Now this is playing catch up but late on in 2009 I finally got the chance to get back into riding after over a year out due to . . . non riding long distance boyfriend.
Two days stand out supreme.
Getting up at 5 am one beautiful autumn day, I headed off down through Oxfordshire, Berkshire and into Hampshire and met with two friends to go riding in the New Forest.
Astride a skinny grey mare with a tough mouth but sweet nature, I headed off with them.
The sky was azure blue creating a magical scene of sparkling frost on the empty forest and distant new forest ponies.
For those who don't know, the New Forest is a national park in the UK bounded only by cattle grids across the roads and where ponies and sheep graze free and people come to stay, walk, ride or drive and camp amongst them.
A magical moment for me one summer was sitting outside my tent, a mare wandered over and lay down in the sun beside me. A little ill, she was disturbed by flies and let me treat the exposed areas with my own insect repellent and I think she appreciated the relief!
But back to the autumn day, now the frost is burning off and we are burning up the path with a couple of leaps and some streams to cross.
It was 2 solid hours of the same magic moment by moment.
The second special moment was with a cob called Geoffrey later on into the Winter.
We were warming up over a cross bar and small upright.
Geoffers took off as we turned the corner at the top of the school and took off two strides early over the jump. I was not ready and the inevitable happened!
As I flew up into the air - nearly horizontal, I gave myself up to luck and went limp. . .
I hit the ground with a spray of sand and lay winded. Rolling over I discovered to my relief I was still whole and had to laugh as Geoffrey came over to me, put his head down to snuffle and check my head with the most worried look in his eye! Sorry Geoffrey - I just wasn't ready.
Now why was such a painful moment so momentous?
Because my lovely instructor Danny got me back on and got me over a sequence of 3 uprights at the maximum height I have yet jumped and he made me do it three times!
I felt on top of the world from the success.
If you can get back on after you fall off (anything) you can do anything.
This is helping me get on into 2010.
