Event Training in Ireland:
Two Days at Clonshire
By Amber Heintzberger
(As Published at www.USEventhorse.com)
The rolling green fields divided by hedges and stone walls that make up the countryside of Ireland just beg to be ridden across. When you drive through the entrance of the Clonshire Equestrian Centre in Adare, Co. Limerick, the first thing you see is a line of cross-country jumps. As the fields stretch away to the horizon, cross-country jumps dot the fields and beckon to be ridden over. The road winds through a patch of woods, past the Livery yards and the kennels for the Limerick Harriers. At last the polo fields and indoor arena come into view, and yet another field full of stone walls, banks and other enticements.
I spent two days at Clonshire, riding with Sue and Dan Foley. Sue is a BHS Instructor and Dan a successful steeplechase jockey. Their staff is also knowledgeable and extremely helpful, especially a young woman named Emma who accompanied me on the cross-country course. An English event rider who is hoping to get her BHS certification, she offered useful advice and a fun tour of the course.
The first day I was lucky and the fickle Irish weather cleared up long enough for a rain-free cross-country school. A friend had driven me to Clonshire, and they offered to let him ride as well, so the two of us headed for the barns where our horses awaited: groomed, tacked up and ready to go. There are 30 school horses and 32 horses in livery at Clonshire. A few are Thoroughbreds and warmbloods, but mostly they are Irish Sport Horses. My first mount was a gray mare named Colleen who was substantially built and an athletic and willing jumper.
We were taken around the course by Emma starting off with a canter down the field and back, and then jumping a series of simple verticals. I relaxed so much here that the mare ran out at the last one, reminding me that I had to pay attention and not just enjoy the scenery. Then we moved on to a series of banks, jumping up and down progressively larger fences.
Between jumps we would stop and discuss the game plan, and Emma made me feel completely comfortable to do what was within my level of ability, encouraging me to try the next level if things were going well. I hadn't schooled cross-country in about two years, and when we started out I wasn't one hundred per cent confident. But as the lesson progressed, Emma's comments combined with the willingness of the mare convinced me that we were safe as could be, and we jumped nearly every fence on the course.
We cantered and jumped from field to field, taking in the water and bank complexes, ditches and stone walls, and a wide variety of other obstacles. Once we jumped out of a field, one stride across a road, and over a stone wall into another field. No problem -- we just had a to get a herd of ponies out of the way! A guy was driving by on a tractor, and he jumped down and shooed the ponies from the vertical. We jumped through quickly before they clued in and got in the way again.
Typical of any school horse, Colleen had done it all a million times and though I couldn't just sit back and be a complete passenger, it made it pretty easy going to ride such an honest horse. Near the end of the course I could feel her wake up and kick into high gear, knowing that she was headed home to her warm stable. I actually had to hold her back to keep her from running into the back end Emma's horse, but we finished with a grand, brave jump.
That afternoon the indoor riding arena was a welcome respite from the fickle Irish weather, when the rain inevitably came pouring down. I had a lesson with Sue on a strong Irish mare who is used to going around as she pleases -- another one of the hazards of riding school horses. She knew her job and she didn't want anyone to tell her how to do it. I tried to get her on the bit and was exhausted by the end of the session, my legs, arms and back aching. I was sharply reminded that horses are stronger than people and it's not a good idea to forget it. I might have been better off giving her a soft ride and saving my muscles for the next day.
It was a relief at the end of the day to head to my room at the Dunraven Arms, a four-star hotel in the village of Adare. Tours organized by Cross-Country International include accommodations here for all of their riders, and I met a group of foxhunters getting ready to go at breakfast in the morning. A six-course dinner and buffet breakfast in their award-winning restaurant are also included. The roast beef was the best I've had in Ireland. There are also a variety of pubs and restaurants around the town. If you have any energy left after your day in the saddle, the hotel has a leisure center with a workout room and swimming pool. They also offer massage and salon services that could be a more welcome treat at the end of the day.
I forgot to bring gloves and my fingers were feeling a bit worn out -- a great excuse for a shopping excursion! I walked down the street to the Country Dresser tack shop, recommended in the information from Cross-Country International. They offered a wide range of high-quality products, also at surprisingly reasonable prices.
Day Two
The next day started with a group show jumping session with Dan. There were about eight of us in the lesson, and I rode Eclipse, the tall Thoroughbred-type sport horse gelding that Emma had ridden cross-country the day before. Though refined in build Eclipse had massive hindquarters that really powered him over the jumps. He was lighter than the mare I'd ridden the first day, but I could take a stronger hold of him than the Thoroughbreds I'm used to riding at home.
We started out with flat work, then cantered a series of ground poles one at a time. The lesson proceeded with Dan building a grid and then a small course, and each of us jumping each part in turn as it was built. First trot poles to a cross-rails became a one-stride then he added a two-stride, then a turn left over a vertical, then a turn right to an oxer. It took a couple of hours since one would go, the others would watch, and then the next would go, but it was educational to watch the other riders and then do it myself. So often watching can become dull, but when you're participating, the exercises seem more relevant.
I had been lucky with the weather on the first day to have clear weather while we schooled cross-country, but the second day was a good test of how strong my legs are. The rubber boots that I had been wisely advised to purchase before facing the Irish mud proved slipperier than leather boots, and we rode in a downpour.
I rode Colleen again, while Emma rode the mare I had ridden in the lesson with Sue. She was a cross-country machine and we cruised around the course, a good review after the previous day. We also jumped a few new ditches that we had missed the day before -- wide, muddy and similar to what you might find in the Irish hunt fields. I had asked if it would be too hard on Colleen to go out cross-country two days in a row, and they just laughed and said that she was a good, tough Irish horse and not to worry. They were right; she was even more game after our good warm-up the day before and we had a fantastic, confidence-boosting ride around the course.
Cross-country and show jumping aren't the only options at Clonshire: they also offer dressage lessons on advanced schoolmasters, hacking out through the countryside and grand estates of Adare, and foxhunting with the Limerick hounds and harriers, Scarteen, and the Galway Blazers. In the summertime they also have polo training, with a visiting coach from Argentina.
I met a woman named Julia Thompson from Hawaii who was visiting Clonshire for a little riding while touring Ireland. She had worked at Suma Stud in Country Meath previously and couldn't resist returning to Ireland this winter. Though most of us would imagine it would be more fun riding amidst palm fronds in Hawaii than in an Irish downpour in January, Thompson said, "I much prefer riding in a bit of rain and mud -- dressed appropriately -- than riding in Hawaii in boiling temperatures and maximum humidity. While sun is good for beaches and tanning, it's hell on horses -- and riders in breeches! Ireland, with its green fields and cool air, seemed like heaven to me."
Coincidentally the B&B that Thompson had booked in Adare was practically across the street from Clonshire " I was only there for one night- on my way to Dingle, but I decided to cut my stay south short and return to Adare for a couple of days to ride. I rode out the first day, which was a wonderful experience, and took a lesson with the staff ride the second day. As for trying the cross-country course, maybe next trip!
Thompson returned in the evening to watch the evening lessons, which Dan was teaching. She said, "I was struck by three things: one, the dedication of everyone to be out there in the freezing cold; two, the honesty and dependability of the school horses; and three, the instructors' ability to manage large groups of riders at varying levels of competency."
Stable Manager Yvonne O'Connor said that while people come to Clonshire for many kinds of riding, by the end of the week they all want to get out on the cross-country course. Clonshire offers something for everyone and with out standing facilities, willing horses and friendly, generous people, they are sure to show you a good time.
To see the lovely village of Adare go to: http://www.irishvillages.com/adare
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