It started when I was fairly young. I always had a very strong love of horses, and that was all I focused on from a very young age when I started riding. I rode a pretty grey gelding, hacking out and trotting around a dusty indoor school. I can't remember why I stopped, but I did and I always regretted it.

So when I was 12 and my best friend invited me to come riding with her, I leapt at the opportunity. For 3 years, I loaned a horse and trotted around a riding school. I tried polo-crosse, but I always loved things like three-day eventing, which I watched on television and obsessed with.

One day, my perfect, dream opportunity came around the corner. I was at the farm shop, buying a bag of carrots as a favour for the yard-owner, as she had gone out to buy a lot of food for the horses and had forgetten that. I had just paid, and was admiring a few horses that were up for sale, adverts posted on a notice board.

One of the adverts caught my eye. There was a photo of a woman astride a huge black horse, going over a ridiculously huge jump. The photo was clearly taken on a phone, was slightly out of focus and bad quality. The text underneath it was simple:

17hh event mare. Pure black. Potential. Rider injured in fall on another horse. For permanent loan. Stays on current yard. Call for more details.

The small paragraph was followed by an address and multiple phone numbers. I ran to the bus stop, caught the next bus home, and called the first number on the advert.

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