The BBC reports that an 18-year-old Welsh cob pony, “Basil,” recently escaped from his new home and “hot hoofed three miles in the dark” back to the farm where he had lived previously.

The clever pony slid open his paddock door latch and jumped over a fence before traversing 14 different roads to arrive at his owners’ farm in Cilybebyll, near Pontardawe, in the southeastern United Kingdom. Farm owner Lyn Evans was boarding Basil at a stable in Rhos so that his daughter could school over jumps in an arena there. Evans said he took Emily out to see her pony every evening after school. The pony had been living at the stable for about two weeks.

Evans told the BBC, “He had to pass 14 different roads on the journey home. Then he walked down on to the A474, which is a busy road, turned left and crossed the carriageway. He would have had to ignore numerous turn-offs, choose the right direction at a crossroads and then make it back to the farm.”

He said Emily was both surprised and relieved when she saw Basil, and that the family was grateful that the pony was uninjured. The pony will be returned soon to the stables in Rhos, at which time a “more substantial lock” will be placed on his stable door