“The thunder of galloping hoofs broke the silence of a serence mountain valley”. Equine Tourism is here and a major driver or should we say rider, in tourism for Ireland.
As an avid rider, Equine Tourism has become increasingly popular around the world. But nothing comes close to the scenery in Ireland and Willie Leahy from Connemara Trails was a pioneer.
Image of Willie
Willie has guided riders along the Connemara Coast Trail for about 40 years and knows the area extremely well. The coast covers some of the wildest and most rugged scenery in Ireland. Seeing this while riding a horse is not only exciting but relaxing.
This six-day riding allows you to spend about 6 hours a day in the saddle and is for experienced riders only. We rode over mountains, across rivers, through bogs, along beaches and right through the middle of villages.
Willie knows the area and the people better than anyone and we met many characters and learned a lot about the history and idiosyncrasies of the area from him.
Image by: Connemara Trail
This was a point to point ride so we stayed in several different places but by far my favourite was Zetland Country House. The house is on a stunning estate right on a beautiful bay and the rooms and atmosphere of the place were right out of a period drama.
Colm, the owner and host, even threw a birthday party for one of our group complete with an amazing dinner of local salmon and game and plenty of his own award winning Irish Whiskey.
Image by: Judy Janssens
Everything about this ride from an equestrians’ point of view was top notch. We had a choice of horses to ride which was great. You could pick a sure footed Connemara Pony with their distinctive dapple grey coats for the trails over mountains and through bogs and then switch to a tall elegant Irish Thoroughbred to gallop through forests and jump over fences.
One highlight was riding out to an Island at low tide and having the whole place to ourselves. It was a great experience to gallop around on the beaches and jump over all the ancient stone fences. Another was swimming on the horses in a beautiful bay.
Image by: Judy Janssens
This was my first experience at travelling on horseback but not my last.
It is an incredible way to get right into the local scene and be completely immersed into the local culture, nature and the true outdoors that Ireland is known for.
Written By Judy Janssens