Riding in Ireland

[Irish_Stang]

Hello all! Long time lurker but I find myself in need of some recommendations!

My father (the bestest dad of all dads) has offered to pay for me to take a riding vacation in Ireland. My mom will be coming with me. Has anyone gone to Ireland to ride and can give me some ideas for my horsie vacation?

Ideally I’d love to spend time jumping cross country. I wouldn’t mind some trails but I figure if I’m going to go, I might as well get some education out of it. I have a mare that I event at Novice/Training level so I’m pretty comfortable over fences and at speed. That being said, my mom is more of a novice rider. She has ridden for most of her life but hasn’t ridden much lately. I doubt that she’d be all that enthusiastic about jumping so I’m hoping to find a location that will cater to both of our skill levels.

Crossing my fingers for a wealth of information. TIA!!

[Luseride]

I had a great time at Horse Holiday Farm in Grange, County Sligo in 2012. It was a trip of a lifetime. They have a cross country course and there are also jumps at other places they ride.

[Tour_Guide]

Castle Leslie! They can accommodate all levels and the estate including the cross country course is beautiful. Try to go on a week where they aren’t hosting a wedding as they close off the castle itself in those instances.

[arbeegirl]

I second Castle Leslie! The place is beautiful and they have great horses. I just did a walking trail ride as I was with a non riding co worker on a work trip.

Plenty of choices based on your level of riding. I would love to stay in the hotel over looking the barn😁

[Baybear]

I’d also suggest Castle Leslie especially if you are keen to do a lot of jumping.

[NothingSimple90]

Clonshire in Co. Limerick was fantastic - I’ve been there twice and they have fabulous horses and personalize your trip with what you would like (lessons, XC, hacking, dressage, etc.). I believe they will organize hunting for you as well, or will point you in the right direction. We stayed in Adare, which is close by.

I have read good things about Connemara Trails on these forums and that’s a bucket list for me. However, I read that Willie passed away a month or two ago sadly.

[anon40672407]

Day riding in Ireland (Galway)

I’m hoping some well-traveled cothers can help me find a good stable/outfitter to ride with while I’m on a trip to Ireland this spring. My long-time friend and I are going to Ireland together for 4 days (I live in EU, she’s using it as a stopping point on a longer trip - hence the short duration). We’ll have Sat - Tues AM in Galway. We’re both confident and capable riders and much prefer riding horses with a bit of spunk rather than schoolies. My concern is that the few times I’ve gone riding o…

some earlier suggestions.

[Always_WIP]

I vote for Crossogue (Tipperary) or Castle Leslie. I’ve ridden at Crossogue and I absolutely loved it.

[EventingMaff]

I was original poster in the linked thread, and we did end up going out for a ride (and had a wonderful time!) but no recommendation for the OP as sounds like they’re looking for more of a horse-riding vacation while we were looking for a half-day ride while in Ireland on vacation.

That being said, Connemara Trails seems to be one of the top rated and recommended options and if friend and I had been going without husbands, that would have been our top choice. Although very sad to hear that Willie Leahy has passed, so not sure what is / will be happening with the business.

ETA: For future searches (in case helpful), we ended up using a small riding school called ‘The Point Pony’ about 20 minutes outside of Clifden, right on the coast, and had a fabulous 2 hr ride with gallops along the beach. Ponies were not fancy but good quality, well cared for, and definitely not ‘half dead school ponies’ – they were FUN! We also popped over a couple logs and up/down some banks and ditches on the way home…overall a fun afternoon out