LAST HURDLE

For horse fans- especially twelve or thirteen year old female ones- a ""perfect"" story about Kathy, her new life in the country and her new horse Baldy. Robust narration that gives a feeling of actual talk tells of Kathy's joustings with Fitzwater School's bully Hans Brister, her diligent care and training of Black Baldwin, and her fervent hopes that she can turn him from a sad looking animal into a regular show stopper. She does and in a burst of glory wins her ribbon at a local show. As stories go, Kathy's is not as whole or as real as Laurie's in Estelle Clapp's Laurie (reported in the 8-11 section) but for slightly older readers it caters to similar tastes.