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About Us
The Clonshire Equestrian Centre was established in May 1991.
The County Limerick Hunt Club own the Clonshire Estate. In fact it was Lord
Harrington, Senior Master, who first came up with the idea for the Equestrian
Centre.
In 1993 the indoor school was built and in 1994 the indoor Barn, Hay Shed and
Machinery Shed was built and the Clonshire Equestrian centre has grown from
Strength to strength ever since then, we went from 7 to 70 horse and ponies in
seven years.
Dan and Sue Foley began managing the centre in 1992.
Dan Foley. Joint Manager
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Dan has successfully brought
on numerous young horses through the Show Jumping ranks to National level
as well as enjoying considerable success in the eventing field. Dan is
also highly valued in Munster as a Showjumping and Cross-country coach.
Clonshire is renowned for the quality of its horses and this is as a
result of Dan's keen eye and expertise in picking the right horse for the
job required. Dan is responsible for many great and enduring
horse-rider partnerships in Ireland and throughout the world. It is
not unusual to meet clients from Ireland, Europe and North America
visiting Clonshire for the weekend to give the final veto to a horse or
pony Dan has sourced or trained for them.
They say the judge of a good teacher is the waiting list for his or her
class. Well Dan's evening sessions on a Tuesday and Wednesday night
are full and can only be experienced by the luck of a cancellation or
booking weeks in advance.
Dan is an Equestrian Federation of Ireland Level 1 coach and his pupils
have had great success in Amateur, Pony Club, Riding Club, young Rider and
professional competitions at home and abroad.
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Sue Foley. Joint Manager
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Sue is an accomplished
competitor and is a British Horse Society (BHS) certified level II Instructor,
as well as being an EFI level two coach. Sue is
also a champion hunter competitor and has won at the famous Dublin Show.
In recent years Sue has competed with distinction in dressage and Eventing
competitions. With over 20 years professional experience, Sue has
helped many riders improve their technique and she is particularly known
for encouraging and training beginners of all ages. Whether you want
to compete or just ride as a leisure and relaxation activity, Sue can help
you. Even though the Foleys are raising 3 daughters of their own, Sue
has welcomed hundreds of young guests into her home over the years and
they have all been treated as part of the family. It is not unusual
to meet Sue in Adare, or one of Limerick's shopping centres or at the
cinema with several "extra" in the family!
Sue acts as "mother", mentor, confidante, personal trainer, riding
coach and friend to clients from 8 to 80 years (and over!!)
(Under Sue is a photo of Blueboy our longest serving member of staff) |
Joanne Kavanagh
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Like most of the Clonshire staff Joanne grew up with horses. Joanne
graduated from Writtle College, Essex with a
degree in Equine Science in 1998. She then qualified as a BHS instructor (AI) in Clonshire in the 1999/2000 and
after several years experience in various thoroughbred, hunting and
Showjumping yards, she returned to Clonshire to take over management of
the school horses. She has continued her equestrian education,
becoming a BHS Riding and Road Safety trainer in 2004 and has completed
her Equestrian Federation of Ireland Level One Coaching programme.
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Yvonne O'Connor.
Livery yard Manager |
Yvonne is a fully qualified
BHS intermediate Instructor and EFI level one coach. With her assistant
Mary Barret, she looks after our Livery/Boarding operation where she
breaks and schools our specially chosen Irish Sport horses and Connemara
ponies. In addition to her gruelling schedule supporting and
advising owners, training young stock, managing our "recovery clinic",
selecting new stock and preparing our sold mounts for their new
homes, Yvonne enjoys teaching the competitive rider and matching
Irish horses with new owners and building the partnership. People who has kept a horse in Livery here for even a
short while, return to Yvonne for advice and assistance, long after they
have taken their equine friend home.
Yvonne teaches a flatwork class and an advanced show
jumping class on Thursday evenings which have the same regulars coming for
years. |
Clonshire Equestrian Centre is approximately 2 ½ miles from the picturesque
Village of Adare in the heart of Co. Limerick. There are a variety of Shops,
Restaurants and pubs in the Village, there is also lots of places of interest
close by including the famous Adare Village thatched cottages. Adare is a
perfect touring base for touring in the west of Ireland.
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