for about 4 or 5 summers from adolescents into my teens i spent at what was simply called "horse camp". some of my best memories are from that time. we would go on trail rides in the mountains of Va, multi-day pack trips in the George Washington National Forest, and one summer i rode across 4 states helping map out routes on the American Discovery Trail that had horse support. there's nothing quite like jumping a horse (or mule, one of my favorite mounts was a mule named Rachel).
i was in a car accident when i was 17, and have brain damage from that, and the brain doctor gave me a list of activities i could never safely do again, and of course horseback riding was on it.
i miss it. a lot.