There once was a girl named Cali; she lived in the desert of Nevada. Her horse, Whirlwind, was her best friend. Whirlwind’s paint coat looked stunning against Cali’s blond hair. The flat land let the pair gallop to their heart's content. Whirlwind knew the land well, after all he was born there. His dam was a paint mare in a wild herd in the canyons. When he was old enough, he left the herd for a bachelor band of stallions. The Bureau of Land Management caught him alone after he failed to steal a band of mares. Whirlwind loved to make his owner happy, but he also wanted to be free. All his life he wanted to be a herd leader. Although he was the leader of the ranch horses, he longed to be on the range.

Cali loved Whirlwind with all her heart! The day she met him was the best of her life. She went to look at the mustangs from the range that were adoptable. There were all ages and coat colors; Cali liked all of them. She just couldn’t find the horse for her, but when she saw Whirlwind, she knew he was the one. Whirlwind was scared and begging to go back to the range. Her parents weren’t happy that their daughter wanted a wild and untrained mustang. They couldn’t say no. They saw that they wouldn’t be able to separate the two. Without any worry in her head Cali swung over the top of the fence holding the mustang. The horse didn’t trust other humans, but he had a feeling about this girl that came to him with no fear. Ever since, Cali had loved the feeling of Whirlwind breathing on her. It was love, and they all knew it.

Over the next couple of days the family worked hard to adopt Whirlwind. While her parents were filling out paperwork and making arrangements for Whirlwind to come to the ranch, Cali climbed into the corral to be with him. Their connection grew stronger, but Whirlwind still dreamed of the canyons he used to roam. He missed the rivers and tall, red canyon walls he used to run by. All of the people who worked with Whirlwind warned the family of the dangers that they had handling him. Many of these dangers disappeared once Cali was with him. When Whirlwind was unloaded from the traile,r he was surprised to see how close this was to his old herd’s land. Whirlwind soon was the leader of the horses on the ranch. Every day he spent time with his new family. His bonds grew stronger, and Cali worked with him a ton. 

Despite their bond, Whirlwind was scared of the thing everyone called a saddle. Cali and Whirlwind built trust and soon were able to walk with the halter on. In the middle of the night Cali would come out and sit with him until they were both exhausted. After a lot of midnight visits, Whirlwind didn’t think twice about Cali opening the gate. Cali didn’t tell anyone about her nightly visits to the pasture. She knew her parents would just scold her about how dangerous it was at night, and how she could get attacked by countless animals. One night Cali grabbed Whirlwind's halter and lead rope hoping to go for a walk before sitting with him. The mustang willingly let her come in and put the halter on. She walked back to the pasture. They were almost to the gate when a coyote yipped in the distance. Cali wasn’t expecting Whirlwind to whip his head around and neigh a warning to the herd. He didn’t try to get free; he stayed to protect his new herd.

After she got back in the house, Cali looked outside to see that Whirlwind was sleeping with the other horses. Cali slept with that picture in her head.

Life was perfect for Cali. It had been almost a year since her family adopted Whirlwind. With a lot of hard work, trust, and dedication Whirlwind was able to have the saddle put on him and even have a little weight put on him. Cali longed to be able to ride him. After the first time in the saddle, the two had an even stronger bond. All of those midnight walks paid off but when Cali rode him close to his old home, Whirlwind felt pulled in two different directions.

One morning, Cali and Whirlwind were riding when they saw a herd of mustangs nearby.

“Look Whirlwind!”

Suddenly he took off! The thunder of hooves drummed in Cali’s ears. There were bays, sorrels, roans, and there was one horse that looked exactly like Whirlwind on the opposite side of the herd. She realized that they were running with the herd Whirlwind grew up with. Cali had no control over the determined mustang.

When Whirlwind tried to find his Mother, the stallion confronted him.  Frightened, Whirlwind turned out of the herd and galloped back to the ranch. When they got back, Cali rubbed Whirlwind down and felt an ache in her gut.

Since the day Whirlwind cantered into her heart, life was perfect for Cali. But now, she knew Whirlwind wasn’t as happy as he could be. Cali saw the longing Whirlwind had for the wild. She knew what she had to do.

On an early fall day Cali took Whirlwind to the same place they saw the wild horses. She took off his tack and hugged him for a long time. Then she told him to go. When he did, Whirlwind was home again. 

Even though Whirlwind was in the wild, he would go out of his way to say a distant hello to Cali. Nickering from miles away every once in a while, was enough to satisfy the both of them. Thanks to the love and hope Cali gave Whirlwind, his decision was easy. And so, he stayed wild and happy forever.