail off. Kyle shot her a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay,” he said. “You know you’re still going to beat me by at least fifty points.”
    Haley smiled weakly as Andrew chuckled. Beating Kyle wasn’t what she’d had in mind for today. Her gaze wandered back to Riley, still standing ringside.
    Andrew followed her gaze. “I know that Riley girl looked good in dressage,” he said. “She’ll probably win this phase. But who knows if that fancy horse of hers can even jump, right?”
    â€œYeah.” Haley felt a twinge of hope. It was true—there were still two phases yet to come.
    â€œYou and Wings always kill the jumping phases,” Kyle reminded her cheerfully. “Especially cross-country. That’s what Jan says, anyway.”
    â€œIt’s true,” Andrew told him. “I mean, you’ve seen them in lessons. Wings is a cross-country machine!”
    Their comments made Haley feel a tiny bit better.Because they were right. There were still two phases left in the competition. Two phases that