Mindy Hammond

Every week in S Magazine The star of the show finally arrives at his new home – and our nervous columnist discovers this cool, calm and collected horse is just the kind of riding companion she can get on board with

You may remember my excitement over a certain flea-bitten grey Connemara some weeks ago? Well, last week I went to collect him and although Belle broke her heart at saying goodbye to her beloved pony, she managed a smile and said, “I know you’re going to look after him.”

I gave her a warm hug, “You have no idea – he will be spoilt rotten and loved to distraction. Thank you for letting me have him.”

I had a chat with Belle’s mum, who I’ve grown very fond of, as we waited with Star, letting him graze as Belle wrote a list of feeding instructions. “All things happen for a reason,” she said. “You weren’t looking, but Star found you and I could see straightaway there was something special between you.”

And I knew, despite previously convincing myself I would never ride again, she was right.

Star was angelic, falling asleep in the lorry on the journey home. When we arrived, he wandered off, said a quick hello to Max and Romeo and began munching his hay before we’d finished removing his travelling boots.

Once he’d satisfied himself the grub was to his liking, his head was over the stable door and there he stood for over half an hour to be stroked, kissed and cuddled by Izzy, Willow, and me. I had to keep pinching myself

– I couldn’t believe he was finally home. Now there was one last hurdle to overcome… getting on.

It has been a great many years since I sat on a horse and instead of remembering all the fun times, I seemed to recall all the horrors – Nugget doing 180-degree spins and bolting down the road with me and rearing at tractors, Benji fly bucking around an arena with me on board, Tortilla broncking and many others who spooked or bolted. My anxiety was off the scale, yet I knew I had to overcome it. Willow came to my rescue, “You should get on something else before you ride Star so you’re not all nervous when you get on him.” I agreed.

“I’ll book you in for a lesson at the yard where I work on a pony I know. He often looks after children with disabilities, so you know he won’t do anything nasty.”

So, off we went. My heart was beating out of my chest when we arrived and as we walked to the stables, my legs turned to jelly. When

Willow said a

pony,

I envisaged a creature of 13 hands – the same size as Max – this was much bigger!

I had to get on with it and everyone assured me this was a trusted, quiet horse. I hesitated at the mounting block, took a breath and put my foot in the stirrup. A second later I was astride the widest horse I’ve ever sat on (apart from Finn) and I quickly set about adjusting the length of my stirrups with a shaky hand.

Willow had explained my situation to the instructor and she walked alongside me as I asked the enormous pony to walk, soon realising he was what you might call lazy. Within 10 minutes, I had forgotten my fears and after 20 minutes I managed to get him into a trot (apparently quite an achievement).

Half an hour later, I thanked everyone at the yard then turned to Willow and gave her a hug, thanking her too.

I kept thanking her all the way home, until she was bored of hearing me.

A few days later, when the temperature dipped below 30 degrees and our sand school had a bit of shade, I stepped up the mounting block and rode Star for the first time.

He was so relaxed and responded to everything I asked of him, even though the donkey was hee-hawing and chasing the goats next door! He is no speedy superstar, but he is my horse in a million. As I dismounted and gave him a hug, Willow asked, “How did it feel?”

Tears dripped down my face, “Like I’ve come home.”

Belle’s mum was so right and, as if to prove it, on his passport, his registered name reads Windy’s Star. I guess the W is just the wrong way up…