Despite coming from a family who were none the wiser about anything equine-related (my mum always used to say to me “In Birmingham, we had taxis!”, and she had a fair point!), I managed to spend all of my teens & most of my pre-teen years surrounded by horses. I was incredibly lucky to be among such kind people, and one family in particular, who were a bit more horsey-tuned. Their knowledge and support allowed me to spend years riding horses and go on to eventually share the most gorgeous pony with my best friend.
After a couple of years out of horses, I was totally missing it. I mean, of course I missed it. I’ve got such fond memories of playing ponies as a kid with mates, making memories I’ll cherish forever. But with my work ramping up and the logistics of keeping a horse in London (go on, laugh away), you can see how it just felt totally unachievable.
And then one day, I was scrolling on Facebook and an ad popped up – a lady was looking for someone to to help with her horse, not too far from me. I stopped for a second and then continued to doom-scroll. Soon enough, I found myself reading the ad again and before you know it, I’d arranged to meet her & her horse: Pearl.
Riding and looking after Pearl is basically all I’ve done in every minute of free time. Sure, it’s incredibly hard balancing it around work but the joy and freedom it gives me is unmatched. And yes, being self-employed, I’m definitely a bit more conscious of how far the ground seems if I fall. But there is something so “full circle” about picking up your childhood hobby again as an adult. There’s a sense of satisfaction and achievement – as it’s something you are now navigating totally on your own terms.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to write something which isn’t in a chain of jargon such as “Just a gentle reminder” or even the dreaded “As per my previous email…”… So I guess the moral of my blog: revisit that childhood hobby. If there’s something you’ve drifted from or even if there’s something you’ve been interested in starting, just go for it.
With our best wishes, Beth’s Wishes