The valley of the ponies

the long version

For an awful moment, Jennifer wondered whether she had made a mistake. She'd never taken care of a pony completely by herself, and here was Melissa, so much bigger than she had seemed back at the riding stable, acting tired and fussy after her long trip in the horse trailer, and depending on Jennifer to make her comfortable in the old cow barn. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to take the pony for the summer. But having a pony of her own, even a borrowed one, turns Jennifer's summer into a dream come true. Through long, bright days, she and the gentle Melissa explore the countryside and make friends with a herd of beautiful show ponies that run free in a fenced-in valley. The dream becomes a nightmare, however, when the ponies' lives are threatened and only Jennifer and Melissa can save them.