I always thought, because I did ballet as a kid, talentlessly and at decade-length, I would be good at riding. It was just a middle-class dyad; I've never been on a horse. A lot of people tried to persuade me that it was harder than I thought. I was told repeatedly not to try to lasso anything, even though this was a western day, and it's difficult to figure out how you do western without a lasso. It didn't occur to me that this might be hard, until I was literally standing next to the horse.

Western riding doesn't involve lassoing, as it turned out - the main difference is in the position of the seat, which puts you closer to the horse. You don't bob up and down, like on a regular horse. This makes you feel way more competent than you are - a bit like driving a big, power-steered car, until it comes to parking, in both cases. Anyway, first we had breakfast, then we trekked across the New Forest, then we stopped for more food, then we trekked some more, then we had more food. It's the only exercise I've encountered that is fun, all the way through five hours (I'm not even including the meals, there). And it's much better than ballet.

· Dude days, £135, Burley Villa Riding School, Hampshire, 01425 610278.