Guest User
November 8, 2024
In mid-October, my friend and I took a 6-day riding holiday at the Castle Leslie Estate. The weather was ideal. The lodging was comfortable. Our massages at the spa were fabulous. The food was good, with a nice variety of more upscale options in Snaffles and more basic grill-type foods at Conor’s Pub (both within the Lodge). I loved the effort to source foods locally; the Irish wheaten bread with local strawberry jam became a staple of my mornings! And it was nice that you could walk out the entrance gate straight into the village, where we visited both pubs, ate at the local grocery/cafe/gelato shop and took walks. But our main reason for staying at Castle Leslie was the equestrian program – and it absolutely lived up to our (high) expectations! What a great staff – from the friendly, hard-working barn crew who kept the yard spotless to the ride leaders and instructors (Gemma, Jo, Steven, Orla, Siorse) who helped us spruce up some skills and build confidence without ever forgetting we were all there to have fun. The horses were fit and clearly well cared for. And they were awesome at their jobs, whether we were taking estate (trail) rides through the gorgeous grounds, taking indoor lessons, or jumping cross-country. We had 10 rides over 6 days; I rode 5 horses (the lovely Willow & gentle giant Russel, plus Blueberry, Arnie, and Tana) & my friend rode 9 (including the absolutely adorable Henry, with his cute mustache!). (A fun aspect was getting to choose our favorite horse to ride on the last day.) I’m usually ready to go home by the end of a vacation, but this time I was literally sad to leave. I hope to be back!!