Come on home, please please please!

I stared at myself in the mirror as I hoisted the backpack onto my back. Heavier than usual, filled to the brim with any supplies I thought I might need. My pockets jingled slightly with the multiple bell ribbons I had with me, and I had a long loop of rope thumping against my leg. I took a deep breath. Ready. I left the tack room and headed straight for my wonderful gelding, Nico. He gave me a happy look and then shifted his weight, eager to set off as always. I'd never met a horse as energetic and reliable as Nico. I'd already tacked him up, and I could feel his impatience to get going. We had a mission today, and I knew that my best shot of succeeding was to take my boy. I untied him, and then hopped onto his back, settling into the comfortable saddle with practiced ease. Nico set off at a trot immediately, attentive ears listening out for my cues on where to head. A wild stallion had been spotted a few days ago, and I was desperate for a stallion to join my herd. So I was ready to spend the whole day scouring the valleys until I found him. I figured that Nico wouldn't be a threat or a temptation, being a gelding, and therefore we should be able to get pretty close before any of the ponies got alarmed. The morning sun was shining down on us as we headed out, into the first empty valley. At least, if nothing else, we'd have had a nice ride today. Nico deviated from the course slightly to hop over a fallen log - I'd never met a pony who loved jumping quite like he does. I chuckled and he nickered at the same time. Nico broke into a steady canter, a pace that i knew from experience that he could keep up for a while. The next valley was also empty save for a flock of ravens that burst into flight as we cantered past. It was hot out, and as we entered the next valley I slowed Nico and steered him over to the fresh stream running through it so he could have a drink. No point finding the stallion if my boy couldn't keep up with him. Nico shook his head and took off at a canter immediately, never happy to rest. I let him choose the path we took, figuring that whatever path appealed to him probably appealed to the wild herd too. We were cantering through a narrow crevice when Nico suddenly darted to the right, almost unseating me as I hadn't expected it. We crashed through some branches, and I began to pull on the reins, worried we were about to crash into a rock wall, when we came out the other side and I realised Nico had spotted something i hadn't, a narrow gap that we could just squeeze through, and in the field that opened up ahead of us, sure enough, stood the wild herd. I was still pulling back on the reins and Nico slid to a stop. The nearest mare looked over at us sleepily. I urged Nico into a gentle walk, and we made our way around the outside of the herd, scouring them for the chestnut stallion I'd heard about. As we continued walking, I spotted him - right on the edge of the herd, head up and alert as he watched for any threats. More alert than I'd expected, and as he half reared at a dragonfly that was surrounding him, I realised that my intial plan of dismounting and trying to walk up to the stallion just wasn't going to work. Okay, plan B. I patted Nico on the neck and murmured "are you ready for this?" Nico danced underneath me, and I could feel the sheer energy emanating from him. I had the lasso tied around my waist but that was plan C - I'd never been very good at throwing the lasso and didn't trust that I'd manage to get it round the stallions neck. Instead, I grabbed some of the be ribbons, each tied to a secure clip, and I clipped them to my neckline, ready and easy to grab, multiple incase I messed up the first time. I urged Nico into a gallop as we approached the stallion, and since we weren't relying on stealth, the stallion saw us coming and took off. That's okay, we'd prepared for this. We had practiced trick riding over and over until I knew we'd be able to pull this off. I leaned forwards over Nico's neck, and excruciating second by second Nico was catching up with the stallion. We were careful to stay out of range of his back legs, and Nico was stretched out as far as he could, his longer legs eating up the ground in a way the stallion just couldn't match. Nico let out a joyful neigh as we drew level, and I slid sideways in the saddle until I was hanging at a 90 degree angle, reaching out towards the stallion. Nearly.. nearly... yes!! I managed to grab a section of the stallions mane, and quickly clipped the bell ribbon onto it, eliciting a scream of disapproval from the stallion as he shook his head to try and remove the noisy bell. I gave Nico the signal and he veered away from the stallion as I swung myself back up into the saddle. The entire herd was clearing out of the valley now, which suited me down to the ground. Nico and I came to a halt, both panting heavily. I laughed and pulled an apple from my pack and handed it over to Nico. We did it. Our joy was infectious and the sun seemed to shine just for us as we headed back home.