Country Cottage Stables

I booked this holiday on behalf of four of us. I ride regularly but my three travelling companions do not. The best thing for me was that I knew my companions were safe under Kieran’s care. His assessment lesson on day one was thorough and throughout our holiday, Kieran was always thinking about the most suitable horse for each of us. Niall put together a wonderful itinerary - riding, garden and house tours, fabulous restaurant choices. We had the option to change anything but didn’t need to. A very happy team run Country Cottage Stables and the guests are quickly made to feel at home in a relaxed, fun but professional setting.

I can't choose one thing - everything was incredible! Personally, however, I LOVED the beach ride!

We were a "senior" group of six riders (ranging from hardly ridden to very experienced). Niall did an amazing job of matching the horses to each rider, sometimes changing them up depending on the activity (trek, beach ride, lesson in arena, etc). We knew we could trust him to mount us properly and safety was always foremost in his mind.

The food was gourmet - whether lunch at the stables or a picnic where we parked the trailer for off-site outings e.g. the beach ride. Some nights dinner was at the stables in their gorgeous dining room and other evenings we went out to local restaurants where the food was fantastic. Our driver was always available and handled those crazy Irish lanes with ease! Our hotel was very comfortable and close to the stables. Even the weather cooperated.

The local cultural trips were well planned and timed - we usually went out to one of these after a particularly long ride.

Cannot say enough good things about Country Cottage Stables.

Hard to say what we enjoyed the most - the riding, the hosts, the food, the variety of both riding and dining experiences, the "cultural" sites we visited, including the whiskey distillery at Powerscourt; the historic home and treetop walk at Avondale; and Avoca, the oldest wool weaving mill in the country. This trip was fabulous, and so personalized both to what we wanted to do and see AND to the different riding levels as between my daughter and me. Kieran, Niall, and Carole were all such great hosts: attentive, gracious, engaging, considerate. From the big picture (riding, dining, transportation, shopping, cultural sites) to the personal details, like (i) Niall's preparing egg salad sandwiches from his chickens' eggs at the yard (the barn) and Kieran's elderflower tea made from a bush at the yard on the day we didn't have time to go out to lunch between morning and afternoon rides, (ii) lovely tailgates from the back of the Range Rover on the days we did our cross-country ride and our early morning beach ride, complete with fresh sliced fruit, yogurt, Irish brown bread and jam, butter (oh, that Irish butter!), juices, and sparkling as well as flat water, and (iii) arranging a food pairing with the whiskey tasting at Powerscourt. Did I say the horses were wonderful? And Kieran was determined to find a perfect fit for each of us - I think I rode 6 different horses while I was there (and enjoyed every one!). We loved the whole trip and would go back - in fact, we hope to!