My wife and I will be visiting Iceland, Scotland & Ireland for work (brief stents in Iceland and Ireland). She is too afraid to be stressed out by weight limits to want to go riding while we’re there, but it would be nice to visit some horse places. We won’t have a car, so places available by train, bus or taxi.
I love the Irish National Stud when I was a teen, but I’m not sure if that’s reasonably reachable without a car?
Irish national stud has a bus stop right at the front gate. Kildare is on rail/ tram line from dublin so it should be easy to access without a car. Walk is about 2.5km bus route should very likely be centered at or near the station
Where are you going in Scotland? You can find some feral ponies in a bog if you take the train to Kingussie and don’t mind a hike.
Not feral (anymore) and a different bog, but you get the idea.
If you happen to be in Dublin in August, the Dublin Horse Show would be awesome to attend.
80yo non-riding friend took a trek on horseback in Iceland & loved it.
Trekking company provided all necessary clothing (snowmobile suits) & tack.
I am going to Iceland in May and just read some of the customs rules…NO riding equipment can be brought in! I am doing a short day ride on my vacation in May. They provide everything. I plan on carry-on luggage only so that is fine.
I would just do some Googling. One of the activities on my tour is a visit to a farm which is supposed to show us sheep and horses and how they grow veggies. I don’t know the name but there should be plenty of farms that would do this. Tourism IS their livelihood.
Susan
The most amount of time will be spent in Glasgow, Scotland, then a few days in Edinburgh.
hoopoe - Good to know about the national stud!
Stormy - I’m so bummed! We’ll be in Dublin a few weeks after that show (around the 1st of Sept).
there’s a place in southern iceland that does beach rides but seemed quite fine with petting noses and saying hello, I think the town is Vik. It might be called Vik Horses now that I think about it…
Don’t miss New Grange, an incredible pre-historic site north of Dublin. It’s one of the eeriest, most interesting places I’ve ever seen.
It’s not a horse place. But it is amazing.
I went hacking in Ireland. We were on a 21 day trip and definitely didn’t bring “riding” stuff - just long pants and blundstones that I was wearing other days anyways.
What an experience! Barn provided helmets. But to actually ride w/t/c in the open country side was so incredible that I strongly suggest booking a day trip out for a hack.
Worst part was the drive to the barn. Husband went golfing, and I drove the 10 minutes alone from course to barn… and it was a bit nerve wracking.
I mean, New Grange is not a horse place.
Do some googling, you might find county / regional fairs
I live in Glasgow and keep my horses just outside of the city, but can’t think of anything particularly horsey to do here. There may or may not be Clydesdales in Pollock Park, which is a large city park on the south side. They were there, then they moved, then the Glasgow city council made plans to refurb the stables and bring them back, but the Glasgow council could not find their arse with both hands, so who knows.
If you’re in Scotland around the 24th to 27th of August, there is a big international 3-day event at Blair Atholl, a town up in the Perthshire Highlands. It has a train station, and it’s about a two-hour train journey from Glasgow. Takes about an hour and a half to drive it (on a good day).
Happy to answer any other questions about Glasgow.
Riding clothing, boots, helmets CAN be brought to Iceland, they just all have to be thoroughly disinfected before arrival. No tack.
That said, when I was there two months ago I just used the riding center’s gear because it was less hassle to disinfect and pack my stuff. They’re all well stocked. Standard hiking boots are perfectly fine.
In terms of Ireland, the Curragh is 10 min from the Irish National Stud in Kildare and is very uniquely Irish — it’s a massive open plain with a top racecourse plus training gallops (https://www.curragh.ie/training) and lots of space to just ride/hack out. Horses have been training and racing on the Curragh for thousands of years, it made me a little emotional to think about! I was lucky enough to hack out across the common land with a local friend, but you could have a day at the races and then go to the stud, or if you contacted the general office at the racecourse they might be able to give you some tips on how to see horses working in the morning on the gallops. Then hop over to Berney Bros in Kildare to buy some tack that will outlive you!
I went to Iceland a few years ago to ride for 4 or 5 days and brought my own gear, you just need to disinfect very carefully. I wouldn’t bother for a half-day hack but for a couple full days of riding, I like to be in my own stuff (helmet especially). My non-horsey Iceland tip is that the Blue Lagoon seems touristy but is actually a blast, so much better than I’d anticipated and an easy day trip from Reykjavik.
Oooh, Curragh sounds really cool! I’d love to go back with the National Stud with my horse loving wife instead of my bored relatives. Do you have a feel for how reasonable that is from Dublin by train (without a car)?
Looks like Dublin to Kildare Town is about 90 min via train, you might then need to take a cab or Uber from town to the track/Curragh.
The same bus line that serves the stud also serves the track, it is not much further on,. See Google maps
It might be worth going to see The Kelpie statues on the canal at Falkirk. They look to be very fine but so far I’ve not seen them in person. You could then carry on and visit Stirling, with its important castle.
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