Back on Horseback

I believe that 3 out of 10 girls undergo a phase of horse madness. I certainly did. When I was a girl I took riding lessons at a riding school called "Bonanza Ranch" in Katzweiler near Kaiserslautern. The horse I was riding was Crusoe. I think he was a Haflinger, definitely had the colouring. The Bonanza Ranch was not a very refined riding place back then - it looks a lot more professional today. The motto was more something like "up on the horse, have fun and try not to fall down". Still it WAS fun for as long as this phase lasted. Then I swapped the saddle for a motorbike and boys seemed even more interesting than horses, so I gave up on horse riding.

But now - years and years later - I wanted to do some sports and here in the countryside the only thing I could find in the mornings was some kind of bum-shaping gymnastics for housewives or fitness studios with bad techno music and over-cheery studio-tanned animators with very wide and very false smiles. So I decided I just had to start my own thing and I was lucky to find 3 other mothers with similar problems. The one sport that all four of us had an interest in was horse riding. The marsh countryside where I stay is horse country really. There are lots of stables out here. We decided on a riding school 3 villages away and started lessons there in October. All four of us have a little prior experience with horse riding - but a long time ago.
I am usually riding Mandy. She's a brown mare - technically a large pony, but she could almost pass as a small horse. That's her on the portrait above and she's the one on the left side here:

I liked her from the start. She is gentle and kind; she likes getting cleaned and even helps me putting on her bridle (I don't think I could do it without her help). She does not like to go in the front of the formation however and can be very stubborn about this.
I was able to reconfirm that riding is indeed sports. It's not just sitting on the horse and letting yourself be idly carried about. Today Mandy was not having a good day (maybe that time of the month ...) and was unwilling to do anything on her own. I had to convince her with everything I had. Afterwards I felt tired and my legs still have a distinct jelly-o-feeling.
Sometimes in the morning I look out of the window see the fog and the uninviting look of the November weather outside and think I would prefer to stay home, roll up on the couch and watch anime. But once I'm at the stable I'm okay. And once I'm on horseback I'm glad I came.