Davy yawned as he tried to focus his sleep-filled eyes on the blurred newspaper. Today was a new day, and he was trying to remain hopeful about everything.

Upon hearing some rustling upstairs, he glanced towards the bedroom up there. Micky had emerged, obviously trying to remain quiet. Mike was still asleep.

"Morning, Mick," Davy greeted happily.

"Hey, Dave," Micky replied, searching the kitchen for something to eat. "What are you doing up so early?"

"What do you mean? You're up, too, aren't you?" Davy questioned.

"Yes, but I was hungry," Micky told him, still looking around. "I'm going back to bed when I'm finished."

"But it's seven o'clock!" Davy exclaimed, but then began to laugh at Micky's shocked expression.

"Like I said, what are you doing up so early?" Micky asked once again. Davy simply shook his head and continued to laugh at his friend. Micky opened the refrigerator, grabbed a banana, then started back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Davy asked curiously.

"I told you," Micky reminded him. "Back to bed."

Davy chuckled and went back to reading the paper. As another yawn escaped, he decided to try and cook breakfast for Mike and Peter. Micky wouldn't be down again for a while. He had no interest in the paper, anyway. He had searched for jobs requiring musicians, but there were none available at the moment. One particular ad about learning to ride had caught his eye, but he had quickly dismissed the idea. They didn't have the extra money for lessons.

As Davy began putting ingredients into a bowl, he once again heard the upstairs bedroom door open and shut. "Hungry again, Micky?" he teased, without even looking up.

"I hope not," came the reply. But it wasn't Micky.

"Sorry, Mike," Davy apologized. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"I was," Mike said, sounding a bit annoyed. He sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. "But Micky's eating woke me up."

"Oh, well," Davy tried to comfort him. "It's morning, so you would have been getting up soon, anyway." One stern look from Mike, and Davy immediately grew quiet. Alright, so Mike wasn't in too good of a mood.

"What are you making?" Mike couldn't help but be curious, as Davy hardly ever cooked anything.

"Pancakes," Davy smiled proudly.

"Ah..." Mike nodded, he actually felt like he had wanted some, anyway. "So, I was thinking, why don't we all go to the stables today, and we can help you with your riding."

"Sure, thanks, Mike," Davy accepted his offer. "But we might have to wait a while; I don't think Micky will be getting up again anytime soon."

"Oh, really?" Suddenly a playful expression grew on Mike's face. "I think it might be sooner than he thinks." Getting up, he began climbing up the stairs. "Wake me up, will he..."

"Wake who up," Peter's sleepy voice emerged from the downstairs bedroom.

"Micky woke up Mike earlier, and now Mike's getting his revenge," Davy explained it all to him.

"Oh..." Peter suddenly understood.

Just then they both heard a loud yell from Mike, and then a loud thump on the floor. Peter and Davy couldn't help but laugh as they envisioned what had happened. The thought of Mike sneaking up on a sleeping Micky. Mike yelling, trying to scare Micky. And then the thump...Micky must have fallen out of bed.

"It wasn't funny," they heard Micky tell Mike, just as the two emerged from the room. Peter and Davy tried not to laugh in front of Micky, but quickly failed.

"I'm sorry, Mick, but it was funny..." Davy tried to apologize.

"Hmph," Micky grumbled as he sat down at the table.

The pancakes, however, seemed to calm him down. Once they were all finished eating, Mike told them his plans, and Micky and Peter both agreed.

**********

Davy's horse raced out of the stable. To him, it felt so good to be riding again. The other Monkees would occasionally race him, and he always won. It wasn't so much training, but they were all having a good time.

After a few hours, Davy was feeling much more confident. "You know, guys, I think I can do this."

"That's great, Davy!" Mike complimented.

"Yeah, I don't see why you were worried in the first place," Micky agreed. "You really are good at this."

"I think so, too," Peter offered his thoughts, as well. "I'm sorry I got you into this, though."

"Don't worry about it, Peter," Davy assured him. "It's okay...I'm glad to be riding again, anyway." Davy blushed at their compliments. "Thanks, guys." He really did appreciate all their encouragement.

Another horse rushed past them quickly, kicking up dust in their faces. "Hey!" they all protested. "What was that for?" Peter added.

The rider turned around. They thought he would apologize, but they had no such luck.

"Practicing, eh?" Bob sneered. "Well, I was watching you...you sure do need the practice if you're going to beat me."

"You must not have been paying close attention then," Micky shot back. "He was doing pretty good."

"Oh yeah?" Bob asked thoughtfully. "Why don't we have a test then?" He pointed to a small fence, "I'll race you there and back."

"No, I don't think so..." Davy said slowly.

"Come on, Jones..." Bob urged. "Don't you want to know if you can really beat me?"

Davy didn't want to, but he also felt as if he had to. Bob wouldn't leave them alone until he agreed, "I suppose."

"Good," Bob nodded. "Let's go...."

Micky, Mike and Peter watched helplessly as Davy was forced to race. Mike yelled go, and the three of them watched as both horses took off. Bob pulled ahead right away. He reached the gate and turned around. Shortly after, Davy did the same. When Bob arrived back where they had started, Davy was only halfway between there and the fence. He had now slowed down, seeing Bob had already won.

They had figured he would. After all, Bob was more experienced. Davy was out today for fun, and yes, he was doing well. But he wasn't ready for a race yet. They hoped Davy wasn't too upset.

"You didn't have to do that," Micky said angrily. Instead of answering, Bob laughed and took off again, leaving everyone to try and comfort Davy.

When Davy finally arrived back, he didn't say anything about the race. "Can we go home now?"

"Sure..." Mike agreed. They all knew Davy was feeling down, again. Hopefully, he hadn't lost the confidence which he had just gained. But it was more than likely he had...

**********

It was quiet at the pad. Seeing Bob was upsetting to everyone, and they weren't in the mood for goofing around. Davy couldn't really quit now, his pride was too much at stake. Sighing, Mike picked up the newspaper which Davy had, earlier that morning, left on the table. Perhaps there was a good movie playing.

Flipping through to find the theater listing, one thing caught his eye. An ad for a ranch, where you could go for a while and improve your riding skills.

He wished they had the money to send Davy. Sure, it would be sad for him to go away for a couple of weeks, but he was willing to do it if Davy would be happy; if Davy could feel good about himself racing. But he guessed the price would be way too high. Though no price was listed. He thought about calling for information. Should he?

Slowly, he picked up the phone, and - satisfying his own curiosity - began dialing the number listed.