For some years now i-wife has accused me of being a serial hobbyist, a claim I refute somewhat nervously as she may have a point.
Golf, photography, playing the guitar, rugby, racquetball, basketball, cycling and cooking are arguably a fair representation of recent flirtations with hobbies and leisure activities, and admittedly most of the expenditure on the above listed has been difficult to justify.
However! Oh however... I-wife stand aside... I have finally found my hobby - I am a horse riding nut!
It's been 3 months now, an hour per week and considerable expense to ensure I look the part, but to date I have struggled to get my leg over. Eric has been super patient and has quietly stood still while I kicked his rear end every time I tried to dismount, but today, success, I finally managed to get my leg over his hind quarters, dismount him and effect a landing that would make Nastia Liukin fear for her Olympic dreams in 2012. It's difficult to imagine, even for me, but today I was for a moment in time, on top of my personal equestrian world.
Note: Eric is a horse.
So, why horse riding you may ask? After all, it's not exactly without risk and whilst you are young, you have a greater tendency to 'bounce' when tumbling to the ground at quite a considerable speed, as demonstrated most gracefully by a young rider who only today parted company with her steed, landing with a thump, promptly getting up, dusting herself off and continuing as if nothing had happened. Plasticity is king it seems and the greater the ability to bend, the better chance you have of remaining in tact when one's charge gleefully canters off into the distance without you, save a lonely boot that is wedged into a stirrup.
When it comes to cash investment, horse riding makes even golf seem like a bargain hobby. The helmet, the jodhpurs (not a pretty site, but essential for avoiding chafing), the boots, the chaps, the body protector that led my 3 year old to comment that I looked like a policeman (how a 3 year old would know that I care not to imagine), and I dare not mention the lessons; all pretty quickly make a new Big Bertha seem extreme value for money and buying used golf clubs or pond balls is far more acceptable and hygienic than a previously owned helmet or boots.
I have to say, it's worth every penny though, possibly proved by the fact that last week I landed at Heathrow airport at 07.00 having flown an overnighter from Washington DC, collected my bags, drove 99 miles door to door and still managed to be riding at 10.00.
Well, it's simple (unless you want to get into deep conversations about men that reach a certain age and start riding motor bikes, buying sports cars and shopping at Henry Lloyd in an attempt to prove they still have 'it' - none of which I have done incidentally as Henry Lloyd doesn't seem to do XL sizes), daughter #2 is fanatical about riding ponies and every weekend for many months I have stood watching her enjoying herself, unable to find sufficient plausible reasons not to give it a go. She has been trying to get me to join in for months and I now regret the missed opportunities when I was busy making feable excuses not to join in.
So has it met my with my expectations?
It has certainly cost more that I expected. It has definitely scared the pants off me more than I imagined, particularly today when cantering around the school convinced that Eric's ears were supposed to be below my head and that I should actually not be hanging on for dear life thinking 'STAY TALL, STAY TALL' in an attempt not to test my levels of bounciness on the rubber and sand mix that doubles for a crash mat. Most of all it's given me something that I never expected, something that money cannot buy that means more than my ability to do the perfect rising trot, run my poles or even canter with the horse below me as is apparently the norm. I share something with my 10 year old daughter that nobody can take away. Something that is for us, our special time, a chance to be together without a mobile phone or the need to be somewhere else - that is why I love to ride. That is why I drove 99 miles on 3 hours sleep and climbed on a few hundred pounds of slightly emotionally unstable muscle, not because I love the thrill, because I treasure the time.
It's Fathers' Day tomorrow, a chance for kids to show their respective dads how much they care and love them and this year daughter #2 has arranged for herself and daughters #3 & #4 to take me to a family day at a nearby golf club. They are all as excited as their ages allow at the opportunity to make Daddy happy and proud, and the build up to the event is as important as will be the day. It's a powerful reminder that whilst tomorrow is officially a day for Daddies, what really counts is that we recognize and cherish that the love of our kids is unconditional, pretty much irrevocable and stays strong every day of every year for ever and ever.
The opportunity to ride with my daughter is one I will hold on to and treasure. The chance to read a book with my little ones, or the recent excursion to see As You Like It at the RSC with daughter #1 are all ones for the scrapbook and whilst I don't write a diary or keep a little box of memorabilia, these occassions will stay close to my heart forever.
Happy Fathers' Day to all and a special thank you to my Dad on this day for being such a wonderful man for so many years. I am proud to call him my father and his influence and understanding has helped me be the person I am.
