Max is teaching a lesson, and tells the students to go over the cross country course. Lisa is nervous, but Max encourages her, and she and Patch end up doing well and Max says she's ready to join the jumping class. After the class, Mrs. Atwood arrives at the stables looking angry — so same business as usual. Lisa raves about how she cleared the cross country jumps and casually drops that she NEVER LEARNED TO JUMP BEFORE. (And Max told her to just have a go at them anyway??!) Max, that is a BAD. IDEA.
Mrs. Atwood reveals that Lisa has failed a recent geography test, and that if Lisa doesn’t pass her next assignment, she's going to fail the course. She says that she and Lisa’s father (who we never see) have decided to send her to Wentworth Academy, a boarding school, next term.
At Pine Hollow, Carole insists on taking care of Cobalt because Veronica’s doing a crappy job of it.
Back at home, Lisa is trying to complete her geography assignment. She tries to talk with her mother about not wanting to go to Wentworth Academy, but Mrs. Atwood ignores her and talks about how the school has a nice stables, too.
Veronica is bitching to her mother, who, given the amount of money they’ve spent on Cobalt, boarding fees, and fancy riding outfits, wants to see Veronica ride him. Veronica whines about how she would rather be at the mall with Kristi. Max passes by just as they spot Carole exercising Cobalt — Mrs. diAngelo remarks how graceful Carole looks, and Max says she was ‘born to ride’ him. (Cut to Starlight, in his stall: ‘What am I, chopped liver?’) Veronica immediately gets jealous and shrieks at Carole, demanding she get off Cobalt and stay away from him.
Stevie and Carole invite Lisa to Pine Hollow to help her with her project. They’ve come up with the perfect project for her: a model of Mt. Everest, which they’ll make in the oven. (Is the final result supposed to be edible?)
Veronica’s unhappy about having to take care of Cobalt herself, and tries to sneak out— only for Max to catch her, and remind her that she needs to groom him. Veronica tries to weasel out of it by saying it should be Red’s job, but Max reminds her that Red has jobs other than taking care of her horse. Veronica complains to Kristi, who has other plans: she’s managed to get tickets to a concert for a band named Cram. Veronica assumes that she’s Kristi’s plus one, but Kristi wants to invite Red. Awkward.
Mrs. Atwood and Melanie return home from a shopping trip to find Lisa’s bedroom is empty. Mrs. Atwood isn't happy, and Melanie’s pretty smug at the idea of Lisa getting into trouble. Mrs. Atwood finds The Saddle Club at Pine Hollow, relaxing and reading horse magazines in the lounge. They try to explain that they’re taking a break while making Lisa’s model Mt. Everest, but it turns out they left it too long in the oven, and it's burnt. Mrs. Atwood then shares that Lisa isn’t going to Wentworth next term — she’s going next week.
Carole and Stevie try to come up with solutions for Lisa, but to no avail. Carole continues trying to take care of Cobalt, and says that she misses him. Veronica catches her, and tells her to buzz off.
At home, Lisa’s preparing to leave for Wentworth. Stevie and Carole bring her a gift box to say goodbye, including a lock of Patch’s mane, the picture they took with Skye Ransom in the last episode, and Stevie’s 'famous' chocolate chip muffins. Stevie and Carole cry about how they’re never going to find another friend like Lisa. I do remember watching this exact scene as a kid and thinking it was the most dramatic thing ever.
Kristi finally manages to hunt down Red and ask him about the concert. He explains that Cram is old news, and that they’ve become sellouts. (Who knew Red was such a hipster? I like to imagine that 2024 Red is currently drinking an oat milk latte in Brunswick and bragging about how he was into The Script way before they were cool.) Kristi backtracks, and pretends to agree with Red.
Lisa finally stands up to her mother, says she doesn’t want to go to boarding school, and runs crying out of her room. Mrs. Atwood goes to Pine Hollow to search for her, and finds Lisa jumping on Patch. She’s impressed by what a confident and capable rider Lisa has become. Lisa then apologises for running away, and asks not to go to Wentworth. Mrs. Atwood says that sending Lisa to boarding school wasn't supposed to be a punishment (sure, Jan) and that she and Lisa’s continuously absent father were only doing it because they were concerned about her priorities. Lisa states that she can’t bear to go to Wentworth and be away from her best friends, and can she please stay? Mrs. Atwood finally relents, on two conditions: that Lisa gets her grades up, and that she’ll be honest with her in the future about how she’s really feeling. Lisa says that she will as long as Mrs. Atwood promises to really listen, and they hug and make up. Awww. And then they never, ever had communication issues again! Because that's how difficult mother-daughter relationships work!
Since Red's a hater, Kristi ends up inviting Veronica to the Cram concert. Veronica tells Carole that she can start taking care of Cobalt again. Stevie and Lisa bargain on Carole’s behalf, and get Veronica to agree that Carole can spend time with Cobalt whenever she wants. It’s a happy ending for everyone — until Lisa discovers that Melanie’s been enrolled for lessons at Pine Hollow, too.
Overall, I didn't mind this episode. My only real critique is that Mrs. Atwood's sudden change of heart seems pretty out of character, given what a massive bitch she was in episode one. Also, given that Mrs. Atwood does tell Lisa she'd be coming home from Wentworth on weekends, the girls weeping like Lisa's being shipped off to never be seen again does seem a bit melodramatic. That said, when I was in grade three and found out my then-best friend was moving schools, I also began acting like she'd died, too. So it is a pretty accurate depiction of how pre-teen girls would behave in that situation.
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