Have you ever been on a horse? Do you love horse-riding? Let us know your stories… Meantime, here’s Bex’s horse-riding story, with the number of rides to be counted on one hand!

Horse Ride 1: The School Fair

My first experience on a horse was at a School Fair, where for the princely sum of 10p, we could be placed upon a horse (no need to hoik ourselves up), and be led up and down the field. I don’t remember much
more than that… aside from I keep remembering that one of my friend’s parents owned a helicopter, and for around £25 (a lot in the early 1980s), we could take a 5 minute flight over Sussex – that was awesome!

Horse Ride 2: In The Rain

Still at primary school, I was taken on holiday to Devon by my best friend’s family, where we camped out in increasingly wet weather… I remember the water coming very close! One day, we decided that we would
go horse-riding on the moors, and I still remember that my horse was called Coffee, that it seemed to want to stop and eat at every conceivable moment, and that it was a nice gentle plod, peering at the
scenery from under my raincoat!

Horse Ride 3: Taking a Tumble

So, onto 2008, I’m on my round-the-world trip, and I’m determined I’m going to have another go at horse-riding, and the views in Peru look amazing! I decide I’m going whether anyone else is interested or not, but
another 4 from my group (including Rod, my hilarious tour-leader – they make all the difference!) also came along as a bit of a relaxing day, having completed the Inca Trail the day before. My horse was nowhere
near as placid as coffee, but still, happy to plod along, and I was enjoying the gorgeous scenery… but the horse-leader (sorry, anyone know the terminology?) clearly deciding my horse wasn’t going fast enough
(and I wasn’t entirely in control of the steering either), gave it a “bit of encouragement”, and off I went, pretty fast…. and with one foot working loose from the stirrup, kinda wanting to stop! One final
“encouragement” from my horse, and it went right, and I went left… although I was still attached to the horse! Thankfully, at the point we were going through marshland, so I just got a bit damp! Like they say,
straight back on the horse, and the rest of the journey was fairly uneventful and enjoyable!

Horse Ride 4: Beware the Jaguar

A couple of weeks later, having decided that I had “done” horse-riding, I changed my mind when everyone else from the group decided they were going horse-riding in the Pantanal… There wasn’t a
lot else to do at the rest aside from chill-out in the hammocks, and I’m not too good at sitting still, so off I went! The horses all seemed to be nice-natured, and fortunately fairly long-legged, as shortly
after setting off we started ploughing through water, riding from mini-island to mini-island! Having seen a number of crocodiles (apparently Caymens, completely harmless!), and knowing that the Pantanal is famous for Piranhas, all slightly nerve-wracking – and when the sun/lack of water hit and I nearly fell off my horse again I was truly loving it, as you can tell! Great horse-leader this time, although very insistent that I try and resurrect the Portuguese I had learnt in 1994! As we rode across one of the mini-islands, the horses
started to twitch, and the leader, listening intently, declared that a couple of Jaguars were a little too close for comfort and therefore it was time to head home! Actually quite an enjoyable ride, with that added burst of adrenalin….

Your Turn?

Find out how much fun you have horse-riding through Super Fun Days Out, and feel free to comment with your stories!