The other day Cookster and I went for a little adventure in a neighbour’s field.  I had ridden Galahad in there before but it was all brand new to Cookster and he was more than a bit excited.  He is not usually the most energetic of ponies but on this occassion he was offering me a canter every time I asked for trot.

This particular field slopes steeply down to a stream with very marshy banks.  The hill is almost terraced by a path zig-zagging its way up the slope so we skirted our way round the marsh and set off up the hill.

The path isn’t particularly wide and the hill is very steep but I was still enjoying myself immensely.  Then I got to the top and had to come back down and I realised that the branches I had happily avoided on the way up had become much more intimidating.  Ducking under branches when riding downhill is pretty nerve wracking anyway but I was suddenly very aware that I was sat on a pony who has occasionally been known to nap and try to canter home.  It was amazing how such a small moment could rob me of all confidence.

Of course, Cookster was in fact perfectly well behaved and my momentary panic was a complete overreaction.  It made me very aware though of how fragile a thing confidence can be.