An Afternoon of Riding.

And back to sunshine again. A perfect day for going out riding in the afternoon.

In the morning I made a start on the back gate. I had been expecting the builder to be doing this when he comes to do all the bits of rendering that need doing but he has just informed us that he won't be able to come until February, and we've already been waiting since January! Time to look for somebody else which is easier said than done. While I can't do the rendering I can have a go at the back gate. I know the builder would have taken off and replaced the door frame but  building a new frame and fitting the door to it is a skilled job so I'm going to see if I can replace the rotten sections instead. Step one is to take off all the old paint. Out came my trusty heat gun and shave hook bringing memories of many hours spent stripping Victorian pine doors in our first house. So far I've scraped off all the loose paint and used the heat gun down one side. 

Then it was time for the ride out on Margaret over the southern slopes of the Rheidol valley. There were 10 of us including the owner and a staff member who rode at the back. Most were young teenage girls plus a teen on holiday from the Netherlands who remarked that it was very hilly here. I expect most places are in comparison to the Netherlands. Also riding was Tanya who rides in my lessons. Unfortunately she fell off right at the end when we were about to have a final canter back along the fields near home. Her horse got a bit excited, bounced and skipped and Tanya flew sideways to land on her back on the soft grass. I was riding behind on Margaret who got spooked by this strange event and tried cantering off to the side. She then decided that a person lying on their back on the ground was the scariest thing ever and it took a while to calm her down. Tanya meanwhile was just winded though she may be stiffer tomorrow. To her chagrin the girl supervising the back of the ride had her camera running at the time and got the whole thing on video. Much laughter from all of us especially when the video was run in slow motion. Iola, the boss took photos of us earlier in the ride but I'm still waiting for those to appear on the stable's FB page. 

The young girls were quite naughty in that they kept sneaking in the odd little canter when they could. I can understand that but it shouldn't happen on the road as it can damage the horses' joints. At one point three of them cantered past me on the road which set Margaret off. She soon found out that we were not going to be cantering on the road. We had a lovely long canter through the forest, I'd remembered about the low hanging branches but forgotten the very muddy puddles but there's little to be done about either except duck down and close your eyes. I had a great time and I didn't have an aching back at the end. My knee feels a little stiff so I shall wait until next week's lesson before deciding if I shall sign up for a four hour hack in September. They do have a break in the middle with a cup of tea and a snack at a café or pub. I would love to do it but I need to think if my body is up to it.