NLMR 2008

Illustrations: Greg Garand
©Nancy Russell, 1998 Text and illustration used with the permission of Red Cliff Publishing.
No part of the work may be reproduced in any way without prior written permission from the publisher.

Excerpt from One Magical Summer

Jodi-Lynn’s heart was pounding away as she felt Island Magic’s powerful muscles starting to work
harder. It was all she could do to hang on, as she bumped up and down on the hard seat of her father’s
bike. She was terrified and exhilarated at the same time. She wished her father could see her, but at
the same time she knew he would be furious with her.

Jodi-Lynn jogged Island Magic four times around the track, the way her father did. Then, on the far
corner, she carefully pulled in the reins and slowly guided the horse around to face in the other
direction.

Jodi-Lynn took a deep breath as she slapped Island Magic with the reins and they headed towards the
starting line, just as she would in a race.

Jodi-Lynn knew that her father jogged Island Magic first to get her warmed up. When they were
jogging, the drivers always went in the opposite direction around the track from a real race. When
they trained a horse, they went in the same direction as a race. Training also meant going much
faster than jogging.

Jodi-Lynn held on tight as Island Magic picked up speed. The railing went whizzing by. Her bones
rattled with every step Island Magic took, and the bike seemed to shake. The horse was starting to
pant heavily and her mouth was coated with frothing saliva.

Jodi-Lynn could hardly breathe as they passed the first turn around the track. Though she was
shaking, she thought to herself: so far, so good. She gripped the reins even tighter as they thundered
towards the second turn.

As they moved towards the railing, Jodi-Lynn lifted her eyes momentarily to see if Monica was still
watching. She gasped as she saw the figure of Gordon MacKinnon standing next to her friend. A
crowd was starting to gather at the fence as word spread around the track that Jodi-Lynn MacKinnon
was out training Island Magic.

As if through a haze, Jodi-Lynn saw the row of faces lined up along the railing. "There’s Kenny," she
thought to herself and wanted to laugh, but a sudden pull from Island Magic brought her back to
reality.

Her arms were starting to ache and her gloves were fraying from holding tight to the reins. And still
the horse was accelerating as they came around the track for the second and final time.

Jodi-Lynn and Island Magic pounded towards the final turn. As they moved past the railing for the
last time, Jodi-Lynn noticed that her father was trying to yell something to her.

"If I can just hold on...," she muttered to herself. "C’mon Magic, we can do it, girl," she whispered.

Jodi-Lynn heaved a sigh of relief as she and Island Magic crossed the finish line. The horse
instinctively knew the race was over and started to slow down.

Jodi-Lynn was about to turn the horse back to the stables when she suddenly felt herself losing
control. She screamed as the bike split away from the horse and a wheel spun off towards the
centrefield.

The last thing she remembered was hitting the ground and then everything went black.

How to Order: One Magical Summer

Send an e-mail to Red Cliff Publishing or write to:
P.O. Box 22057
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 9J2

Cost is $7.95 plus taxes and shipping