My love for horses never deminished, though the time I could devote to riding certainly did. Especially after I finished school, I found less and less time to hang around the stables and my riding was curtailed to just a few times a year. After I gained so much weight, I sort of stopped altogether for a couple of years.
Thanfully, that weight did eventually come off and I slowly made my way back to horses. After riding in Mexico while on vacation, that love of riding was reawoken and I set out to fulfill that old dream of riding a horse in my beloved country of Ireland.
Well, making the decision to finally take the plunge was the easy part. I began to do my research and eventually settled on a tour booked by a company called Cross Country International that would take me from County Galway through County Clare in the west of Ireland, and through an area known as the Burren which is of significant importance in Irish history. Booking the trip was easy. Getting myself ready... well...that was another story.
Starting off with riding lessons, lots of lessons, to get my seat secure again. Then gear. I had always ridden in jeans, leggings and whatever boots I happened to have lying around. Now I needed breeches, a helmet, and proper riding boots. Then there were indicentals, like gloves, boot socks, a bag for my gear. By the time all is said and done, I spent about $900 on outfiting myself.
Had to say, it was all worth it. I honestly cannot remember having ever had such a wonderful vacation in all my life. Everything was wonderful, and I met the most fantastic people on this trip. And oh, the wonderful things I saw.
For this trip, I worked at keeping a fairly detailed journal that I updated daily so I could keep track of everything that I was seeing. So by clicking on the links below, you will be able to sample a bit of what I saw on a daily basis.
