Name: edHelper The Mystery of the Missing Riding Crop By Colleen Messina

Shamrock Stable's indoor arena was fairly quiet as Tiffany prepared to warm up her horse before a riding lesson. The indoor arena was empty except for Tiffany, Cisco, and two playful barn kittens rolling around in the dust. The shafts of golden afternoon sunlight would have been lovely, except that they were clouded by dust particles rising from the arena floor.

One kitten had long, fluffy fur and a white bib at her neck, which had inspired her name -- Tuxedo. The other, a shorthaired gray kitten, had a face that looked slightly smashed and wizened, almost like a little old man. He was called Yoda, and he was a clever little cat. The kittens ferociously chased a seemingly dangerous lead rope and attacked an apparently fearsome grooming brush. They acted as though they had each just lapped up an energy drink!

Tuxedo and Yoda tried to get too close to Cisco's hooves while Tiffany was saddling up. The normally gentle mare gingerly stomped to give them a warning. They soon learned their lesson. The frisky, friendly felines decided to occupy themselves by attacking the two slender black riding crops that were next to the grooming bag by the arena gate. Tiffany mounted Cisco to do some warm-up work.

Tiffany was an English rider, and gentle taps with those crops helped Cisco during lessons. The crops were an extension of Tiffany's body to show her horse where to move. The end result of an English rider correctly using the crops is that the horse is able to respond better to light leg pressure and is more in tune with its rider.

"Hey, Tif," called Annie. "How much warming up have you done?"

"I did some walking and trot work but no cantering yet," said Tiffany.

Annie was Tiffany's English riding teacher and had just arrived at the arena. On this cold November day, she wore a thick sheepskin coat as well as a colorfully striped wool cap and matching gloves. Winter came early to Montana, and the mountains were already sugar-dusted with snow. Cold blasts of wind whistled through the rafters. One end of the arena had a metal gate that led to a long corridor of the stable. On each side of the corridor, horses stood in stalls, listening to the blaring country music and nibbling on crispy piles of hay.

Annie set up four small orange cones around the arena. She explained that going around in a square was a good precision exercise. Tiffany and Cisco rode around the cones, and then they worked on some transitions. The most challenging one for them was going right from a walk to a canter. This move required concentration and a conscious connection between the rider and the horse. Tiffany tried this harder move several times before having success. Then she felt as though she was flying around the arena with a smooth, fluid motion as Cisco gracefully arched her neck and snorted.

"There!" said Annie as she began to clap. "That was perfect! Give her a good pat as a reward. Did you notice how that felt? Your muscle memory of that move will help you do it right away next time. Now let's get out your crops."

"They should be over there by the grooming bag," called Tiffany.

Annie looked over by the arena gate where Tiffany had placed her crops. There was only one there now.

"Did you forget one crop, Tif?" Annie asked as she looked along the arena wall for the second crop.

"No, I know I had two," said Tiffany.

Annie still could not find the second crop, so Tiffany had to finish her lesson using just one. Tiffany was not quite as focused for this part of the lesson. She had just bought that second crop with her own money, and she did not want to have to purchase another one! Name: edHelper

The rest of the lesson went well. Tiffany cooled down Cisco, whose thick, brown coat was now shiny with sweat. Tiffany walked her horse around the arena, all the while keeping her eye out for that second crop. She just knew she had brought it with her, but where had it gone?

Tiffany took Cisco back to her pen through the back door of the arena and then went back inside to pick up the rest of her gear. She put her saddle, girth, bridle, and crop back in the tack room. She picked up her grooming bag and then went out through the gate to the barn's corridor. Her mom always met her in front of the stable.

Tiffany's horse friends nickered and pushed their heads at her. She couldn't resist a tall stallion named Joker that always seemed to demand a nose scratch. Tiffany put down her bag and the rest of her gear so she could give Joker some proper attention.

Just then, Yoda skidded up to the bag and began to attack something along the wall. His paw seemed to get stuck on something, so Tiffany looked closer to investigate. What could this mischievous kitten have gotten into now?

Tiffany laughed out loud, and even Joker seemed curious. There on the end of Yoda's paw, attached to his sharp claws, was the end of Tiffany's other riding crop! The kitten must have dragged it out from the indoor arena and into the corridor while Tiffany was warming up with Cisco.

"I knew it!" said Tiffany as she unhooked the kitten from the crop. "Yoda, you are one sneaky kitty!"

The Mystery of the Missing Riding Crop Questions

1. Which of the following is a fact from this story? A. Tiffany has the most beautiful mare at the barn. B. Yoda is much more fun to play with than Tuxedo. C. Annie is a very good riding teacher. D. Tiffany's horse's name is Cisco. 2. The phrase "frisky, friendly feline" is an example of alliteration. A. true B. false 3. According to the story, what is the end result of a rider correctly using riding crops? A. The horse responds better to light leg pressure. B. The horse gets scared into good behavior. C. Kittens will get too close to the horse. D. none of the above 4. What is the setting of this story?

5. What kind of music was played in the barn? A. rock B. jazz C. country D. classical Name: edHelper 6. When did this story take place? A. September B. November C. October D. December 7. How many kittens were in the barn? A. one B. two C. four D. three 8. What was the name of the riding instructor in this story? A. Ann B. Adrianna C. Annie D. Anna

Holly is making up her own calendar. The first month of her weird calendar is called Daffy. To make matters worse, she is giving Daffy a total of forty-one days. What is the least number of Wednesdays that can occur during Daffy? Show the month of Daffy.

Write 4,154,055 in words.

Write an equation to represent this: Circle the digit in the hundredths place.

The difference between ten and seven is 346.49 three.

Circle the correctly spelled words. scratch, scware, scweeze, squirm