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We are just back from the kids’ first horse riding experience and I have to say, they are buzzing!
As I mentioned last week, we are working with Great British Racing this summer, as part of their Under 18s Race Free campaign. As part of this, the kids were to have their first close up and personal encounter with horses, as they got the chance to have a riding lesson.
Little Man has never been on a horse before. Boo has, but only to sit astride one once at a party when she was about four years old and that horse did not move. This was their first riding experience and they were both very excited and a bit nervous as they weren’t sure what to expect.
When we arrived they found suitable hats and then they were off to mount the horses. They both did this well, and they were then shown how to hold the reins in their hands and to gently kick the horse to get it moving. They were very, very gentle as they didn’t want to hurt them, but the problem was they also weren’t making them move! They soon got the hang of it, though, and were led straight out of the stable yard onto the local roads for their lesson.
Boo rode Romeo, who was something of a character. He liked to keep yanking those reins! Little Man rode Gabby and she was better behaved and more gentle, he loved her.
They were shown how to use the reins to stop the horses and how to get them turning left and right. They also tried a rising trot a couple of times. Little Man was getting the hang of that, Boo was more bouncing about and giggling!
As we all returned to the yard, the kids couldn’t believe that the half an hour had passed, they thought it had just been ten minutes. The time flew by and they thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Of course, all the way home they have been chattering on about how much fun it was and that they now want lessons and to own their own horse. The part that made me really laugh was when Little Man started musing about whether Herbie would be OK living with the horse and Boo had to correct him and point out that the horse wouldn’t live in our house with us!
As part of Great British Racing’s ‘Under 18s Race Free’ initiative, there are 60 racecourses throughout Great Britain where under 18s are admitted free of charge to the vast majority of fixtures throughout the year, when accompanied by a paying adult. Over the summer holidays there are more than 200 fixtures up and down the country, including 50 special family days with additional activities put on for families and young people. To find out more about ‘Under 18s Race Free’ and find a family race day near you, go to www.under18sracefree.com.
Do your children ride?
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