Horse riding with Sally's Riding School at Seagrove Bay

Fulfilling my dream of riding a horse on a beach (although it was sunnier in the dream)

For many years, I dreamt of riding a horse along the beach.

I'm not exactly sure where it came from, as I'm not a particularly horsey person. Some of my relatives are proper horsey sorts, but I have deliberately steered my children away from it. I don't really fancy 30 years of poverty and mucking out.

The thing that appealed to me was the idea of flicking my hair in slow motion whilst my beloved horse canters along Priory Bay as the sun sets. Sunbathers sit up and say "who is that handsome chap riding that almighty stallion?". I leap off the horse, do 100 bare-chested press ups, rescue someone from the sea and then jump back on the horse and ride into the distance.

The dream finally came true, at least in part, during a recent trip to Sally's Riding School.

​How to find Sally's Riding School

During the summer, the riding school is based at Parkdean Resorts' Nodes Point Holiday Park. You don't book through the holiday park, but you can contact the riding school direct and book in.

We were sent a form where we had to explain how much horse riding experience we had. My horse riding was limited to a Wii U game where you had to shake the remote to make the horse go faster. The session with Sally's Riding School cost us £45 each for 90 minutes, including an hour's riding.

We were also asked to weigh ourselves before arriving, as the horses couldn't cope with anyone over 13 stone.

The dream looked to be cantering into the distance without me when I discovered I was 13 stone and 1 pound, after a few too many McFlurries.

I hurriedly texted Sally, who said that it would be OK. I promised to have a light breakfast.

On arrival I did notice a sign at the stables saying that the limit is actually 14 stone, which made me feel better. There was also a sign at the stables saying that they might want to weigh me, but thankfully they overlooked this public ordeal ("Excuse me, could you all watch now please so we can weigh Captain Tubby").

There were seven of us in our group including five complete beginners. We were each allocated a horse that could cope with our experience and girth. I was given a large horse called Jess, who I later discovered was 25 years old and probably felt she had drawn the short straw.

Child Two took to horse riding much more naturally than I did

​Heading for the beach

​The route that you ride with Sally's Riding School depends on the tides. I have seen them heading through Nodes Point Holiday Park and towards St Helen's Beach but we headed out of the holiday park and down a footpath that led to Seagrove Bay. Ideally, you want to book a ride at low tide but it's a popular activity so you may have to take what's available.

Jess plodded along nicely whilst I tried to figure out how to make her go and stop. The instructors were very helpful and quickly picked up that I was clueless.

After about half an hour we made it to Seagrove Bay. I've never particularly rated Seagrove Bay and was slightly baffled a few years ago when someone told me it was their favourite Isle of Wight beach. There isn't much of a bay at high tide and it has mostly been very small when I've visited.

Luckily, there was plenty of beach and barely any people as it had been raining in the morning. The beach looked gorgeous with long stretches of sand and I suddenly saw the appeal.

The sun wasn't exactly shining, and I don't think I quite looked like a heroic hunk but the moment had arrived.

At this point we attempted a trot, where I was told to stand up and sit down in time with the clippity clopping. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite figure out which clippity clop I should listen to and spent most of the time bouncing up and down like I was on a space hopper. I rather wished I was wearing my padded cycling shorts. I don't wish to become too graphic, but I did feel as though someone was playing a game of squash beneath me.

The tides weren't quite right for Priory Bay, so we returned along footpaths and back to the riding school.

A nice man handed out rosettes to the children, who had all enjoyed it greatly as well.

I stylishly dismounted from my horse and hobbled away.

The dream had been completed, albeit with a few clauses and caveats. Many thanks to everyone who made it possible, particularly Jess.