Watch For The Storm

• Neve Johnson, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2014

All that was heard was the pounding of hooves. The sound rang in my ears over and over. My jodhpurs squeaking against my saddle, the beautiful horse underneath me moving so swiftly it was as if he was liquid. His breath came in short snorts from the effort he gave to the Wild Horse Round Up. The dust came up into my eyes but I didn’t care, I was doing my favourite thing on my favourite horse in my favourite place. The Wild West. The small herd was just metres in front of us. We were so close I could almost touch one of the mares. I didn’t want her though, I wanted the stallion. He was a gorgeous grey mustang with a long, black mane and a tail that flowed like a waterfall behind him. He had huge white hooves that were so big they were almost the size of my head. The sharp, white blaze down his face gave me a feeling of his strength; it was so defined it looked like it was drawn with a marker. “Come on, boy we can reach him.” I said to Jeopardy, the horse that thundered beneath me. “You can go faster! I’ve seen you!” Jeopardy put on a huge burst of speed and instantly we were level with the lead mare. We were so close I could hear the stallion’s hooves against the rocky soil. The stallion suddenly looked uneasy and seemed to break into a sweat. He let out a shrill neigh and then the lead mare took to the front. The herd then started following her. She took them down a canyon to the right. Did the stallion know I wanted him? He was just metres on front of us and my heart was thumping in my chest. While carefully steering Jeopardy, I readied my lasso. When we were level with his withers, I took a deep breath, shut my eyes and let my instincts take over. The lasso flew through the air and hooked one of his ears. “Drat.” I hissed under my breath. I immediately calmed myself again because any negative thoughts could lead to the lasso missing. I channelled my energy and spurred Jeopardy on that little bit more. Now all I had to do was get the loop around his neck. “You can do this,” I told myself. With a clear headspace I let the lasso fly. Watching closely, time seemed to slow down as the rope moved slowly through the air and landed around his head! Jeopardy knew what to do next and he slammed on the brakes to an immediate stop. I lurched forward and the wild horse went backwards. Jeopardy was sweating heavily and breathing fast and the grey stallion was just the same. He was a fighter and he pulled and strained against the rope. Quickly, I tied the end of the rope to the horn of my saddle. It was long and bumpy ride home.
He will be a troublemaker, I would realise, I was the only one that will be able to break his storm. He would become my Storm.