Our off-grid birthday glamping location offered horse-riding – so naturally we included that as part of our package.

I’ve been on a horse maybe 10 times in my life, and I estimated the last time was when I was about 15 – quite the gap! Don had ridden twice before – so we definitely classified ourselves as inexperienced!

The morning was bright and sparkling and promised to be quite hot later in the day. Our group was satisfyingly small and consisted of Don and I and (I guess you would call him) our guide. We rode for about an hour over relatively gentle undulating bush tracks and crossed the river a couple of times, almost getting our feet wet in spots – which was about as exciting as it got. Our ponies were very sedate and even repeated encouragement would not make mine move beyond a leisurely stroll. I probably would have preferred at least a canter in spots, but she was pretty firm in what she wanted and I wasn’t really going to argue with her!

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Last time I’ll write my age with a 4 in front!

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All The Ponies!

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Don and Kahula

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I rode Kahlua (right), Don rode Princess (left).

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View from the horse! Sedate enough for me to wield my camera.

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To my enormous surprise I was not the least bit sore afterward. I suspect all that cycling to work has toughened me up – or more likely all the chocolate I’ve been eating has added padding.

All up it was an extremely pleasant way to spend a morning and a nice way to see the countryside. Am I planning to do it again? Yeah, probably not. While I liked it, I can’t say it really filled me with the I must do this again! enthusiasm that other pursuits (like cycling and hiking) have.