“You’re not going to win this one!”

That was Ross Legalloudec’s familiar battle cry with Ed, the adorable Welsh pony with whom he starred in the YouTube hit “Ed Being Very Naughty.”

The video, which has garnered more than 1.5 million views to date, showcases a 6-year-old Ross getting dumped again and again, but as he said, he “Always got back on.” Ross’ family initially purchased Ed as just a lead-line mount, so the young rider didn’t get a taste of his clever tricks until later, when the tiny gelding got a taste of freedom.

Ross’ grandmother, Mandy, regularly videoed the pair together, so she captured not only the thrills and spills, but the touching moments as well—Ross singing to his pony from the saddle, regaling him with stories as he groomed him or simply loving on Ed hours after their ride concluded.

As ornery as Ed was, Ross, now 10 (who also appears in many YouTube videos of Ed being sweet, as well as clips on his newer ponies, Pip and Mopsy Jo), confessed that the feisty gray mount taught him a lot of valuable lessons that he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I loved him a lot,” said Ross, who recalls his first hack out into the mountains near their home in rural Wales as his favorite memory with Ed. “I always gave him a lot of kisses.”

Today, Ross says Mopsy Jo is already proving to be an easygoing and talented pony, but after learning the ropes on little Ed (who’s enjoying his retirement with another family, who received the friendly warning not to let him off the lead-line), Ross should be able to pilot any kind of mount from here on out!