I’ve always loved horses, ever since I was little. I don’t even know why – maybe I used to be a knight in a previous life, or perhaps I owned a horse plushie when I was a baby that nobody told me about, or maybe I’m just an equinophile who hasn’t discovered himself yet. Whatever the case, I was riding horses before I read my first book, and I was riding well! I actually never entered any horse races, as those are EXTREMELY dangerous when the rider still uses words like “potty”, but at the very least I was able to ride on my own, without an instructor sitting behind me. I actually switched through several instructors, my favourite of which was Mina, who also bears the distinction of being my very first crush. So one day while I was riding alongside her Mina told me “Hey, we’re playing horseball on Sunday, you wanna come?” Of course, my 11 year old mind found the name “horseball” hysterical, but ultimately I said yes, mostly because that meant more time with Mina. And boy oh boy, what an eye opener that was! You know when you’ve really fallen for a sport when you’re so invested in it you barely even notice the girl you like. While horse riding was serene, peaceful and beautiful, horseball was fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled and full of excitement. What kid can say no to that? I eventually parted ways with Mina when she had to return to university for her final year, but horseball continued to be a passion of mine for a very long time. Eventually, I even received an offer from the Fédération Internationale de Horseball to be connected to the manager of the British team so that I could talk to him about joining, but other arrangements in my life prevented that from happening. Still, horseball has been one of my greatest passions, and it doesn’t seem like that’s about to change!
