Celtic Trails

Horses & Riding

Tack

The horses wear simple English leather bridles with snaffle bits and English style saddles.

Horses

Irish horses are renowned for both quality and temperament and all the horses here are Irish bred, many of them having grown up on the farm. They are trained to be good, solid, sensible trail riding horses and thus they are perfect for taking you across their homeland. There is a variety of horses including Irish Cobs, Connemaras and Irish Hunters, all of which can offer you a truly enjoyable ride.

Riding

There are 3 itineraries:

• Galway Clare Country Trail is a trail ride
• Irish Castle and Monastic Ruin Ride is a based ride
• Residential Riding Package is a based ride

Ages

Riders must be a minimum of 12 years old for the trails, but 8 years or older for the Residential Stay

Health

None specific.

Weight

85kg / 187lbs / 13st 5lbs.

Food & Accommodation

Food

Hearty Irish breakfasts and traditional farmhouse cooking is served, usually sat by the open turf fire. Lunch is usually a tasty buffet.

Prices include tea, coffee and fresh spring water. Other drinks (soft drinks and alcohol) are not included in the packages but are available for purchase.

Accommodation

The lodge is a 300 year old farmhouse which has been tastefully restored to offer guests a comfortable and welcoming stay. It maintains an air of times gone by but features all modern facilities that guests might need. Guest rooms are all en suite and individually decorated.

The rooms available are 3 doubles (or twins), 2 twins, 3 singles and 1 triple. They are all en suite. There is one additional double room which has a separate but private bathroom across the hallway.

During the trail rides guests stay in the lodge (sometimes you will be driven back there, leaving the horses at a stop off point along the trail).

Complimentary WiFi is available at the farmhouse.

Itineraries

Galway Clare Country Trail Standard accommodation.

Irish Castle and Monastic Ruin Ride Standard accommodation.

Residential Riding Package Standard accommodation.

Other Activities

Donkey walking - many years ago donkeys were seen as a hardworking farm animal and were of great value when working the land. Nowadays there are not many working donkeys left in Ireland and most are treated as pets. Here you can book a different kind of experience... "walking with a donkey!" This is great fun for families with children, donkey lovers or perhaps non-riders wanting to do something different.

Travel

Guests are advised to fly into Shannon Airport and from here we can arrange your airport transfers or you can hire a car (we can provide driving directions). Transfers are available at additional cost.

Testimonials

Corinne E., Oct. 14, 2024

The whole experience was top notch. The accommodation comfortable. The food delicious. The riding fun and exciting. Favourite memory? Riding across the commonlands through the bog and heather.

Arielle S., Aug. 11, 2023

This holiday was so much fun! The weather was much better than I expected and the scenery was so beautiful. The people, horses, and landscape made this holiday unforgettable. The horses on this ride were really neat because they were all Irish breeds, so we really got to see the horses in their element. They were impressively sure-footed and very kind.

Amy C., Sept. 9, 2022

This was my first riding holiday and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Beautiful area, fabulous horses, never ending hospitality from the hosts and their team. The trip I was on also included tours of local sites which were well worth it as the guides for those were really knowledgable. Favourite memory? Cantering across the tops of the moors then stopping so that we could all take pictures of each rider - which as a single traveller was nice to have a non-selfie picture of me to remember the trip by. Food/accommodation? The room was spotlessly clean and well appointed for the amount of time that is actually spent in it. The building itself is full of personality and you can feel the love that has gone into creating it. The food was well made and set you up for the day. Horses? The horse I was given was perfect for me, practically the same personality and type as the pony I ride at home. The horses were all well trained and knew their jobs so always made me feel safe in what we were doing. All the equipment was well maintained and kept clean. There was a full explanation of what everything was at the start of the week.

Sadie N., Sept. 7, 2021

The holiday was excellent, can’t fault anything about it from the help from Natalie in getting it booked to the place itself. The owners Nicola and Bertie were excellent hosts. The horses were well matched to the riders and they made sure that the horses and guests were appropriately equipped.

Trudi, Oct. 18, 2019

Favorite Memory - My horse and the views over Galway from the Trail.

Niall M., July 24, 2018

Now that I've got home from sailing off the Cork coast (which was also amazing) just wanted to say what a great riding holiday we had. Nicola & Bertie certainly know how to organise a good riding holiday! Horses were great, tack good, accommodation & food good. Guides good. It was amazing! Please thank Nicola & Bertie for a great time. I would certainly recommend the holiday to any intermediate/ advanced rider. Cheers

Christine L., Aug. 17, 2017

I had my first riding holiday (Galway Burren Trail) and it was a perfect trip. Friendly staff, very nice other guests, well-kept and trained horses, comfortable farmhouse B&Bs, delicious food, good weather, wonderful landscape. The horses were very well trained and every horse was perfect for its rider. Nothing to improve the holiday, it is already perfect.

Ann L., Dec. 3, 2014

The holiday was excellent, the riding was very well timetabled and nice riding through lovely countryside. All the team were lovely, particularly the two guides who looked after us very well.