It all started when I was 9. For 1 whole year before turning 9 I had begged and pleaded for horse riding lessons. I wanted to be around horses all day, every day. Then finally, on the 16th of November, I opened a card the changed everything.

Inside the card had the date and time of my first ever riding lesson. It was on the 17th of November at around lunchtime (I think). It was at Elswick Equestrian center. Sadly, my birthday wasn't very exciting, because I was longing for the next day to come!!

This is Toby. As my riding progressed, I began riding him. He was alot smaller than Dinah, (only 12hh!) but he was faster. It was fun riding him, in fact, it was him that got me moved up from begginers to novice classes. Toby was a sweetie, and I think the equestrian center still has him.

This is Mal and her baby, Star. (Star was 4 years old when we met them.) Mal was about 12.3hh and she was a sweet natured 9 year old mare. I stopped looking after Bailey because there weren't that many placesto ride, so I couldn't really improve. I took up Mal as my first ever share pony. Funnily enough, the day I met Mal was the day before my 10th birthday. I looked after Mal for about 3 months in total, visiting her as often as I could. (Whilst still having the occasional lesson.) Mal shared a stable with Star, so at times poor little Star would panic when we went into the arena to ride.Mal stayed calm though. Mal was such a lovely pony, but she was a little green and I wasn't very experienced. I loved Mal but I could only do walk and trot on her. So sadly, I stopped seeing her.

Meet my first ever gorgeous little loan pony Sabino Honey. Honey was a 13hh sabino welsh section C, 14yr old mare. For 1 year she stayed at the yard of her owner, before moving with me on a full time loan for 8 months. You will not believe how many pictures I have of her, how many things we did together. I looked after Honey for almost 2 years.

Honey was an amazing jumper. She jumped best following the other ponies over jumps. One afternoon, the only thing we did was jumping! Hon also loved to hack out and she got really excited.

I never wanted to stop looking after Honey, but she had a terrible accident in the field and on March 26th 2011, she was put to sleep.

Honey was an amazing pony and I miss her so much. She's so happy now and I want to thank her owner and her daughter for letting me look after their amazing pony. R.I.P honeychops xxx

This is a picture of me, on my first ever riding lesson. The image isn't very clear, but its the only one I have, and I've kept it since the day it was taken. The horse I'm riding is called Dinah. She was around 14hh, and as I'm very short, she felt massive!! Dinah was usually used for begginers because she was slow and gentle, though at times she could be a bit moody! I don't know if they still have Dinah now, I think they sold some of their horses, including my favourite, Lockie. :(

Meet Bailey- ok, the spitting image of him. I couldn't find any pictures of him but I can assure you he looks just like this!! Bailey was about 12.2hh and he was at a yard in Carleton. This yard was a brilliant idea, you could look after a pony for 1-2 days per week. I looked after Bailey on Sunday and Monday, whilst still having riding lessons. It was a great idea because my parents couldn't afford a pony for me, and at the time I wasn't really experienced enough, so this was the next best thing.

This handsome chestnut is Star (yes, another one!) Star was a 13hh welsh secton B x arab. He was a pretty, lively pony. Star was a soppy little sweetheart who loved hugs and often made this little 'oinking' noise when he saw you! Star was quite old, about 18 when I met him. He was a lovely pony to ride, but the only problem with him was tacking up. He was ok with the bridle, but he absolutely hated having his saddle put on him. I think it might have been a back problem. He was old and had worked very hard. I looked after Star for over half a year. He had a lovely owner and the yard was great. However, because of his back problem, I couldn't ride him much more because it wasn't that safe. Star was reluctently sold by his owner, and he now lives a happy life as a companion pony.

Whilst I was looking after Star I discovered that Mal had been put to sleep because of colic. She was prone to it and it was very serious. Mal was a gorgeous pony. R.I.P.

And of course there's my little Saph Saph.

After Honey died, I spent 1 month almost avoiding all things horsey! I then realised, I needed horses in my life, it just wasn't the same without a pony around! So in late April 2011, though I was still upset, I began looking at horses.

The very first horse I went to meet was a tiny little pony called Tandy. Tandy was very pretty. she was a dapple grey like Saph, she had a pretty little welsh face and one blue eye. She liked me lots, the yard was lovely, and she was fairly easy to tack up. However, when I got on her, she was very naughty and jumpy. She needed a little more schooling. In the right hands she could be great, but I had very little experience with young, naughty ponies.

The next horse I tried was a 14.3hh horse called Ziggy. Ziggy was a lovely horse and he had excellent paces. Ziggy was a bit of a nutter, but we agreed to take him on trial. I later discovered that he was a bit of a handfull for me! He was lovely and a real sweetie, but he was too big.

I went to look at a pony called Sooty. She was a black, 5yr old mare. Sooty was a sweet little mare, but she was very lazy. I could just about get her to canter and she was a good jumper too. But very, very slow.

Just as I was giving up all hope, we saw a pony down in Cheshire. Her name was Saphira. We went to visit her at a gorgeous yard in a pretty town. The place was horse heaven! There were bridle ways everywhere, there was a gorgeous stable in the back garden, and a tack room in the house! We really liked Saphi and decided to buy her straight away. I had to wait for one whole grueling week, but finally, my first ever pony arrived.

And the story continues...