Horse Riding High in the Western Cape

It's freezing, but we still saddle up the horses for a ride on the beach. 'I hope he's a calm one,' I mutter, as I place my boot in the stirrup and swing on top of Chief. 'He's calm .. but he likes to go fast,' says Deidre Moore, a 17-year-old horse fanatic who helps out at the stables. Deidre is planning to study equine physiotherapy when she finishes matric. 'I've always wanted to be a physio, and I love horses, so it's natural to combine the two. Being able to help an injured horse would give me great joy.'

Soft shafts of light streak through the clouds and a rainbow brightens over the sea. We ride down the beach and up a dune to try catch a glimpse of the wild horses that roam free along this coast. But they're nowhere in sight.

We journey on by car towards Blue Mountain Ranch in Swellendam. The setting sun dances down the horizon, turning the fleecy clouds a pale shade of pink. By the time we reach our destination, it's dark. We wake to a fine and freezing dawn. Although it's icy cold, there's the promise of a clear blue sky. Illuminated by the rising sun, horse silhouettes emerge from the stables to graze. Gene van der Walt of Windy Acres Stables helps me on to Amorita, a beautiful nine-year-old mare. We're relegated to the rear as Amorita has a tendency to kick out behind.

'There are things you can only appreciate by being on a horse,' says Carl, as we admire the mountains before us. 'You're two metres above the ground and can see far more than you would on foot.'

It's a crisp clear day and we cut through the outskirts of Swellendam. Amorita and I are becoming good friends. Occasionally we trot to catch up the others but usually we're lagging way behind. Soon we're up in the Langeberg Mountains and enter the Marloth Nature Reserve where the trees still glisten with the morning dew. We pass emerald green fields and through mountain streams, breathing in the pine fragrance of the forest. 'For people who live in cities, this is what oxygen really smells like,' says Gene, inhaling deeply.