The first question I usually get is, "Why Ireland?" and for that I have no really good answer. But after returning from a week of riding in the west of Ireland that question seems faintly silly. I miss it a great deal already. It was one of those picture postcard perfect times that I will treasure always. But for those of you who do insist closure I suppose I can come up with at least a "how."
In the Spring of 2003 I was dating a lady who was into horses too. After a bit we thought that it would be a smashing idea to go on a riding vacation together sometime. I spent some time on Google, found a few likely companies that do equestrian vacations and requested a few catalogs.
Summer pokes it's head in the door and discovers that the lady with the horse is no longer anywhere in sight. Not much remains of the relationship but that big beautiful catalog sitting on my coffee table. It beckons to me with visions of far off places. Lovely places seen from horseback.
Soon dreams of riding thru exotic lands on horseback populate my nights. One day an email pops into my mailbox telling me about a $500.00 discount on a vacation that I had previously drooled over. Before I knew it I had plopped down my deposit, arranged airfare and dug up my passport. A passport that had only been used once before a couple of years previously on a vacation in Aruba
Needless to say the next three months simply crawled by. But before I knew it I was crammed into a seat just a little too small for my six foot two frame on my way to Shannon International Airport in the west of Ireland. Unfortunately the next week went much faster than any of the previous twelve.
For some reason when I am asked, "so how was it." I seem to be lacking the right words. 'Wonderful, fabulous and amazing' seems too tepid. Perhaps these words and pictures will do better.
Getting to Adare and other touristy sights
Hunt seat training in Ireland (what I went for)