Horse riding, #1 in my heart

By Daria Copos (4C)

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk to you about how I started horse riding and why.

Until the age of nine, I only did swimming, and I needed something more. I had a friend
who had already taken up horse riding. Our moms were friends and one day, she
suggested that I try it too. Later that week, I went to the horse-riding club and met my
future instructor, Bogdan. After my first lesson, I felt like I was in heaven! I fell in
love… I immediately felt connected with the horse, then I realised that this was the sport
I was looking for all along.

My first lesson horse was a thirteen-year-old white stallion named Rorry. He taught me
a lot and I’m very thankful. My first fall was also with him. It was the first time I tried
canter on my own. He bucked me off. I think he just had a bad day, because i know he
would’ve never made me fall off intentionally.

At first, my mum thought it was just a phase, I did that with all the new things I tried.
This was different, though. It wasn’t long until I started to ask my parents to put more
horse riding lessons in my timetable. I became obsessed and in time, more and more
experienced. I was progressing a lot. It’s easy, you just need to have passion!
One day, my instructor told me that it was time to ride a new lesson horse named Lydia.
She was the sweetest chestnut mare with a great personality! I remember that the first
time I rode her, she felt very fast, way faster than Rorry. The truth is that I only rode
Rorry because Lydia was pregnant with Brianna, her foal.

I was very sad when i found out that Lydia had been abused before my instructor
bought her. At first , she was a bit shaky and scared of everything. I did my first ever
trotting poles on Lydia, it was amazing! And also, my first gallop. I loved her sooooo
much!

Then it came time for Bogdan to buy another horse because he wanted me to start
jumping and to get ready for competitions. Lydia didn’t know how to jump so he said
that I couldn’t make progress with her anymore. So I started riding Kinta, the love of my
life. The tall, beautiful bay mare. She was my everything. (She still is) she had the ability
to jump about one meter. It was perfect. I immediately fell deep in love with her. My
favourite thing was to kiss her soft and squishy nose and then cuddle with her. The first
ever forest ride I ever went on, was with her. She was so calm and she did everything I
wanted her to do.

Then came the horse-riding camp organised by the club. I got to make lots of new
friends. I learned how to take care of a horse, because when I’ll have one (in January) I
won’t just ride him, I will also have to make sure that he is healthy and has everything
he needs. That summer, I connected with Kinta a lot more. We got to know each other
better. I also learned how much hard work goes into a horse, because after all it is also
an animal.

Currently, I still do my lessons on Kinta, my favorite horse . I learned how to jump on

her and now I go over 70-80 cm obstacles. She really is lovely.

My first ever show jumping competition is in January. I’m so excited for us to finally
make our dreams come true and win. But even if we don’t, it will still be the best
experience of my life because we’ll get through it together.

Thank you, Rorry, thank you Lydia and especially, Kinta. I love you all very much.
A wet adventure
By Daria Copos (4C)

Summer finally came, so the Smith family was packing for a vacation to the seaside.
They decided to camp near the shore, so they also brought a tent.
After a long car drive, they arrived. Dad was getting bored of assembling the tent, so he
took a short fishing break. Mary, his daughter, came with him because she also liked
fishing. On their way to the shore, Mary spotted a beautiful shell. It was red, shiny and
big.
When her dad threw his fishing rod in the sea, angry because he couldn’t catch any fish,
Mary threw her shell at him. The blow to his head made dad dizzy and he fell into the
water. The worst part was that his phone fell in, too! It wasn’t waterproof.
Silly Mary!
My awful birthday presents
By Timeea Neagu (4C)

19th October, 2021

Dear Diary,

I can’t believe I got such awful presents from my aunt. I mean, I’m not trying to be
ungrateful, but it’s my birthday! My birthday!!!

So, first, she got me a hideous pink sweater. It makes me itchy and, also, I hate pink!
I’ll never wear it!

After that, I unwrapped an English dictionary from her. Doesn’t she know I already
spend enough time at school? I don’t need any more things related to it. Besides, I can’t
even hold it because it’s too heavy! Also, it smells so bad that I can’t help but wonder
where it’s been until now.

And finally, the last thing I got was a boring boardgame. Who in their right mind even
plays these anymore? Probably old people. I’ll just give it to my dad.

The thing is, I love my aunt a lot. I don’t have the heart to tell her how awful her
presents are. Still, I don’t want to keep getting presents like these from her.

Argh!!! What shall I do?!

Three terrible Christmas gifts
By Iana Costin-Beuran (4C)

26th December, 2021

Dear Diary,
Yesterday was Christmas. My aunt came over and handed me three gifts. They were
wrapped in pink wrapping paper. Ew! But wait, it gets worse. When I opened them, I
saw a grandma shirt with flowers on it and a Snakes and Ladders boardgame.
However, the most uninspired present, by far, was The Complete English Grammar
book she gave me. Worst gifts ever! Even worse than what I received for my birthday,
when she gave a sweater that was one size too small! I couldn’t even get it over my
head.
Now, coming back to the book I got this Christmas. Did I mention it has lot of exercises
for me to solve? My aunt is a teacher of English, and she was so excited to find this
book at the local used bookstore. She told my mum she’d be happy to check my work
over the summer holiday. I am furious!
I am pretty upset about the shirt, too. It makes me look like my grandma, and besides,
it’s three sizes too big! I think I’ll donate it to an old folks’ home.
And what about the game I got?! I think my aunt is unwell. No, really. I got this very
same present last year and the previous year, and the year before that!!! How does she
not remember?
Urgh!!! I love my aunt but I hate my life!
The Richie Rich Fish
By Letiția Bilan, Iana Costin-Beuran, Timeea Neagu & Daria Copos (4C)

There was once a fish in a bowl. One day, when I checked on him, he looked kind of
dead. So, I decided to change his water and I placed him in a smaller bowl. I didn’t
know he could jump out. As it turns out, he could and he did. When I came back, he
wasn’t there anymore.

It was late, so soon after, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, as I always do
before going to bed. To my surprise, the fish was there, just chilling in my bathtub.
How’d he get there?!

I was so shocked that my mouth fell open and the fish jumped in. He tasted… well.. kind
of fishy. I quickly spat him out and washed my mouth. ‘Ewww!’ I thought.

All of a sudden, the fish began jumping up and down. He looked like a clown, so we
started a circus show. He became very popular, very quickly. He got so rich and famous
that he soon moved to Los Angeles and got married to Addison Rae. But it didn’t last
long. She broke his heart. Poor fish.

In the end, he married Charli D’Amelio. He was such a baddie. He moved into her
mansion and together they travelled the world and lived happily ever after.
A bad dream, a good lesson
By Anya Ghiță, Patricia Stanciu, Victoria Albăstroiu & Tudor Alexe (4C)

There was once a fish in a bowl. One day, the owner, a cute eleven-year-old girl, came
into the room with another fish. Goldy was now very jealous. He started thinking of a
plan to kick him out of the fishbowl.
It wasn’t long until the new fish started making fun of the older one. How mean! But
fortunately for Goldy, soon after, the new fish got some weird dots all over its body.
These were a clear sign of a rare disease and got bigger and bigger. The fish started to
feel unwell and didn’t want to play anymore.
Luckily, something good happened for both fish. Goldy realised that none of this was
real. It had just been a weird dream.
In the end, Goldy was happy. He now knew how bad it feels to be made fun of and
decided to be nice to everyone.