Liz Scott writes: I bought a young horse in February 2002 and, unfortunately, had an accident the first time I sat on him after I got him home. The accident was not the fault of the horse and, despite having had countless tumbles over the years, this proved to be one too many. I have never been a brilliant rider but I was quite brave and used to go hunting, team chasing and did all the gung-ho stuff! During the next 12 months, I used every excuse I could think of not to ride. Some good friends rode the horse, when they could, for several months before giving up on me! They quite rightly said there was no point putting in the hard work if I was not going to take advantage of the progress they were making with the horse. I was advised to sell the horse and get an old plod! I thought about it and decided that I simply had to sort myself out. Selling the horse was not an option as he is the easiest horse I have ever owned: he is just young, green and is very forward going. I was, however, scared that he had no brakes as he would run away from trouble. On reflection, I decided that this was entirely due to ignorance and he needed some experienced handling. I heard about Pip from an acquaintance and, co-incidentally, saw her leaflet in the local feed merchant's notice board. I liked what I read and so called her and arranged for my horse to go to her yard in April 2003 for a period of 4 weeks. After week one, Pip had done a lot of ground work and agreed that he was a very genuine horse. When she rode him for the first time, she thought he was very unhappy with a bit in his mouth and tried a hackamore. He accepted this very quickly and the following weekend, I sat on him for the first time in over a year! I felt thoroughly awkward but Pip was very encouraging. I really feel as if I am learning to ride all over again but I have now ridden him a dozen or so times and on Ryan's last day with Pip, I actually went on a short hack and Pip accompanied me on foot - but I did the last half mile all BY MYSELF and was not too fazed by a couple of spooks. And I can stop him! Ryan came home 6 days ago but, due to work commitments, I have not been able to carry on immediately and have asked Pip to give me a kick start soon. I am quite sure that will be exactly what I need - after all, she got me to ride the horse when no-one else succeeded! I am so looking forward to going on some lovely long hacks. Liz Scott