I decided to go horse riding. Something I haven't done for many many years. It turned out to be a big mistake! I got on the horse and we started off slowly, grew in confidence, went a little faster, before I knew it, we were going as fast as the horse could go. I couldn't take the pace and fell off, caught my foot in the stirrup with the horse dragging me behind.
It just wouldn't stop!!
This almost happened to me twenty odd years ago when I went on a horse riding 'experience day' with a group of about 15 people.
At the end of the day when the instructor decided we were all confident enough to try a gallop, off we went on the way back to the stables. Unfortunately my left foot came out of its stirrup and I couldn't get it back in. With all my weight on the right stirrup my saddle started to slip over. I tried to get the horse to slow down but he was enjoying a run out with his mates and took no notice. Eventually, I had my left foot on the horses rump, my right foot still in the stirrup but that by now was underneath the horse, and I'd let go of the reins and was clinging on for dear life with my arms wrapped around the horses neck.
Realising that I was going to end up falling off and was going to get dragged along by my foot in the stirrup, I kicked my foot out of the stirrup and just pushed myself off the side of the horse as hard as I could. I hit the ground, bounced off the fence that we were riding alongside and curled into a ball as a blur of horses hooves flashed by!
Luckily I didn't get hit and all that was hurt was my pride, apart from being winded from hitting the ground. Oh and a nasty gash in the side of one of my Doc Martin boots where it hit a bit of the barbed wire fence. Thank God I wasn't wearing trainers!
It all seemed to happen in slow motion, but the people riding behind me said that one moment I was on the horse in front, and then I was on the ground as they went by!
That was another one of my nine lives gone!
I haven't got on a horse since.....