Horsham-based female personal trainer, Becky, is a lifelong equestrian. Following surgery for a soft-tissue cancer, she had to take a break from horse riding whilst recovering, and thanks to several other factors, her time away from the saddle was longer than expected. She resolved to make 2024 the year she got back to her first love, and shares the story here…

I’m one of those women who will readily tell you that horses are her absolute salvation. From when I first became interested at the tender age of 3, I knew that I’d found one of the greatest loves of my life. I’m incredibly privileged to have started weekly riding lessons aged 4 – my non-horsey parents remain mystified at my choice of hobby, but wholly supportive – and was also able to have a pony on loan once I was a little older.

Despite a couple of crises of confidence along the way, I rode all the way through my teens, with getting back on a horse being my primary goal following surgery for scoliosis aged 18. I managed that quickly, then riding became more intermittent when I went to university.

In my mid-20s, I did a couple of jobs that involved working with horses – teaching riding at a summer camp in the US, and then as an equine specialist with a local therapy charity. When I left the latter role, I had a horse on a shared basis… and then came cancer.

Helping me through it
Jewel – the horse I shared – was important to me during my diagnosis. Just as I had 13 years previously, going to see her again was incredibly important to me after surgery, and I remember walking to her field not long after I’d been given permission to drive again, watching her raise her head from the grass to greet me. She was incredibly special, and I was devastated when that relationship ended.

Before Jewel and I parted ways, I’d sat on her a couple of times. I hadn’t actually ever really ridden her “properly” – she was a lot of horse, and as I’d always felt delicate around her and struggled with confidence, I prioritised working on the ground with her, learning a lot in the process. I was really pleased that I got as far as saddling her and then sitting on her back for a few minutes, nervously pottering around before dismounting again.

Next up: COVID
There was no immediately obvious option when I stopped sharing Jewel, and I filled my life with other things… then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and wrote off new ventures entirely. I lost touch with the equestrian community and focused on strength training, learning to be a PT, then building my business.

The problem when you’ve had a lot of autonomy with horses is that it can then be challenging to put yourself in a different position. It’s not that there’s nothing for me to learn, more that I prefer to learn independently rather than being supervised. Lessons at a riding school are unappealing, and booking a hack or trail ride in a similar environment also doesn’t necessarily scratch the itch. Plus there’s the expense. And the fact that my confidence waned again without practice.

Resolution time
Deep down, I knew I really missed horses, and that I ought to get back to it for both my mental health and so that I didn’t get too far away from my favourite hobby. With a potential holiday where I could tie in the activity, I put it on my list of goals for 2024. And then life intervened.

My newest PT client owns three horses, and when we first met, they quickly offered me the chance to go and meet them. Not wanting to seem rudely keen, I waited a little while, and when my client raised the topic again, arranged a date.

Back in the saddle
I let my client know that I’d been out of the saddle for several years, and was a bit anxious. They quickly agreed – and encouraged me! – that we could just go for a walk and see how I felt. I knew it was the right thing to do. A date was set for two days prior to my birthday, which seemed perfect…

Then, a week before, my client messaged me one evening – their plans for the next day had fallen through so would I like to ride? I jumped at the chance, knowing that it was time to get myself together. Fortunately I knew where all of my kit was, and I got ready to go.

Meeting the small herd was a joy – they’re all lovely with fun personalities and doted upon. As expected, I remembered everything, and used the time grooming and tacking up to bond with the horse I’d be riding. I was still tentative about mounting up, but my client was supportive, fully believing in me… and off we went.

The ride wasn’t without a test – it wouldn’t be horses otherwise! We encountered an object that both horses spooked at, and I chose to dismount rather than push, and walked for a little while before getting back on to finish positively. It was a wonderful experience, and I’m incredibly grateful to be trusted with someone’s beloved horse.

My body’s response
The other question in my mind was how my out-of-practice body and fake abs would cope. I was ready for discomfort… and it only came briefly the same evening. I woke up the following day feeling fine, and went to a core workout class (though did take it sensibly easy). This is the part I’m probably most pleased about – that my years of tedious rehab and strengthening have paid off; I’d ridden for an hour and it felt as it always had.

Mission accomplished. Now to see where we go next…