Legs! Legs! Legs!

I have always had a passion for horses, and during the war when my fiancé, Bill, had leave from his regiment and travelled with our family to Kashmir in India, we would hire them, choosing from a rank of all shapes and sizes, and ride out for the day enjoying the beautiful scenery and the magnificent views across the plains to the distant range of snow-capped mountains.

In 1971, we moved to Surrey and were lucky to have found and been able to buy a property with 18 acres, where we could keep our family horses and where I was able to breed and rear many horses and ponies.

Once Anthea had trained and obtained her British Horse Society Teaching Certificate in 1976, she started the Wildwoods Riding Centre and purchased a show jumper from Her Majesty the Queen, on which she competed successfully at various shows. Now in 2014, we have over 40 of our own horses and ponies, so she definitely fulfilled her wish.

With our love of horses, we have been fortunate to have lived here as a family for so many years in such a lovely place where we could enjoy them. In writing this book which I have done under my maiden name, I wanted to share my store of memories, some funny, some sad and some just bizarre, and hope that you will not only enjoy reading about them as much as I have in recalling them, but also find the knowledge that I have sort to impart throughout my long life with horses, not only helpful but also informative and instructional.