Winter of Sinking Waters — Angela Dorsey

Evy is elated. She gets an entire weekend hanging out with her best friends, both horse and human, with no adults around. All they have to do is take care of the cattle - and eat tons of cake and go for rides and basically do anything they feel like doing. What can be better? Maybe if that big grizzly bear didn't decide a cow would make a nice dinner... And if the cattle didn't stampede... And if the only escape from the bear wasn't across the ice covered lake...