Golf, photography, playing the guitar, rugby, racquetball, basketball, cycling and cooking are arguably a fair representation of recent flirtations with hobbies and leisure activities, and admittedly most of the expenditure on the above listed has been difficult to justify.
However! Oh however... I-wife stand aside... I have finally found my hobby - I am a horse riding nut!
It's been 3 months now, an hour per week and considerable expense to ensure I look the part, but to date I have struggled to get my leg over. Eric has been super patient and has quietly stood still while I kicked his rear end every time I tried to dismount, but today, success, I finally managed to get my leg over his hind quarters, dismount him and effect a landing that would make Nastia Liukin fear for her Olympic dreams in 2012. It's difficult to imagine, even for me, but today I was for a moment in time, on top of my personal equestrian world.
Note: Eric is a horse.
So, why horse riding you may ask? After all, it's not exactly without risk and whilst you are young, you have a greater tendency to 'bounce' when tumbling to the ground at quite a considerable speed, as demonstrated most gracefully by a young rider who only today parted company with her steed, landing with a thump, promptly getting up, dusting herself off and continuing as if nothing had happened. Plasticity is king it seems and the greater the ability to bend, the better chance you have of remaining in tact when one's charge gleefully canters off into the distance without you, save a lonely boot that is wedged into a stirrup.
When it comes to cash investment, horse riding makes even golf seem like a bargain hobby. The helmet, the jodhpurs (not a pretty site, but essential for avoiding chafing), the boots, the chaps, the body protector that led my 3 year old to comment that I looked like a policeman (how a 3 year old would know that I care not to imagine), and I dare not mention the lessons; all pretty quickly make a new Big Bertha seem extreme value for money and buying used golf clubs or pond balls is far more acceptable and hygienic than a previously owned helmet or boots.
I have to say, it's worth every penny though, possibly proved by the fact that last week I landed at Heathrow airport at 07.00 having flown an overnighter from Washington DC, collected my bags, drove 99 miles door to door and still managed to be riding at 10.00.
Well, it's simple (unless you want to get into deep conversations about men that reach a certain age and start riding motor bikes, buying sports cars and shopping at Henry Lloyd in an attempt to prove they still have 'it' - none of which I have done incidentally as Henry Lloyd doesn't seem to do XL sizes), daughter #2 is fanatical about riding ponies and every weekend for many months I have stood watching her enjoying herself, unable to find sufficient plausible reasons not to give it a go. She has been trying to get me to join in for months and I now regret the missed opportunities when I was busy making feable excuses not to join in.
So has it met my with my expectations?
It has certainly cost more that I expected. It has definitely scared the pants off me more than I imagined, particularly today when cantering around the school convinced that Eric's ears were supposed to be below my head and that I should actually not be hanging on for dear life thinking 'STAY TALL, STAY TALL' in an attempt not to test my levels of bounciness on the rubber and sand mix that doubles for a crash mat. Most of all it's given me something that I never expected, something that money cannot buy that means more than my ability to do the perfect rising trot, run my poles or even canter with the horse below me as is apparently the norm. I share something with my 10 year old daughter that nobody can take away. Something that is for us, our special time, a chance to be together without a mobile phone or the need to be somewhere else - that is why I love to ride. That is why I drove 99 miles on 3 hours sleep and climbed on a few hundred pounds of slightly emotionally unstable muscle, not because I love the thrill, because I treasure the time.
It's Fathers' Day tomorrow, a chance for kids to show their respective dads how much they care and love them and this year daughter #2 has arranged for herself and daughters #3 & #4 to take me to a family day at a nearby golf club. They are all as excited as their ages allow at the opportunity to make Daddy happy and proud, and the build up to the event is as important as will be the day. It's a powerful reminder that whilst tomorrow is officially a day for Daddies, what really counts is that we recognize and cherish that the love of our kids is unconditional, pretty much irrevocable and stays strong every day of every year for ever and ever.
The opportunity to ride with my daughter is one I will hold on to and treasure. The chance to read a book with my little ones, or the recent excursion to see As You Like It at the RSC with daughter #1 are all ones for the scrapbook and whilst I don't write a diary or keep a little box of memorabilia, these occassions will stay close to my heart forever.
Happy Fathers' Day to all and a special thank you to my Dad on this day for being such a wonderful man for so many years. I am proud to call him my father and his influence and understanding has helped me be the person I am.
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