If you are looking for a Superb Equestrian Holiday, riding English Style, then you have come to the right place.

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We can tailor your visit with us to meet most requirements, whether you just want to drop in for a day or two or take our renowned week-long programme.

Let me describe a sample week. As many of our guests stay in The Dunraven Arms Hotel in Adare, we will use that as our base. The itinerary I am describing is Sunday to Saturday and this scenario assumes an arrival from North America about 8.00am in the morning.

Take a 30 minute Taxi ride from Shannon Airport to Adare, passing through the outskirts of Limerick City, over the river Shannon. As you arrive in Adare, you pass along the walls of the old Adare Estate, catch a glimpse of the ancient and venerable Augustinian Abbey ruins, then drive over the old stone bridge crossing the gentle flowing Maigue and arrive at the old facade of the Dunraven Arms Hotel, a refuge for horsemen and women for decades. Being avid horsemen themselves, with their own thoroughbred demesnes, Brian and Louis Murphy know the needs of the equestrian community, warm comfortable, homely surroundings, great natural food, a gym, sauna, steam room and swimming pool and a very comfortable bar with a blazing fire on those chilly evenings, or the sun lounge for those balmy summer days we've been getting in recent years.

Having checked in, why not drop over to Clonshire to meet the horses and some of our staff. We are less than 5 minutes away and the local taxi service will be glad to bring you over.

Then take a snooze to ease the jetlag and later in the evening take a stroll around Adare, sample the delights of the Dunraven's cuisine and cellar and maybe drop in to Sean Collins for the Sunday evening traditional Irish music session and your first taste of Guinness..

On Monday morning, the taxi will pick you up about 9.45am and bring you to Clonshire. When you arrive, drop into Noreen in the office and quickly get the few formalities dispensed with and then down to the stables where Joanne, Karena,Jessica, Natalie and their summer assistants will introduce you to our horses and match you with your first Clonshire mount.

Sue Foley will then take you for an hour in the Indoor arena to give you a chance to get used to our style of riding and judge how we can make your stay with us enjoyable, as exciting as you wish and maybe learn a bit along the way!! At 11.00am, we normally go for a hack around the estate and maybe pop a few jumps depending on your comfort zone. Some guests choose to stay in the arena and improve some area of their riding. We may give you the opportunity to try a different horse for this session. On arrival back to the stable, the horses are given a break and so are the riders

If you have a pack lunch with you, our coffee room is available and the you can chill out until 2.00pm. Most of our clients take the taxi back to Adare and have lunch in the hotel or in one of the village pubs or the deli or the Heritage centre. Many drop into the Country Dresser Tack and Country Clothing shop in the village to pick up forgotten items of gear.

After lunch, Sue will take you for another arena session with a few small sets if you are new to jumping or something a bit more technical and challenging if you are experienced. The second session of the afternoon will take you around a different path on the estate or maybe take a trot and canter around nearby bridleways.

The riding sessions each day are at 10.00 and 2.00pm. We vary the sessions to give you a comprehensive equestrian experience. Some choose to stay on the same horse for most of the week while others prefer to try different steeds. The cross country sessions give a unique flavour to the Clonshire experience, in particular when your coach and leader is Dan Foley, a consummate horseman who has been hunting, show jumping and generally living in a saddle since before he could walk.

If you wish to work on your jumping technique or improve your flat work, Sue will organise a program for you. Individual coaching can also be organised.

Some of our guests take a break and head for the beauty of the Kerry coast and others head into Limerick to visit the Hunt Museum, King John's Castle and Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.

For those for whom 4 hours riding per day is not enough, there is the chance to go cross country with the local riders at 7.30pm. Mind, there is heavy local demand for these evening canters and for the arena sessions at 8.30pm, so it is not always possible to facilitate the demand.

By Wednesday, you will be well accustomed to our horses and why not celebrate your growing confidence with a pint of Guinness and a fine steak in Nevilles Pub, Kilfinny (just up the road) and stay on for the music session.

In the latter half of the week, add a bit of style by having a formal dinner in Dunraven, or head across the road to the Blue Door, a wonderful restaurant in one of the magnificent thatched cottages for which Adare is famous, or head out to Ballingarry to top class fare at the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, a gourmet's delight. For those who would like good food but in a different price bracket there is the Inn Between in Adare or the fine Pub Grub in Pat Collins.

By Friday, Tess in our office often has a problem. People want to stay on and she is frantically phoning airlines etc trying to extend stays!!

On Saturday, as you arrive for your final day, you will meet many local children and teenagers who spend the day here. Quite a few of these budding jockeys bring their own ponies so you can get a feel for the local equestrian scene.

From about May to September there are horse and pony shows on within a 50 mile radius nearly every Saturday and Sunday and they are well worth a visit. Check out our Calendar closer to the time to see what is on. Just be careful. The Foley girls will be busy washing, grooming and plaiting ponies for the Sunday show, along with many other Clonshire habitués and idle onlookers are wont to be given a job!

Of course, if you are fed up dealing with the back end of horses at home, then let us pamper you. Our staff will have your mount tacked and groomed awaiting your arrival each day and while assistance is appreciated at the end of each session, they do understand if you have to rush away to some pressing engagement.

Many of our clients prefer the more personal contact with the locals which staying in a guesthouse offers and we are blessed to have many top class, family run Guesthouses in the area.

An option growing in popularity is the self-catering route. We are blessed to have a lovely self-catering apartment on the estate or, if it is unavailable or you wish for a change of scene at the end of the day, book one of the fine cottages, apartments or houses available in the area, for instance Ballyteigue House in Bruree. At Ballyteigue you can experience old style luxurious country living or the more rustic setting of the Manor cottage. We have also been lucky enough to have added two self catering units within five minutes drive from our centre here and they have been refurbished to a very high standard.

you can start your holiday any day of the week you like. We are open all day every day, except Sunday when we close at lunch time.

Winter Breaks

The busiest holiday months are June July and August with April, May, September and October increasing in popularity. But, remember the climate in Ireland is temperate and we ride here right through the late autumn, winter and early spring. It is a beautiful and peaceful time to come, so why not consider it. You can be in Shannon, Cork or Dublin in less than 2 hours from most parts of Britain and less than three hours from Northern Europe and with Ireland being compact, it take no time at all to reach Clonshire from any of our Airports