COUPLES — Gayle Farmer

COUPLES!It's one thing after another as the Doubletree team prepares for their year end Championship show. Bad girl Emily Goss has a crush on Steve Bianchi, which doesn't sit well with his girlfriend, Becky Edwards, or the rest of the Doubletree riding team. Known throughout the horse community for her cruelty to her horses and bad sportsmanship, the kids reject her efforts at friendship. Jealous and angry, Emily decides to exact revenge by causing Becky to lose her big class. When the kids figure out how Emily spooked Becky's horse, Jessi Evans returns the trick, causing Emily to slide off her horse. The battle escalates. Stress runs high, between the horse show and midterm exams, and when Billy Martin suggests they cruise to Hawaii for Christmas break on his mother's yacht, the team jumps at the chance. As they board, Melanie Young heads for the bathroom and her friend, Blair Evans, accompanies her. In the interim, pirates swarm from below decks and hijack the Sea Nymph   ALL IN THE GAME Handsome Steve Bianchi sets Becky Edwards' heart aflutter when he buys Billy Martin's horse Magic and begins training at the Doubletree. The two become fast friends, spending every spare minute together. Both teens are lonely and slowly their reluctant hearts reach out to each other. Steve learns he can trust Becky with anything and begins to share his innermost feelings, including the fact that his mother is a violent alcoholic with bipolar disease. When Steve's parents start divorce proceedings, his mother moves out of the house and Steve begins to realize what living a normal life is like. In her absence, everything changes and he invites the team to his house to celebrate the first birthday party he's ever had. Off the wagon and violent, his mother shows up in the middle of the party and chaos reigns.