I rode a bit, less than you, as a child. Stopped early teenage as lessons too expensive. I started again in mid 50s, like you lesson once a week. Then through a friend whose family were horsey I started riding once a week, hacking out on point to piont racehorses. I was completely novice...
I bought a custom built long wheel base Renault Master with 129k miles on the clock 10 years ago and it’s still going strong with regular use. They are workhorses and built to do the miles.
my original post on this thread was deleted as I said something that ‘a person’ objected to. Just wanted to bump up this thread [Content removed following complaint] I eventually did get my money back, but the whole experience was extremely distressing. [Content removed following complaint]