Topic: Gerunds & Participles,

Best Answer Explained in Below-:

In the sentence "Ridding a horse, he went to a distant place," the word "ridding" functions as a present participle. Present participles are verb forms that end in -ing and are used to indicate ongoing action or to form progressive tenses. They can also act as adjectives or in participial phrases to provide additional context or information about the subject.

In this case, "ridding a horse" describes the action the subject is involved in as he goes to a distant place. It clarifies what the subject is doing while he is traveling. Although "ridding" could be mistaken for a gerund, which acts as a noun, here it specifically modifies the subject and shows an action occurring at the same time as another action (going).

Other options like "gerund" or "verbal noun" do not fit because they emphasize a noun function rather than an adjective-like quality that describes the action of the subject. Therefore, the most fitting classification for "ridding" in this context is indeed as a present participle, making option D the correct choice.