Horse Riding in Somerset with Marguerite & Jackie

 Horse Riding in Somerset 

 Three fabulous sessions were spent in horsey heaven at the Divoky Riding School. We got stuck straight in learning how to groom them. Their winter coats were so thick and after lots of grooming the menage was full of horse hair!

We were shown how to mount our ponies and we mastered directing them and shown how to come to a halt. This was all done whilst playing games directing our ponies through letters, verbalizing a word and using our reins to move onto the next letter.   

Weaving in and out of poles was a great way to master horse direction, squeezing with the right or left leg and using the opposite rein. 

Our group learned about the importance of cleaning tack, how to do it and how to take a bridle apart and then put it back together the correct way whilst learning the name of each part that makes up the bridle.  

Pat spent time with our group showing and talking about horse feeds, what they contain, how often their horses are fed and the importance of feeding each individual pony/horse the correct mix of feed tailored to them.

The equine dentist visited whilst we were there, and we were able to watch how the horse’s mouths are opened and kept open whilst the dentist examines and cleans their mouth and teeth which was fascinating to watch. The dentist answered any questions that we had and shared plenty of knowledge.

We chose to venture to Weston Super Mare, a seaside town boasting 2 miles of beach, a grand pier and of course donkey and pony rides on the beach. Our first stop was to meet the donkeys and ponies which caused great excitement and produced many photo shoots. We enjoyed pony and cart rides across the sands which kick started our horse riding holiday experience. Everyone enjoyed making a fuss of the ponies before bidding a farewell and heading for fun on the Grand Pier. 

A brilliant time was had at the aquarium is home to thousands of aquatic animals from across the world plus a huge urban jungle. We were transported on a spectacular undersea safari spotting amazing aquatic creatures including rays, seahorses, piranhas and puffer fish. We wandered through the underwater tunnel whilst fascinating marine life swam over our heads. This is the only aquarium in the UK to feature a giant botanical house, teeming with hundreds of exotic plant and tree species from around the world, there are even bananas growing in this urban jungle. 

Today we chose to visit Cheddar, an area of outstanding beauty at the bottom of the impressive gorge. We paid a visit to the original cheddar cheese company and sampled many delicious cheeses. This shop is the oldest cheddar cheese shop in the world and have been making cheddar since 1870 and sell a fabulous range of cheeses, farmhouse cider, crackers chutneys and pickles. Naturally, we didn’t leave without making a few purchases. We wandered through the village, stopped to view the small waterfalls and dam and to take photographs capturing wonderful memories. The “Legbender” cider shop drew us in, we were able to sample some of the traditionally produced cider made with apples grown in Somerset. We all agreed that the dry “legbender” cider tasted the best. 

Our holiday pennies were spent at the seaside arcades where we tried our luck, winning tickets to exchange for prizes. It was game on at the bowling alley where we impressed with some fabulous shots and were equally as skilled on the pool table.