So we open on a class at Pine Hollow, with the students competing in an obstacle course. (Max, of course, is nowhere to be seen.) The Saddle Club’s team is winning, but when it’s time for Lisa to go against Veronica, Lisa is only able to trot, so Veronica and Cobalt end up winning. Afterwards, Veronica and Kristi are all snotty about how, since Lisa can’t canter, Max should start a class just for students who can’t canter, and how Lisa would be the only member. I have to say, this makes absolutely zero sense. Pine Hollow would surely have a whole range of riders, all at different levels. It seems pretty unlikely to me that Lisa would be the only kid at the whole stables who isn’t cantering? Anyway, I digress.
Stevie and Carole insist that they’re going to teach Lisa how to canter, or die trying. Literally, those are the exact words they use. To which I say, did anybody actually … ask for the three of them to die trying to teach Lisa to canter? Is it ever really that serious?
Back at the stables, Max (who has returned from his busy schedule of ‘not supervising riding activities’) announces to the Saddle Club that Prancer’s ready for a pasture mate, and suggests they introduce her to Starlight. Carole’s pretty excited, but it turns out Starlight doesn’t want to be friends. (For the eagle-eyed, Prancer’s white star, which is visible during the scene inside the stables, disappears during the paddock scene. Seems like somebody forgot to top up the horse body paint, if that’s even a thing.) Carole’s mad at Starlight and calls him a bully, but Mrs. Reg gives an inspirational speech about how friendships take time.
Stevie and Carole point out that Lisa has technically already cantered before, when she and Carole saved Stevie from Veronica’s pager prank, and on the Mountain Trail Overnight, both of which are fun (and correct!) callbacks to previous episodes. Lisa feels that those times don't really count — she was holding onto Carole when they both cantered on Starlight, and she fell off when Patch cantered. Stevie and Carole are undeterred, and take Lisa and Patch out for a cantering lesson. Instead of doing so in the riding ring or a paddock or, you know, a safe, enclosed space, they instead try and teach Lisa out in the forest which, like most forests, does not have gates or fences. Seems super safe, especially if Patch bolts or Lisa is unable to pull him up!
Stevie and Carole try to help Lisa canter, but it’s just not happening. They try leading Patch while Lisa’s riding, and lunging her, but when Patch starts to canter Lisa falls off. Frustrated, Lisa says she’s not getting back on Patch today. Carole and Stevie try to convince her to give it another go when they hear thunder rumbling. The girls all start leading their horses back to the stables — the implication seems to be that since Lisa didn’t want to ride, Stevie and Carole decided not to, either, which is pretty endearing. When lightning strikes, Stevie says that Comanche freaks out during thunderstorms, and she needs to get him to Pine Hollow ASAP. Carole suggests they take a shortcut over a ridge but explains they’ll have to canter to make it in time. Lisa still isn’t ready, so Stevie goes ahead, and Carole stays back to walk with Lisa. (This is completely unrelated, but this whole scene seems to be using a blue/grey filter to help the weather look more dark and stormy. Guess the Saddle Club was the inspiration for Twilight!)
Meanwhile, Phil rocks up at Pine Hollow just as Veronica’s about to tear into Ashley for spilling straw on her. Veronica immediately acts all sweet, and then tells Kristi about how Phil is the cute guy she met at the Mountain Trail Overnight. Kristi remarks that, ‘He’s okay, I guess. In a baby-faced kind of way.’ To which I say, of course he does. You’re all, what, twelve? You ALL look baby-faced!
We then cut to Stevie, racing along the trail as she and Comanche try to beat the storm. Lightning strikes again— now I have to say that surely, if you were in a situation where you knew your horse was imminently going to freak out, you would jump off and try leading them instead? Apparently not. Stevie stays in the saddle and tries to verbally get Comanche to calm down. Because horses do not speak English, Comanche continues to freak, rears, and Stevie falls off him and tumbles straight over a cliff. The drama!
Carole and Lisa overhear Stevie screaming as she falls, and catch a glimpse of a riderless Comanche in the distance. They rush to help Stevie, and find her clinging to the ledge of the cliff. For maximum drama, the rain is now absolutely bucketing down. Carole concocts a plan to tie a rope to Starlight’s saddle horn and rappel down the cliff to get Stevie. It’s unclear why Carole is attempting join Stevie on the ledge instead of just … throwing the rope down to her. (Obviously the answer is ‘plot reasons.’) Of course the rope snaps, leaving both girls stuck on the ledge with no way of getting help. It finally occurs to Lisa that they need an adult, and she tells the girls that she’s going to get help. They shout at her that she has to canter this time.
So Lisa, determined, gets into the saddle, and she does it! Lisa’s stunt double bravely canters through the rain, orchestral music swelling. At Pine Hollow, Max and Mrs. Reg have finally realised that three of their students might be missing and Mrs. Reg — who has has this whole side plot running about Ashley being weirdly ageist towards her and thinking that old ladies can’t ride horses — decides that she’ll go out looking for the girls. Mrs. Reg means business, so she tacks up Barq and throws on a drizeabone just as Lisa races in to tell her what’s happened. They both race back to the cliff and Mrs. Reg executes Carole’s failed rappelling plan — again, I’m really not sure why this plan hinged on someone going down the cliff to join the trapped people? Couldn’t they just pull Stevie and Carole up? Regardless, she succeeds, the girls are saved. Lisa runs to hug Stevie, and Carole runs to hug Starlight and apologise for calling him a bully, which is quite cute.
At Pine Hollow, Max, Mrs. Reg, and the Saddle Club debrief about what’s happened. Max is all ‘Good job, Saddle Club!’ instead of ‘I’m going to need to inform your parents and fill in fifty pages of paperwork about what happened.’ Once again, Pine Hollow seems to exist in a world where the Child Safe Standards do not exist …
Times a Child Almost Died While in Pine Hollow’s Care: Twice, one for each count of a child ALMOST FALLING OFF A CLIFF TO THEIR DEATH. Why was that ridge not fenced off? Does Max not know about the existence of safety railing? WHY?
No comments:
Post a Comment