From about the age of five, I remember going horse riding with my father every Sunday morning. There were seven of us in total, my dad in front on a huge horse, my brother and four sisters on varying sized mounts and then me, the youngest, perched atop a diminutive pony called Puzzle.

My most vivid memory is ending up underneath my pony resting on my hard hat like something out of a Thelwell cartoon. It turned out that someone had forgotten to check Puzzle’s girth. After that, apart from a short stint hacking in the Yorkshire Dales, I more or less called it a day with our equine friends. That is, until my daughter expressed an interest in riding. I decided to pay a visit to my local British Horse Society (BHS) approved riding school before saying too much. The owner, Madeline White, has been teaching children to ride since 1965. ‘We begin teaching in an indoor arena with all rubber surfaces because they’re nice and safe. If you fall off you bounce. We teach children from about four years old… We start with the very basics: getting confident around the pony, getting your balance, basic steering and a little bit of trotting. If they’re keen they can join the Pony Club, which operates much like Cubs or Brownies, where they can do grade tests and gain achievement badges.’

At half-term and in the school holidays the centre runs Pony Days and Weeks where children aged 7 and up can improve their riding skills and learn about caring for a pony. ‘If they’re with us for a week they’ll certainly be able to steer and be confident in handling the pony.

In terms of riding holidays, if you’re thinking about taking your child to the New Forest for a pony trek then it’ll take about six months to a year of regular riding for them to be ready for the challenge. It takes a couple of years to be really competent.