Katie's Midnight Ride

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Eleven-year-old Katie Mavrinac is not a happy cowgirl. For months she
and her hand-me-down horse, Fudge, have been practising to compete in
the upcoming Heritage Day Jamboree rodeo. More than anything else in the
world, Katie wants to win the girls’ barrel-racing event, not just for
its beautiful handmade western saddle first prize, but to prove to
everyone that she is as good as her older brother John, who is a
defending Jamboree champion. But John’s new horse is injured and he
needs his old horse Fudge back to defend his title. Not only is Katie
out of the rodeo, but she’s just learned that she’s now going be
riding a vacuum cleaner all summer; to help pay off a family debt, her
parents have volunteered Katie to clean house for Mr. Foster, their
crabby old neighbor.

This story is about what it is like to be a young girl in a place where
gender roles are still defined by traditional stereotypes. All of the
characters are superbly drawn—even the horses have different
personalities. The author knows her subject intimately, capturing the
day-to-day grind of living on a working ranch and counterpointing it
with the thrill of competing in a small-town rodeo. The plot twists and
turns but never loses momentum. Highly recommended.