My fascination for horses and my first riding lesson

As long as I can remember I am fond of horses. Since childhood I am fascinated by these majestic animals. Like all little girls I wanted to have everything that had to do with horses, and people didn't do me a better favour than sending horse postcards. I had books, magazines, and even a cap. Not that I ever got to ride a horse properly, but it was great to have. The closest I got to riding were the occasional rides at funfairs and even a pony camp with school. That last thing was not really a succes as I thought a horse was very big and I couldn't move it at all. So these 3 days I could be found at the stables to cuddle with the horses and clean them. A few years ago I was sort of bitten by the gambling bug. I saw horse races on the internet and even met fellow horse and gamble fan Nathaniel Parker. My favorite actor gave me an advice that I still take very well. Never gamble more than you can afford, is what he told me, and I am still thankfull for that advice. At the time I had to gamble with the help of a friend in the UK as I couldn't open an account with a betting service, and once I did, I found out that I could only pay with creditcards. I am not fond of these things, so I don't have one. But my lucky day came earlier this year when I found out that William Hill accepted some ways of payment I can use from here. Since then I place a bet from time to time. I loose more than I win, but for me it is just fun and nothing else. I know my knowledge is not good enough to make big money out of it. Who knows when that day will come.



As I mentioned earlier in this blog, I never took horseriding lessons. I never asked for them, as I knew it was an expencive hobby. I always got what I wanted and both my parents always worked hard to give me and my sister all we wanted. In October last year I gave it another thought, and I decided to look around for a nice riding school in the area. I found 3. One was a bit to far away. I don't drive a car, and I didn't see myself in the middle of the winter on my bike in the middle of nowhere, so no to that riding school. The second one was a no either, as I needed to have my own horse. The third is not far from where I live and the prices are reasonable, so I checked their site. I liked what I saw, but the mention of being on a waiting list for 6-12 months gave me second thoughts. But after a good night sleep I decided to write them anyway. And to my surprise, halfway November I got a phonecall. I could take a trial lesson to see if it was anything for me. I was thrilled to pieces and on the set date I was at the riding school. I had to fill in some forms and then I had to wait untill it was time to start. From the canteen I had a close look on another lesson and when the horses passed the windows I got a bit scared. They were huge in my opinion, but (as we say here in The Netherlands) if you say A, you got to say B aswell. Ofcourse I had no riding gear, so I wore a legging and my cowboyboots. I could borrow a cap from the riding school and I was hardly ready when the lady instructor came to pick me up for my first lesson. My knees were trambling and I was scared and excited at the same time. I was introduced to Luna, a big pony that carried me that first lesson. Don't ask me how, but I was able to get on her back and learned how to handle the reigns. I was able to get the horse into a walking tred and off I went. I couldn't stop smiling as I was finally making a dream come true. After a while the instructor thought it was time to show me how to trot. I got the hang of it pretty quickly, that is to say, I was able to stay on the horse. But soon enough I could make the horse trot and walk without her help. It was a victory for me as I was scared on the ponycamp when a horse took off in a trot. Now I sat on the horse and had the time of my life. The hour passed to quick, and my instructor told me I did very well for a starter. It was the last lesson of the day, so I got to take Luna back to her stable and unsadle her. My instructor told me at the start of the lesson that people (after taking a few lessons) always think they take this up years to late. I already thought that way halfway my first lesson. I was hooked and after my second trial lesson on Mondriaan (who is huge, but so sweet), I decided to become a member of the riding school. I ride for 6 months now and it is more fun than I had ever imagined. The day after my first lesson I had to go to work and it was hard, as I felt muscles I never knew excisted. Especially my groin hurted like it never had before. But I didn't care, as I had the time of my life on Luna's back. I still ride and learn a lot.