Ocarina of Time: How to obtain Epona

Table of Contents

Is Epona Required?

Epona is not strictly necessary in order to complete the game. However, she does come with a few fun perks, especially if you’re wanting to finish the game 100%.

Later on in the game, you’ll be able to ride her as an alternate means to cross Gerudo Valley.
Epona unlocks an obstacle course at Lon Lon Ranch after you obtain her. If you return to the ranch, Malon will challenge you to an obstacle course around the field. Beat her score of 50 seconds and you’ll win a prize.
You will be able to play the Horseback Archery Range mini-game.
You need to rescue Epona in order to encounter the Big Poes.
Completing the Trading Quest for obtaining the Biggoron Sword is significantly easier with Epona.

How to obtain Epona

You can find Epona at Lon Lon Ranch shortly after waking up Talon, the owner of the ranch, outside of Hyrule Caste. The ranch situated near the center of Hyrule Field, making it an easy place to travel to from most areas of the game.

There are several steps that you need to follow to obtain Epona. Follow them in order to acquire Link’s trusty steed.

1. Learn Epona’s Song

You learn “Epona’s Song” from Malon. You can find her in the middle of the ranch’s field, singing to the horses. Take out Saria’s Ocarina in front of her to prompt her to teach you how to play the song. Once you have successfully learned the song, a young Epona will react to the melody favorably. There’s nothing more you can do for this quest until you can become Adult Link.

2. Collect at least 70 Rupees

Steps 4 and 5 require rupees to complete, and you might need more than that if you fail to complete Step 5 on the first try. We suggest bringing at least 99 rupees (the maximum quantity the Wallet can hold) with you before returning to the ranch. Of course, you can bring more rupees if you have received any of the larger wallets due to collecting Gold Skulltulas.

3. Travel to Lon Lon Ranch as Adult Link

Once you can play as Adult Link, return to Lon Lon Ranch during the daytime. If you head into the door on the right as you enter, you’ll find Malon cowering in the stables. She will tell you that upon his return to Hyrule, Ganondorf appointed the old stable hand, Ingo, the new owner of Lon Lon Ranch. Ingo then fired Talon, Malon’s father and the old owner of the Ranch.

4. Pay to Ride The Horses

After speaking to Malon, go back outside and return to the horse corral in the middle of the ranch’s field. Here you will find Ingo standing outside of the gates. When you talk to him, he will gloat that Ganondorf has given him ownership of the ranch and he eventually offers you a ride around the corral for 10 rupees.

When you accept it and find yourself inside the corral, don’t accept the horse that Ingo gives you to ride. Instead, take out your ocarina and play “Epona’s Song.” When the camera pans out, you will see Epona racing over to you. When she reaches you, jump up onto her saddle and a mini-game will start. In this game, you must steer Epona around the corral and jump over the fences. For each fence you jump over you get 5 rupees, 20 rupees in total. When the mini-game is over, Ingo calls you back to the front of the corral.

5. Beat Ingo in a race

When he offers you the chance to play again, take him up on it. Play “Epona’s Song” once more, and when you’ve mounted her, approach Ingo instead of playing. He will comment that you’re getting better and asks if you’d like to race against him with a bet of 50 rupees.

This is the key to obtaining Epona. Agree to the race with Ingo, and the game will shift to a race outside of the corral. The goal is to be the first person to make a full lap around the corral’s fence. Unsurprisingly, Ingo cheats immediately by starting the race a second before you.

The tip to winning the race against Ingo is to stay on Ingo’s right, next to the fencing. Ingo has a tendency to go too wide as his horse gallops ahead of you, but don’t fret, as this maneuver will be his undoing.

There are two methods you can use here:

Stay on Ingo’s right side and save your carrots until the end of the race to zip past Ingo at the very last moment and over the finish line.
Start using your carrots right away, but don’t use them all at once. Doing so will make it take longer for them to replenish, which will put you at a disadvantage. Once you get ahead of Ingo, sacrifice your speed and use Epona to block his attempts to get ahead of you. When you approach the finish line, use all of your remaining carrots to boost yourself forward.

After you win the race, Ingo will have a tantrum, unable to comprehend that he lost the race. When talking to him again, he will ask if you want to have another race. This time he offers up Epona as a bargaining chip.

Accept his terms and the race will start immediately. This race is a bit more difficult than the first one. Ingo will now actively block you, and it’s almost impossible to get ahead of him unless you’re turning a corner.

Use a similar strategy to the last race to win.

stay on Ingo’s right, and when the fence begins to bend at the corner, Ingo won’t have enough room to block you.
Take this opportunity to use a few carrots to take the lead.
When you get ahead of him, simply block him from overtaking you much like the previous race.

6. Escape from Lon Lon Ranch

This time, when you cross the finish line, Ingo will have a full-on breakdown once he realizes that the horse you’re riding is Epona, stating that he was planning on training her and giving her to Ganondorf to gain favor with him. He eventually calms down and tells you that you can keep Epona, but you will never leave Lon Lon Ranch. He then closes the gates, trapping you inside.

The ranch is very easy to escape from. Simply turn Epona around and you will see that the only thing separating you from Hyrule is a low wall on the back left of the field. Build up speed by galloping toward it, then jump over it. You’ll then be treated to a cutscene of your escape as your new steed canters down the path away from Lon Lon Ranch.