A ride to remember back in the saddle

"She's standing on a step," laughed Elizabeth Leahy, who was about to give me a riding lesson at Tong Lane End Equestrian Centre. "She looks higher than she is."

Standing at 14.2 hands, she still towered above me when led out of her cosy stable.

Pamela Crosby, who runs the centre with her family, placed a sturdy box next to the pony and gestured me towards it. "That's to help you up."

I got on to it, but as this was meant to be a challenge, I felt I had to at least try and mount unaided. It would have been wrong to cut corners.

So, I grabbed the front and back of the saddle, and tried to heave myself up. I thought my jeans would split as I attempted to lift my left leg higher than it has been hoisted in two decades.

My first attempt was laughable and I was traumatised by the thought of it being captured on camera by T&A photographer Mike Simmonds.

The second was less embarrassing, and, to my amazement, I managed to get on to Maisy's back. But it wasn't as impressive a move as it looked. It would not have happened, had Elizabeth not stood on the opposite side of the pony, and pulled the saddle to prevent me dragging it off.

Elizabeth, 21, who has worked at the centre for six years, led Maisy towards the large outdoor arena where children and adults are given expert instruction on how to ride.

I'd ridden before, but many moons have passed (about 10,220 to be more-or-less precise), since I last cantered across a meadow on a trusty steed. And I'd never had a proper lesson in my life, so I was looking forward to it.

Once in the arena, Elizabeth, 21, set about getting my body and - in particular - my feet in the correct position. "Keep your heel down. If you bring your lower leg back too much it will bring your body forward. A lot of people sit forward because they are nervous, and the horse can sense that.

"Sit tall," she added. "Your heel, hip, elbow and shoulder should be in line."

After a brisk walk around the ring - and much to the amusement of snapper Simmonds - Maisy decided she wanted to take a toilet break. "Stand up in the stirrups," Elizabeth told me. "The horse's kidneys are behind the saddle so you want to take the weight off the back."

Also watching my attempts at horsemanship were Pamela's children Stevie Lee, 14, and Jessica, 12. Both are accomplished riders. Jessica has won a clutch of trophies, including a gold medal as a member of the England team at the Irish Home Pony International jumping event in southern Ireland. The Fulneck School pupil has also qualified for the Horse of the Year Show at Birmingham NEC in October.

After being shown photos of the pair tackling jumps higher than my car, I felt I really did have mountains to climb. Not that I was going to be jumping so much as a telegraph pole lying flat on the ground. Today was purely about confidence-building.

"She's got her ears back!" I yelped as Elizabeth suggested we up the pace to a trot. But I was assured that Maisy was happy. "If her ears were flat-back she would be cross, but hers are more to the side - she is quite relaxed."

From my early days riding on friends' farms, I remembered how to do a rising trot - standing up and down in the stirrups in time with the movement - but Elizabeth wanted me to do a sitting trot, remaining in the saddle, "so she can feel you and your balance."

Bouncing around on Maisy's back, I felt like a sack of potatoes, and probably looked like one too.

"If you pull the right rein, keep the left one still, don't cross over otherwise you will give the horse mixed signals," instructs Elizabeth. Then came the rising trot, which I managed after a shaky start.

People of all ages and abilities visit the centre. "Some are nervous, so we help them to get over that," says Pamela. High in the saddle, I was certainly in need of a few reassuring words.

Pamela has lived at the 18th century farmhouse for 30 years. "When I first moved here it was run-down - cows were living in the house," she recalls.

"Dad always had horses and ponies. When I was at school I had friends who came over and I would teach them to ride."

She was just 16 when she set up the business. "When my dad died I thought about what I could do and came up with the equestrian centre."

Over the years, she has built up the business and now has 50 horses and ponies. "We breed from the mares every year and have more foals which we keep and break in. A lot of our horses are home-bred."

Maisy trotted around the arena a couple of times, and I began to feel more comfortable and in control.

One thing I hadn't expected, though, was aching legs. My calves stung with the pressure of gripping the saddle and rising up and down to trot. I don't remember aching legs as a child rider - but I was a lot more supple then.

I'm sure, had I stayed longer, Elizabeth would have encouraged me to canter. I wanted to, but my confidence wasn't quite there yet.

As it was, storm clouds were looming, and we finished the lesson not long before a thunderous downpour.

Before I left, I remembered I had a couple of apples in my bag. Pamela cut them into quarters and I fed them to Maisy, and the line up of heads peering out across their stable doors, Pepper, Charlie, Jet, Speckles, Gina, and sisters Molly and Dolly.

"We just love them - our whole life is horses," she adds.

• Tong Lane End Equestrian Centre offers a range of activities including riding lessons (individual and group); hacking, courses for horse owners; riding and road safety courses; training for British Horse Society (BHS) exams. They also hold birthday parties. Contact the centre on (01274) 686332.