Published on May, 2025
We were picked up by a van in downtown Dublin that held about 15 people. Along the ride to the horse stable our tour guide, Derek, had a microphone where he told us fun facts and history about various things that we drove past on the way. Once at the stable, we were given a helmet and boots (they will allow you to where your own boots if they have a thick heel on them). We then got matched up with our horse for the day based on size and I rode Tom, the friendly giant, and my grandmother rode Socks. Tom and Socks were our names for the next 1 and a half and I thought it was cute how they referred to everyone as their horses name. At first, I was a little surprised because they don’t tell you much about horse riding before getting on the horse, but I later found out that this wasn’t Tom and Socks first rodeo so previous experience was totally irrelevant. The horses were beautiful and followed in a perfect line without having to really direct them. The only thing to get used to was if your horse was lagging behind your told to give them a nudge with your heel in the stomach (which meant go faster). After a couple minutes my grandmother and I got the feel for it and from there it was just breathtaking views and laughs through the forest and farmland. There was one tour guide in the front and back of the line keeping everyone moving, and they even stopped us halfway through to get a picture with whoever is in your group. It also started to rain during our walk, but with some of the tour being through the thick, beautiful woods that wasn’t a problem and we stayed mostly dry. I would highly recommend this activity if your looking for something different and fun, also a great way to see the beautiful countryside of Ireland with the sea in the background. After our horse tour we drove through the countryside seeing countless mountains, lakes, and bogs. Our last stop of the tour was Glendalough where there was a stunning lake and old settlement nestled between some mountains. Then, the drive back to Dublin was only an hour long where we took a quick cat nap and continued our day in the city! (Left at 9:30, got back to Dublin around 4:15)