New to Ireland - help & advice needed!

Turners

Hi everyone, we have just moved to County Cork (south of Ballincollig) from the UK. We have 2 horse mad daughters, 11 & 13. We had 2 ponies on loan at a yard in the UK and the girls rode at least 5 times a week. We were part of the Pony Club and attended various shows regularly. We need to keep up the horse riding but I am a bit out of my depth here!
I have made contact with a local riding stable and they just happened to have 2 ponies, 13.2 & 14.2, that are up for sale (coincidence?), but they are quite young 4 & 5, I was looking for 10+. Anyway, he says that one is not registered, but I don't know what that means and what impact that has on entrance to shows - any help please?
My other concern is where do you ride around here? I can't find any information on bridle paths, and it seems that the only access to off road hacking is on the land of the livery yard - is that normal?
Is there anyone in the area that I could meet up with to have a good old chat about everything and maybe give me some help and advice on where to look for horses to buy or even to have on loan? All help and advice gratefully appreciated. Thanks x

paddi22

congrats on the move!
it might be handy to contact the irish pony club http://www.irishponyclub.ie/
to see where you local branch is. They also might know suitable ponies for sale who have a bit of experience.

When I moved to a different area I found it really handy to go into feed shops/tack shops and read the noticeboards. You might find someone who is looking for a share on ponies. Or else it's no harm to stick up a notice saying you'd like to find like minded horsey people for advice.

Ireland is really different from the uk as it has no bridlepaths. Most people either just hack on roads or on stable land/beaches etc. You might be in luck if you are in a rural area to have nice hacking.

Turners

Thanks Paddi22 - have found the nearest saddlery, so will pop in and have a chat with them and see if they can help. Have looked at the Pony Club site already, not one close by here but will make contact and see if they have any events on soon that we can go to and make some contacts.

Seems such a shame that you have all this lovely countryside but can't get access to it - am struggling to find places to walk the dog too other than along the road which seems to be the done thing!

paddi22

yes its dreadful. I have a few friends who moved to England and they find the bridlepaths heaven - there's nothing similar here. You are taking your life in your hands walking on some country roads!

Ave Sodalis

Hi OP, I'm afraid it's all roads in this country, unless you get permission from farmers to cross their fields. Be sure to wear reflective gear and aim to hack when light is good.
I'd love to meet up to help but I'm afraid I live at the other side of the country. The closest I'd be is limerick for college but I've no transport there.
How experienced are you with horses? How experienced are they? Maybe put off buying until you know the costs in this country, the local vets/farriers/riding schools, and the differences between here and England.
When you are buying, especially for kids, try the local riding school to see if they know of anything suitable. If not, there's Done Deal and various websites, magazines and newspapers you could try. Make sure you know what you're buying though.

Turners

Thank you. The girls are quite experienced but I don't ride. Our set up in the UK was quite unique - we paid a monthly fee to be able to ride whenever the girls wanted to, about 5 days a week and then full on in the holidays when they would be up at the yard from 9 - 5. The owner had about 20 ponies and the girls rode a variety of them but were 'allocated' one. We were heavily into the Pony Club and did a lot of SJ, XC, Dressage, Tetrathlon, camp. Not buying a pony will mean that their riding will decrease which is not what I want, especially as we have uprooted them. I am probably going to pay for the owner in the UK to come over and help us with the purchasing of the ponies but am going to contact some of the further away stables to see if they can help too.
Thank you

Kevhog1988

Get them out hunting if they enjoyed cross country!!

Turners

Would love to - just need to find out how and who to contact :-) The girls are on holiday with my parents at the moment (kept them out of the way whist we moved), think will just start off with paying for lessons until we find what we are looking for. Still grateful for the all the help and advice anyone can still give.

aonb

OP, I would recommend starting off with lessons in a riding school, to get a feel for the differences here. Talk to the people there about what if anything is on offer for sale or loan. Ireland is a really small country/population in comparison with the UK, so keep that in mind (Ive lived in UK, married an englishman!) when you get frustrated! There must be livery yards, riding schools within reach of you, I would go and visit them all, and have a chat. Phone the local Pony Club secretary, and ask if they can put you in touch with some members in your area, that you could phone.
There are many Irish websites to look for horses for sale/loan. Check them all out. There are often very many ponies available from people who can no longer afford to keep them, or from people whose children are outgrown or going to college etc. There are shelters/rescues that you could check out.

Hacking here is usually on quiet country lanes, or on livery yard property as you say. There are places where you can hack through forests/woods and beaches etc, but you will get to know about these in your area, and most likely you will have to box the ponies to get to these places (unless you are lucky).

Talk to people (God knows the Irish LOVE to talk ) and you will be amazed at how quickly you get tuned in to whats going on in your area. Good luck!

Kevhog1988

actually op, i have a cob that could do with being ridden... il ask dad if hed like her to go out on loan.... she was my 1st pony at 11... was still hunting her at 18.... best pony in the world to look after you out hunting.

mariannewims

Is there only the one riding school near you?
It's not that common but is becoming more so here that you pay a fee per week and can ride as much as you like in that time so check with other riding schools. Also it's very common to 'share' a horse or pony where you contribute towards livery costs or work involved with the horse if kept at a private yard and have a few days a week in return.
Best of luck getting settled and finding a way to keep the horse mad daughters occupied!

Turners

theemigrant wrote: »

actually op, i have a cob that could do with being ridden... il ask dad if hed like her to go out on loan.... she was my 1st pony at 11... was still hunting her at 18.... best pony in the world to look after you out hunting.

Love Cobs - let me know if she is available for loan

Turners

Thanks everyone - I contacted the local Pony Club secretary and she put me in touch with a yard about 10 mins away. Visited it at the weekend and looks ideal - loads of happy kids helping out at the yard and found out one of them will be in my daughters class at school - fantastic. The owner is more than happy to assist with getting ponies on loan/to buy so I am one happy bunny now

paddi22

brilliant! glad you got sorted!

Rips

Check out West Cork Trec group

https://www.facebook.com/WestCorkTrec?fref=ts

You don't have to want to do trec to enjoy the trails.

POR is the orienteering phase of Trec, and they will hold single phase events (so just glorified hacking) from time to time, for training purposes. This might give you access to otherwise private forestry/land.

I'm in the Midlands but entry to a single phase, or one day POR costs between €12- €25, and the higher entry fees here often includes lunch or depends how much preparation was required for the route (forestry passes etc)

At entry level that is 2.5hrs riding and you can go at whatever pace you like. You might need to learn to read a map though.