October Story Contest

Glad For Our Horses
By: OpalFire
Age: 10

The tall evergreen trees on the side of the trail blocked out most of the sunlight. Little puffs of dust were kicked up from the ground as our horses trotted along the trail.  Suddenly, Tiga, my friend Julia's horse, stopped dead. Tiga's ears were pinned back and the whites of his eyes showed. I halted Honeysuckle beside Julia and glanced at my friend. Her red hair spilled out from under her helmet, and her blue eyes were scared.
"What is it?" I called to her. "Do you know what's happening?"
And then both Julia and me heard it. The roar of a mountain lion reverberated through the earth, and I started to tremble. Honeysuckle, sensing my fear, tensed beneath me. Julia took deep, even breaths beside me. I clung on for dear life as both of our horses started to gallop in the direction of the lion!
"Ohnoohnoohonohno," gasped Julia. Tears glistened in her eyes. My nails dug into my palms as I clenched my hands into a fist. Julia bit her lip, and we held on as Tiga and Honeysuckle reared! 
Tiga then struck out at the lion's face with big teeth. So did Honeysuckle. The lion howled and scurried away. Julia and I started to cry happily!
"You were great, Tiga," congratulated Julia. She patted Tiga's neck.
"You saved us," I whispered to Honeysuckle. 
And we cantered out of the woods, glad to be alive. Glad for our horses.