‘This is so cool,’ Carrie says. ‘It’s like a racehorse. I can guide with my knees, right?’

‘Of course,’ Gan says. He demonstrates how to use the reins to stop and start the horse, and regulate the speed. ‘And knees,’ he says, patting her knees. He slaps the horse gently on the hind again, and it takes off at a gentle trot.

Eventually, we are all on the horses, and the guides head off to the front. I am not at all comfortable on the saddle. It is so high and tight, and I don’t like the way my horse keeps stopping to chew on grass, forcing me to keep yanking on its reins and squeezing it with my knees to get it going again. I’m pretty sure it’s taking the piss.

I try to keep up, but the guides have to keep circling back to check on me, while Carrie leads the pack like a seasoned pro, with Rory bounding after her. We’re only half way round the mountain, when my stupid horse decides to eat more grass, dipping its head and neck so low that I feel myself sliding off. I end up tangled in the stirrups and on the verge of tears.

‘Maybe we should swap?’ Martin suggests, seeing my distress.

Batu agrees and helps us swap over. ‘Be firm,’ he says to me. He rides with me, side by side, until he is sure that I am OK, then he canters off to the front.

As soon as he’s gone, my horse slows, and does exactly what the other one did, this time causing me to tumble over its bent neck and land on the hard ground.

‘Oops,’ Rory calls, turning round at my cry of frustration. I’m not hurt, other than my pride, but I do not want to continue riding these ridiculous horses.

I take the reins and start walking it, pulling a little harder than necessary. The others aren’t going particularly fast anyway, and when they see that I am walking they slow further. Carrie appears beside me, a look of pity on her face. ‘Poor V,’ she says, ‘not having fun?’

‘You carry on,’ I snap.

She says something to the horse, and then slaps it and takes off at as much of a gallop as the short, stocky legs can manage.