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from £1,700 or €1,960
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Included – Hotel stay package is priced per person:6 nights accommodation, Full Board: 6x breakfasts, 5 x dinners, lunch packages or a pub lunch on the day rides, 5 days riding (approx. 22 hours), transfer hotel – farm.
Excluded – Getting there, drinks, meals not mentioned, tips.
Open all year round arrival day is Monday, departure day Sunday
Getting There
International clients can fly into Knock, Shannon or Dublin Airport and then hire a car or take a train to Sligo then a transfer can be arranged. The O’Connors farm is based 10 miles north of Sligo.
Transfer
Transfers can be arranged from Sligo train station by taxi, it’s E40 each way. We can also arrange transfers to and from all the airports, please request.
Come and enjoy some of the most wonderful beach riding in famous Yeats country. The scenery on the Sligo beach ride takes some beating with the Atlantic on one side and Benbulben mountain on the other. Run and hosted by 3 generations of the O’Connor family from their farm in the North West of Ireland this is a magic trip where you’ll stay in a fabulous local hotel and town and enjoy spectacular rides daily.
The farm is very homely and along with 35 ponies and horses which the O’Connors have bred or bought in and are wholly suited to distance riding and the varying terrains. There are also cattle, hens, ducks and all the usual farm animals around which especially families love to get emerged with.
The horses and ponies are tough and perfect for the job, the riding is just spectacular, and rides often include riding out to the O’Connors own private island…how cool is that?
It’s a family run business with Raymond & Ursula O’Connor running the farm, Raymond having a huge passion for breeding Irish Draughts and Irish Sport Horses. Their daughter Elisa is an accomplished show jumper having even ridden on the international circuit, she is now studying commerce at Galway University but in tandem has managed to set up her own breeding program of Irish Sports Horses. Ursula will be your guide and host, she looks after the training of the horses and hosting of clients and is super warm and welcoming.
Horses –Connemara, Irish Cob, Irish sport horse and crosses. Many of them are home bred and all are specifically trained by us for trail riding. They are happy to work, have a great attitude and are suitable for different riding levels.
Level of Riding & Pace – Good novice to intermediate.
Tack – English style
Weight Restriction – 16 stone/100Kg/220lbs
Group Size – maximum 8 guests
Pier Head Hotel
Please Ask About
Sligo Beach Ride Wild Atlantic Way – Itinerary by Day
Day 1: Arrival
You will be arriving at the accommodation on Monday.
Day 2: Assessment lesson in the paddock and three-hour beach and bog ride
Today will be an opportunity for Island View Riding Stables to assess you on how you get on with the horse they have picked for you before lunch. After lunch at the stables, you will go for a three-hour beach and bog ride. The ride will combine a coastal and rural experience. The first part of your ride will take you along sandy Trawalua Beach, then you will follow quiet laneways and century-old bog tracks at the foot of rugged Benbulbin Mountain. This ride will also offer experienced riders an extra opportunity for a canter on the moorlands loop.
Day 3 to 6: Long Rides
You will get one of the following long rides every day. The following four rides will fall on the day that will be arranged a bit closer to the time as weather and tidal conditions will dictate the departure time. There will be either packed lunches and pub tea room lunches over the next four days.
O’Connor’s Island ride (four hours)
You will trek across the lagoon to Streedagh Beach where a fresh gallop will await the experienced riders. Three Spanish Armada ships were wrecked here at the Black Rock in 1588. You will explore the sand dunes on O’Connor’s Island, combining some brisk riding on the strand and a scenic stroll over the island with a stop off in the pub for a pint as well as some hearty food. Seals and migratory birds can often be spotted in the estuary. Depending on the tidal condition, you will enjoy either a picnic or pub lunch.
Dernish Island trek ride (four or five hours)
This trek is any riders dream, where you can discover the unspoiled and expansive beaches on horseback. You will feel the thrill of crossing the Atlantic channel to Dernish Island. Your horse can enjoy the salty island grass while you relax, have a snack, and explore the sites of ancient farm life on the island. Your picnic site will be at the ruined homestead of O’Connor family on O’Connor’s Island where a group of young horses and the dry stock cattle herd roams the islands.
Mullaghmore Coastal ride (four hours)
After an exhilarating ride on Trawalua Beach, you will follow the boundary of Classiebawn Estate to Mullaghmore. This little fishing village boasts a picturesque 19th-century stone-built harbor. The ride will take you along the headland with some breathtaking views of majestic sea cliffs and the castle – a signature viewpoint of the Wild Atlantic Way. It was here that Lord Mountbatten, the great-grandson of Queen Victoria, was killed by a bomb planted on his boat by the IRA in 1979. On days with serious swell, top surfers from all over the world come here to take on a wave of up to 50 foot. On this trail, you will take a lunch break in the pub overlooking the harbor.
Gleniff Horseshoe ride (five to six hours)
Only a few miles inland from the coast, you will ride in the barren Gleniff Horseshoe valley which is nestled beneath Benwiskin Mountain. The valley is steeped in history and legend. Set in a spectacular cliff face is Diarmuid and Grainne’s Cave, legend has it that this was the lovers’ hiding place on their flight from Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Barium Meal had been mined in the Dartry Mountains until the middle of the 20th-century. You will have your break and picnic snack at the old barites mill site before you return home along quiet country laneways. The ride will offer you breathtaking views of the 10 townlands and the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 7: Departure
You will depart from the accommodation after breakfast.
The itinerary might change due to weather conditions or circumstances beyond our control without prior notice…
Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Guarantee:
All our horse riding holidays are price guaranteed. We will refund the difference should you find the same horse riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.
If you are having trouble finding exactly the right horse riding holiday for you from our horse riding holiday collection, please contact us directly using the form below and tell us in your own words what you would like to do and we will use our extensive knowledge to make sure we find that perfect horse riding holiday.
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