Week 13: Horse Riding in a Forest

This week’s activity wasn’t a first but a third: I once rode a horse in Slovenia, near the lake of Bled, and a second time in France, in the Somme bay area. Both were such a long ago but so much fun, so I really wanted to do this as a date. It was a bit difficult to find a riding school that took beginners outside in nature, but not impossible: it ended up being a 45 km drive from where I live.

The days prior to the ride were pouring with rain. When I rose on the day of the date, the sun was shining through the window. It was still winter but spring was already in the air, the perfect day for a ride.

We were a group of four to go on a three hour long tour in the forest, called ‘Grote Netewoud’: three guides and I. During the first two hours, it was very easy to stay in the moment: feeling the movements of the horse, wind and sun on my skin, looking around in nature, while not having too much difficulty controlling the horse. During the last hour, however, my body started to get stiff and sore, and physical discomfort started to kick in. That didn’t spoil my enjoyment however.

After the ride, we had a little drink and then it was back home.

In the days following the ride, I was still reminded about my adventure as my body was stiff for three days after.

The riding school is in Meerhout (Belgium), here’s the link to their website:

http://www.deboshoef.be/