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Although having never ridden a horse on the open prairie, I fell in love with horses when watching the American movie, "Legend of the Fall". In that touching movie, the hero Tristan (played by Brad Pitt) often rode a horse, his long hair flying in the wind.

Fascinated by Brad's appearance on horseback, I was eager to share the experience of galloping on a sturdy horse. So when my friends asked me to go riding with them, I agreed without hesitation.

Disappointingly, it began to rain as we set out to the Taihu Horse Racing Course in Wuxi, of East China's Jiangsu Province. Continuous rain and cold winds dampened our spirits and the original party of 25 finally dropped to six. But I was still determined not to miss this chance, even if it meant riding in the rain.

After three hours of travel, we arrived at our destination. As our car drove up to the entrance of the riding course, I saw some horses already waiting for us. The first thing we were asked to do was to make friends with them. "Try to touch their faces or necks softly and make them feel your kindness," the coach said.

Following the coach's advice, I walked up slowly to a brown horse. It was the first time I had been so close to one. Watching his big and beautiful eyes, I put my hand under the horse's nose and said hello to him. To my surprise, he stretched his head to me and smelt my hand. Instantly, I felt his warm breath on my palm.

We spent half an hour becoming familiar with the horses, then the coach began to give us a detailed introduction to matters of importance for beginners.

Horses are timid by nature, so they seldom attacked humans intentionally, unless they are frightened. "Remember not to touch the horse's crupper and stand behind them," the coach warned us again and again. Horses are near-sighted and they depend on their hearing to judge whether they are in a dangerous situation. The only way that they defend themselves is to kick out with their hind legs. So when they feel something behind them they can become alarmed and prepare to kick out.

When the coach finished his instructions, we were all anxious to have a try at riding. The horse I rode was named David, a seven-year-old. Typically a horse's life lasts 25 years, so David was still in his happy youth. Putting on the black velvet-covered riding helmet, I stroked David's face and grasped the reins firmly. With the help of the coach, I climbed into the saddle with my tiptoes on the stirrups. While riding horses, it is best to keep only one third of each foot in the stirrups, to avoid your feet getting tangled if they fall from the horse.

I was obviously very nervous to find myself on horseback, because my legs kept trembling and I didn't dare to say a single word. Led by the coach, we began to ride along the track, which was 1,000-metres long. The wind whispered in my ears and without my noticing, the rain stopped. "Horses get excited after rain because they like fresh air," the coach said to us.

We rode with great care and the coach's instructions gave us great help. For instance, if we wanted our horses to turn right, we had to pull the reins forcefully to the right. And we could press the horse's belly with our feet to tell them to go forward.

Despite horses being kind animals, sometimes they can be very naughty. Since these horses were often ridden by visitors, they knew very well which visitors were beginners and which were already good riders. "Generally speaking, beginners only sit on the saddle and don't pull the reins with strength," the coach said. If the horse found the visitor was a beginner, he would stop moving forward and begin eating grass or just taking a rest.

The time spent on horseback was full of excitement. My legs stopped trembling and my strained nerves began to relax. I kept talking with David and gave him orders to make turns or run a little. My bottom hurt when David began to run because I didn't know how to adapt myself to his rhythm.

Night arrives early on wintry days, and around 5:00pm the coach reminded us to dismount. "I have to send them home earlier when it becomes dark. Otherwise they will get lost on their way home because of their poor eyesight," the coach said.

Although reluctant to leave, we had no choice but to finish our first riding experience.

On my way to Shanghai, once again, I thought again of the movie, the hero on horseback galloping. At that moment, only wind whistled in the ears. My whole heart had been set free without any restraint.