Back in the saddle

It was, in the end, a perfect day to go riding in Hyde Park. Cold, touched with drizzle, its colour drained by a slate grey sky and empty - at 11am on a Thursday morning - of the office habituees who cross it on their way to work, inner London's largest open space was infused with atmosphere.

The ability to ride properly - that is, communicate fully and satisfyingly with my horse and gallop over endlessly exotic landscapes - has been a dream of mine ever since I saw Crin Blanc (1952), a film by Albert Lamorisse about a boy's passion for one of the majestic white horses of the Camargue. A stable relationship

As a result, I have tried lessons and treks in destinations as diverse as Hawaii and Hong Kong, Ecuador and Epping Forest; I have even, in a mistaken attempt to get to 'know' horses, worked as a stable girl. Each time, my encounter has been characterised by one thing: the horse is usually in control.

I am not about to improve dramatically today, however. For Red Letter Days, one of the earliest companies to introduce the idea of 'experiences' as gifts and which also offers packages that encourage 'heavy metal action' in 17-ton Abbot Gun Tanks, SAS survival weekends and scuba diving with sharks, a gentle saunter on horseback round a city park is one of its staider options.

Our starting point is Hyde Park Riding School, one of the few establishments in Lancaster Gate's chi-chi Bathurst Mews that allows you to see how the small houses were originally used. Amid the sweet aroma of horse dung and warm straw, seven or so ponies stand with rumps out, heads to whitewashed walls, quietly chomping at their oats; the stable's grumpy Jack Russell takes a fierce dislike to me, studiously ignoring me when I approach and then nipping my ankles as I walk off.

I am introduced to Jack, my horse for today, a beautiful, 15-year-old half-bred bay with the temperament of a favourite uncle.

Ahmed, who will be riding with me, is a young Libyan who has spent a year teaching at the stables. He is unfailingly kind, carefully (re-)instructing me on the science of the rising trot ('Bounce gently' - I am flopping into the saddle like a sack of potatoes, making Jack's ears go back - 'And don't worry too much about when to go up, unless you're turning, when you should rise as the outside shoulder goes forward').
Hyde drama

I'm lost already. Ahmed glazes over with admiration as three police horses, majestic Irish Draught crosses, pass slowly by. 'They are so beautiful,' he sighs. 'And are they clever?' I ask. 'So clever,' he replies, looking after them longingly.

Our route takes us in a rough square from Lancaster Gate down the east of the park, along the northern shore of the Serpentine, up Dorchester Ride, the path that runs parallel to Park Lane, and past Marble Arch. And we amble under the park's ancient oaks.

Some stretches are better for trotting, others for watching life scurry by. It's easy to forget the attractions of London and an unusual perspective does wonders for reigniting interest in everyday surroundings. And, for an hour - while I may not have been galloping down the coastline of La Camargue on a white stallion - it was, as I said, perfect.

Horse Riding in Hyde Park costs £45 and lasts an hour. Maximum weight is 12 stone (76kg). No previous riding experience is necessary. Hats and jodhpur boots are available. To book, call 0870 444 4004 (open from 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am to 2pm Sat and Sun) or visit www.redletterdays.co.uk. Red Letter Days also offers a Horse Riding in the Country Experience, Horse Riding in Scotland and Introduction to Polo.