On her first day at Pine Hollow Stables, Lisa Atwood befriends snobby Veronica diAngelo. Stevie Lake thinks Lisa, in her expensive new riding clothes, is just another spoiled little rich girl. Carole Hanson has to agree. Then Lisa's cell phone rings in the middle of a lesson and spooks Stevie's horse. Stevie is furious – Lisa is not only stuck up, she's reckless!

While exercising racehorses as a part-time job, Carole discovers that her favorite horse, Prancer, has an injury that will prevent her from ever racing again. Prancer's owner, David McLeaod, plans to get rid of the useless horse. Meanwhile, Stevie takes on a variety of extra jobs from Veronica to earn the money to go on the upcoming mountain trail overnight trip.

Max takes Stevie, Carole, Lisa, Veronica, Kristi, Sam and Megan on the mountain trail overnight trip. On the trail, they meet Phil Marsten whose parents own the property on which they ride. Veronica develops a crush on Phil and doesn’t like the attention he pays to Stevie. Stevie could care less – she can't stand Phil. Veronica and Kristi devise a plan to get Phil to notice Veronica.

As daylight fades, Cobalt returns to camp with an empty saddle and everyone realizes Veronica is missing! Max tells everyone to stay at camp while he goes off to look for her. Worried, the Saddle Club girls and Phil set off on their own search for Veronica. Stevie and Phil seem to bring out the competitive spirit in each other.

When Lisa's fear of cantering starts to get in the way of her riding, Stevie and Carole make a vow – they'll teach her to ride or die trying! But Lisa is so nervous that nothing that Stevie and Carole try seems to work. However, during a freak thunderstorm, Carole and Stevie fall in over a cliff side and are left hanging. Lisa must get on Patch and canter in order to save her friends.

Phil Marsten and his Pony Club come to Pine Hollow to participate in a mystery weekend to raise funds for the local pony clubs. Teams of riders must find a series of clues and solve the mystery of the missing pony, Nickel. The first team to solve the mystery wins a much-coveted prize – the saddle used by star equestrian rider, Ian Gardiner, in the Olympic jump-off.

When Prancer nearly causes a junior rider to have an accident, Max decides the horse must go. It's clear to him that Prancer will never make a good school horse and she's a danger to his students. Carole, determined to keep Prancer at Pine Hollow, enlists the aid of Lisa and Stevie to re-train the spirited mare.

Teenage heart-throb, Skye Ransom, comes to Pine Hollow to shoot a movie. Lisa is jealous when her younger sister, Melanie, lands a small role in the film. Skye's agent lied to the producers when he told them Skye knew how to ride a horse. Carole, Lisa and Stevie have to help Skye learn to ride before he loses his part in the movie. Skye takes a special interest in Lisa.

Just as Lisa's finally starting to feel at home at Pine Hollow, her mother, Eleanor, makes an announcement. She's enrolled Lisa in an elite boarding school. Lisa is horrified. Wentworth Academy is miles away, which means she won't be able to ride at Pine Hollow…and she won't be able to hang out with Stevie and Carole, either.

Carole has always wanted to be a veterinarian, and is elated at the opportunity to spend a week with the vet, Judy Barker, even though it takes time away from her riding. Carole's father, Colonel Hanson, tells Carole that her late mother, who was also a vet, would have been very proud of her. How can Carole tell her father that she hates working for Judy?

Following Cobalt's memorial service, Carole hides in the comfort of her bedroom, removing anything horsy that might remind her of the beautiful stallion, Cobalt. Lisa and Stevie are unable to convince Carole to return to Pine Hollow, not even to visit Starlight, and are shocked when Carole informs them that she's selling the treasured gelding.

Forced to ride a school horse, Veronica wants to ride Prancer, but this is Lisa's current lesson horse and he's not available. During lessons, Lisa has trouble riding Prancer, he's acting strange, but Veronica seems to have no problem with him. Veronica and Kristi are gaga about Jake, Red's band mate. Phil asks Jake for advice on getting Stevie's attention.

The girls become involved in Max's blossoming relationship with Deborah.

The Saddle Club girls find a boy, Liam, hiding in the hayloft. He claims to be there to buy a horse and tells the girls other tall takes of his experience with horses. Turns out he's Red's cousin. Phil thinks Liam is a liar and sets out to prove it although the girls think Phil’s just jealous. Phil catches Liam in Max's office, which is out of bounds. Liam breaks a trophy and blames Phil.

Delilah is ready to give birth any day, but much to Carole's dismay, Lisa and Stevie both seem preoccupied with other things. Lisa lands the lead role n the school play and her rehearsals keep her away from Pine Hollow. Stevie's hip, urban cousin, Morgan, comes to visit. Morgan always loved horses, but now she is different – only interested in clothes and boys and her sweet sixteen birthday party.

The Saddle Club girls confront Veronica about her neglect of Garnet and Veronica says they're just jealous that she's invited to Phil’s family party and they aren't. The girls devise a plan to get back at Veronica and Phil helps them out. While at Phil's house, Phil's mother invites the girls to the party, but Phil uninvites them.

The girls are quickly caught up in the cowboy way – learning team penning, cutting, barrel racing, etc. Lisa finds herself falling for John Brightstar, the cute son of the head wrangler. Unfortunately, so does Kristi. John tells the girls about the legend of the phantom horse – a lonely horse roaming the countryside mourning the loss of its rider.

Stevie tracks down a legendary 'phantom horse' that has been roaming the countryside. She rescues the neglected mare, names her Belle and is going to keep her.

Back at Pine Hollow, Lisa is pining for John Brightstar when he suddenly appears – he talked his dad into letting him spend a week at Pine Hollow! Lisa is excited until she discovers that John isn't quite as interesting as she thought. Away from Bar None, he's relatively…boring.

Carole is used to being the best junior rider at Pine Hollow, but then Andrea Barry shows up – she's younger and better – and she has an amazing horse of her own. The competition between Carole and Andrea comes to a head at the prestigious Briarwood Horse Show and Carole must realize that winning isn't everything. Stevie is determined to prove to everyone that she can be responsible.

Stevie tries to use Belle in her lesson, but Belle's not ready. Carole is angry with Veronica about her neglect of Garnet. Carole overhears that Max has something wrong with his heart and tells everyone. Carole and Veronica get into a high stakes bet where the loser has to leave Pine Hollow. Carole has to not talk to Lisa and Stevie and Veronica has to take care of Garnet.

The girls discover Red's outstanding horsemanship skills – they always knew he could handle a horse, but they didn't know he was such a skilled rider. Why didn't he tell them he could ride like that? Stevie feels badly about neglecting Comanche since she acquired her new horse, Belle. It would be great if Red started riding Comanche!

Deborah asks the Saddle club to teach her how to ride. Lisa is stuck with Veronica as a houseguest. Max wants to propose to Deborah, but Deborah is dodging Max so he won't know she's taking lessons. Veronica takes over Lisa's room and tells her she's boring. Max thinks it’s the wrong time to propose. Veronica reads Carole and Stevie the unflattering things that Lisa wrote about them in her diary.

Stevie wreaks havoc on Pine Hollow with her practical jokes as everyone prepares fro Pine Hollow's 100-year anniversary party. Ghost stories abound including the story of a headless horseman. Alone in the barn Stevie sees a headless ghost and can't confirm that it’s a practical joke. Later, Lisa and Carole are with her and see the ghost too. Stevie is freaked out.