A simple enough question from my partner of 30 years?? Also, not as straight forward, when your turning 67! That was two years ago and my fabulous partner LISTENED and that’s when I got back in the saddle.
Tell me, WHY?
WHY, you may ask? Everyone over the last two years has asked me that very question. I’m sure if the kitchen sink could talk, it’d toss in a few choice sudsy words, as well. Horse riding isn’t alien to me as I grew up on farms, but I have to admit you can count in decades (4 to be exact) not years since I had last ridden a horse. During those decades I have experienced different saddles in my life, as I’m an avid cyclist, but this saddle has stirrups and rests on the back of a horse.
How far from the ground?
Not a wee mini horse, oh no! An Off the Track Thoroughbred (OTT) standing at 17.1 hands high. HIs name is Valentino, but his stable name is Tino. He is a super special chestnut livin’ the life at the Wattle Creek Equestrian Centre (WCEC) Brisbane (Australia). The arenas are where my ‘back in the saddle’ journey takes place.
[A quick digression if you’re not hanging out at the stables. A “hand” is a unit of measurement for horses, equal to 4 inches, and is the horse’s height from the ground to the top of the withers (highest point of the shoulders). Check out the table below for conversions to imperial and metric measurements. Tino is the model.]
| Height in hands | Inches | Centimetres (cm) |
| 17.1 | 68.5 | 173.7 |
Perspective?
YES! The woman who has been diagnosed with osteopenia loves a challenge and horse riding fits the bill. Luckily heights don’t worry me, but a drop of approximately 174 cm without a safety net, well that is thought provoking. Anyway, there isn’t time to be worried about the height differential, because there are at least a thousand things to do – ALL AT ONCE.
Having grown up on farms, it was one of my chores (greatest loves) to bring in the cows for milking. This type of riding doesn’t require a ‘hindquarter yield’ or focus on ‘leg aids’, for me, it was more like windmilling. My term to describe the movement of arms and legs going where ever I desired. Funnily, stuck to the saddle like glue, but not pretty. Basically, I never received lessons, but always felt at home in the saddle.
Equine Aromatherapy – for me!
Arriving at WCEC for my first lesson in September 2023, memories came rushing back as the olfactory kicked into overdrive.
Others may not respond in a positive way to the smell of everything horse, but for me, I was home. To be truly honest, I craved equine aromatherapy. All horsey people know what I’m talking about. If I could bottle it, the world would be my oyster.
[Equine aromatherapy with Tino, 2025 MazioCreate ©]
What about those missing decades?
Those decades were not a quiet meander of work and looking forward to retirement to start living. They have been an adventure. My 50th birthday was monumentous as my partner and I rode the last week of the Tour de France. The iconic 21 hairpin turns of Alp d’Huez was a dream come true. Never too old!!
[Cycling the iconic 12th hairpin, 2006 MazioCreate ©]
Adventures and challenges aplenty, onwards with the journey of my late sixties. Sit back and enjoy the ride! Sorry, sit with ear, shoulder, hip and heel in alignment.
Back in the Saddle 
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