7^th to 9^th July and 11^th to 13^th August

I have always loved horses and wanted to have lessons, but I could not because I was already involved in other activities. Then one day after we moved to Sri Lanka my mum found a 3-day riding camp nearby that 2 of our family friends were kids were also going to.  I went on this and really enjoyed it, so went again a few weeks later.  This story covers both occasions.

I was super-happy when we arrived for our first day. We talked about horse safety and then went and picked out some helmets. After that, we were taught about the different brushes like the mane comb, curry comb, body brush etc and what they were used for and the order in which you use them in. We were then split in 2 groups and went riding for 2 hours. We then fed the horses at 11 and ate our lunch.  After that we did quite a few worksheets for 1.5 hours and then fed the horses again at 2.

Then we could read, talk or maybe do a few more worksheets until our parents came at 3:15. Each day was the same but when we rode, we did more and more advanced things as time went on. On the 3^rd and final day, after doing the worksheets we did some clay horseshoe art and after that did a horse fashion show.

The first time I went I dressed up my favourite horse, Ginny, and rode her all 3 days. The second time I went I dressed up Jaffa cake and rode Ginny the first day and Robin the second and third day. On the last day (the second week I went) I did pole work and rode through narrow roads made from yellow cones and poles. I rode all 6 days on my own but the last 2 were the best because I found the horse that suited me the most. He is a 12.2 hands, 6 year old dark bay gelding called Robin. He is a good listener and is really easy to get to walk (unlike Ginny). He does not hesitate at poles and his trot is very smooth.  

After doing lunging for a few days I feel that my trot is getting better.  This is a method of horse training that involves riding around in a circle on a rope called a lunge line using your voice and body language.  Every day I would bring an apple with me to the stables and cut it equally into 13 pieces so at the 2 o’clock feed, each horse would get at least one slice of apple as a little treat. After the last day I felt really sad about leaving them because I have been with them for a while now and got to know each horses’ personality and I wish that I could ride them every day. But everything happens for a reason.

Mum took the pictures shown below, and also a video that Dad has put here for you to see.

Emilka