A Stupid Idea?

This has to be the stupidest idea my mum has come up with, to date!

She thinks, as one day I will turn into the well rounded young lady she dreams of, it'd be useful if I had a few 'lady-like' skills under my belt - she's sending me riding!

The stable I'll be going to every Tuesday afternoon from now on (fat chance!) looks like a dump.  Except there's horses all over the place.

"Hello Miss Green, nice to see you.  You'll be riding Toby today."  The woman gave a huge fake smile and lead me to a big stone barn.  Inside it were about ten mangy hulking beasts, the sight of which forced my mother to omit a strangled squeak of protest (Her darling daughter, riding one of these great brutes?) and quickly retreat to the safety of the carpark.  I admit I felt the same way, though I didn't say (or squeak) about it, instead I accepted the rope the lady handed me - on the end of which was...

"Gosh, he's - he's quite pretty!"  I couldn't believe what I was saying!  Me, an absolute un-horseyish person, liked the look of this dappled grey pony of about 14 hands, with warm brown eyes and a soft pink muzzle and -  I definitely liked him!  The lady put on his saddle and his bridle and gave me a leg-up.  Toby nickered softly when I patted his neck and broke into a smooth walk when I nudged his sides.  I had to admit, it was heaven!  I felt completely in control and the lady told me exactly what to do.  In my first lesson, I learnt to keep my heels down, my toes in, my shoulders square and my back straight.  I even had a go at trotting! 

Afterwards I couldn't wait 'till next Tuesday!  I thanked the lady and Toby, and my mum who seemed to have decided riding might not be such a good idea, (I still insisted on going every week, though) and we drove home.  The next day I discovered the one-and-only downpoint to riding, my butt hurt like crazy!

                          By Zoë Chapman, Poringland Norwich.

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