SANDRA O'CONNELLtalks to Gerard McCarthy owner of Loughrea Equestrian Centre
I GET UP at 6.30am and feed the horses in the yard. Then I go in and help with the kids’ breakfast before dropping them off at school. I’m back out in the yard, getting ready to head off for a full day trail ride, at 10am.
I set up Loughrea Equestrian Centre in August last year, offering one- and six-day trail rides. Previously I had a manufacturing business, but it fell victim to the banking crisis.
It was hard to see it happen and harder to start all over again, but I’ve always loved horses and had them anyway – plus beautiful countryside all around me – so I decided to put what I had to good use.
We are unique in that we specialise in offering six-day trail rides across the Burren, both on horseback and in purpose-built carriages.
It means the whole family can enjoy a horsey holiday even if they can’t ride, with kids on ponies, maybe, and the parents or grandparents, say, in the carriage. But the real focus, because we have a family member who has a disability, is to offer horsey holidays for people with a disability.
We use the Green Road around the Burren, which gives people the kind of escape everyone is looking for these days – there isn’t a house or a person in sight for miles.
The carriages are wheelchair friendly and have their own toilet and kitchen facilities, so even though we are in the middle of nowhere, we will be totally self-sufficient.
We stop for a picnic lunch for an hour and a half, and are joined by a local historian, who tells guests about the history and geography of the area.
We cover around 25km a day, with lots of stops and starts, so it’s not exhausting. There is just so much to see on a trail that takes in Ballyvaughan and Liscannor and even goes up around the Cliffs of Moher.
I’m a Kerryman myself, but I love this countryside more – if it was in Kerry there’d be a lot more tour buses, for a start. As it is, it’s perfect horsey country.
Guests on the six-day trails can choose to stay in our self- catering accommodation or in local BBs – or, because I’ve got a great deal from local hotels, it can be as cheap to stay in a hotel.
We get back to the yard each evening at about 4.30pm. Then I clean the horses down and feed them.
I love the fact that what we are doing allows people who might not otherwise get a chance to experience the happiness horses can bring.
horsetrailsireland.com