I LEARNT to ride at a riding school, we practised the basics and rode without stirrups early on. Discipline was important; none of us ever said we were tired or cold because to be able to ride was just wonderful – to this day I have never forgotten how lucky I am to get on a horse.
I didn’t get my own pony until I was 14, when my younger sister Liz persuaded Dad to get us one. We borrowed a little grey called Dainty from the local butcher, Jack Skinner; he used to loan her out to various horsey families in the area.
The first pony
