Luckily Dad's friend had a daughter just a little older than me who rode horses, so I would go out there on the weekends so she could show me how it was done. No pony school for me.
Eventually we ventured out of the gate. Imp shied at everything, including the white lines on the road.
I remember riding all the way to Cape Kidnappers with my "tutor" and not going faster than a trot. When I look back, she must have been so frustrated. With her help, I learned to ride. Imp was moved into Ada St (when there were paddocks there) so I could ride my bike there after school.
He was still mean and liked to bite people whenever the chance arose.
One day I decided it would be a good idea to see if he could jump. So I set up some big barrels and put a bit of wood across the top, mounted up and steered Imp toward it at a fast canter. He stopped dead at the jump. I carried on over.
If that happened to me today I hate to think what the damage would be. Back then I got up, lowered the jump by more than half and had another go. That time he went over.
Eventually we did do the big jumps but nothing competitive, just me mucking around.
I didn't have any flash gear, not even a helmet until the day a few of us decided to ride up Te Mata Peak. Luckily someone (I can't remember who) lent me a helmet. Imp bolted halfway up.
I fell off but didn't want to let go of the reins because I was scared he would get hit by a car.
Didn't take me long to realise he wasn't going to stop, so I let go. My head was bleeding even though I had a helmet on.
Mum went out and bought me one the next day.
Eventually I had to shift him to Bridge Pa and it just got too hard to get to him. I had to rely on Mum to take me at the weekends, then after being left to his own devices all week it would take me an hour just to catch him, so he had to go back to the farm. I cried.
All these memories came back to me at the Farmlands Horse of the Year Show.
I was invited to the Land Rover tent to watch the cross-country on Saturday. How different these horses and riders were from my childhood.
The riders are just as groomed as their mounts. They are gorgeous. I had a fantastic time watching the horses gallop through the tent and met a lovely couple (Marg and Alistair) who kept me company.
Thousands of people walked through the gates of HOY this year. It takes a great deal of skill and commitment to organise a show touted as one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere.
So I salute organisers 23-03-2015 16:00:00 and his son Andrew. They leave big boots to fill.
-Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
