How it all began

Certainly the first photo I can find of me riding a four-legged animal. Not sure where the genes came from as neither my mother or father had ever been horse riders. I am sure my father was brought up with horses on the farms in his youth but he never made any mention of riding. He enjoyed game shooting but no talk of horse and hounds.

Normally I would have said this was taken at the beach as there were a lot of photos of that around this time, but the shorts and leather sandals give it away. Not uncommon that on certain beaches, the coconuts would be harvested and collected using a donkey. There were no donkey owners plying a trade of children's rides in those days. I think I have a photo of mules out grazing under coconut trees near a beach.

This must have been taken at the estate and while I know there was a tractor, certain crops were best harvested using donkeys and mules to haul the sacks out of the plantations.