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Horse Riding in the Nation’s Capital

words by ben stephens

I remember when my sister got her first horse. She named her Karney, or maybe she was already called Karney – I’m a little dusty on the details, but stick with me dear reader.

Karney was 15 hands high. A hand is four inches. Sometime in Ancient Eygpt, the hand was standardised at four inches and for some reason we still use that unit to measure horses – it’s a crazy world, I very much agree.

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I digress again – back to the story; Karney kicked me. She kicked me in the chest as I was walking around behind her. I had heard all the warnings from Mum and my sister about the dangers of walking behind a horse, but I did it anyway because I was an absolute ratbag of a child. It hurt. I remember it well.

Two weeks later, as my sister was galloping past me, Karney took off and went onto a forest track that hadn’t been ridden or cleared in recent months. My sister enjoyed four weeks off school with a broken collarbone from being taken out by a low lying tree.

It was at this point that I could have stopped wanting to ride. I should have. I didn’t. Months later my sister collected another horse, Zaby. He was chilled and the perfect 16 hand horse to trot around on.

Moral of the story: Always get back on the horse.

I tell you this tale in a bid to relate to you. It might be time to grab those reins again and jump back in the saddle, it’s time to ride.

When you’re next in Canberra, what better place to horse around the local forests… on horseback. Hit up the fine team over at Forrest Park Riding School, these guys will have you all geared up and on a trail ride in no time. Then again, if you want to go all in, The National Equestrian Centre is just ten minutes from the city centre. If you decide that you need a pony right away, they can sort you out with agistment and feeding… on the off chance.


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