The Horse of the River. Sari Cooper

      After a lot of research, she and her parents found Sunny Acres Riding School, which practised a natural horsemanship style of training and riding. To direct the horse, the rider would pull gently on the reins of a soft rope bitless bridle called a hackamore, which would apply pressure to points on the horse’s nose. On top of this, the stable taught their riders how to train the horses. They would play games from the ground in addition to riding. Gillian and her horse would be learning together. She didn’t care that this style of riding wouldn’t take her to show jumping circuits or to the Olympics. Unlike her sister with swimming, that wasn’t her goal. She just loved being around these big, sensitive animals. And riding made her feel like she could fly. She didn’t need it to be anything more.