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See what some of our customers have enjoyed doing
at Rose Cottage Riding School...
Riding lessons, Jumping
lessons, Beach rides, Schooling
horses, Showing and winning prizes and rosettes, Charity hacks, Gymkhanas, Fun days at
Halloween and Christmas, Visits to other horse establishments, Overcoming
nervousness, Having your own
horse kept at Livery and getting AIRE qualifications are just the
start of it. We now also have a new
Pony Riders' Group. Scroll down this page
and visit our others to see some of the things we get up to! There are
links at the bottom of this page...
We think we offer the best
riding experience in the Malin area for both children and adults.
Why not come and try
Rose Cottage Riding School and have some of the same
fun too?...
You might think that beach rides are
really only for those who are already competent riders and it's certainly true
that cantering through the shallows or along Five Finger Strand does require
you to have the necessary experience. However, given enough notice, proper attention to the
tides and an availability of helpers to lead the horses, even those who have
never ridden before can experience something of the thrill of a ride on the
beach. At Rose Cottage Riding School
we are only minutes away from Trawbreaga Bay and these few shots show a group of
new comers to riding experiencing the quietness of and wonderful views from, the
beach. Even a recent passing shower doesn't affect access to this
wonderful part of the Inishowen peninsula. Why not come and give it a try?
A group of newcomers to riding and the horse leaders taking the short trip to the Bay
The way back - just see how close Rose Cottage is!
Just one of the many lovely views from the path
A group of newcomers to riding and the horse leaders taking the short trip to the Bay
We had a beach ride the other day along with Sam and
Zuko. These shots of that ride show some lovely photos of the views over
the bay to the Ise of Doagh and of Lagg beach itself but first we see Sam
bringing in Tabs for Chris and Teazle for Max. Sarah
(the Skewbald) was Nick's steed. They were all here in Inishowen for a short holiday break and,
to judge from Chris's accompanying e-mail (in the box below), they all enjoyed their time at
Rose Cottage. We are grateful to Chris for sending us such a super set of
photos that really bring out the reason why you too should come to
Rose Cottage Riding School for a riding break
- after all, where else can you ride in such a lovely place?
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Hi there, Thanks
again for the ride and taking us to the beach we had a great time, will
definitely come again when we are back in Ballyliffin. Have attached
some photos we took for your website! Chris
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Sam bringing in Tabs and Teazle
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Sam bringing in Tabs and Teazle
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Nick and his horse Sarah waiting for him
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The view!
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The view again...
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Before mounting up...
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Before mounting up...
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Max on Whisper, waiting for the others
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Chris, before mounting up...
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Ready for the off...
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Ready for the off...
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The busy roads of Donegal...
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Nearly at the beach...
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Nearly at the beach...
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Jolly crowded here!...
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Where else can you ride a beach like this?
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Such a lovely day...
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More of the view
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and again...
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and again...
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and again...
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and again...
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and again...
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back off the beach...
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more busy roads...
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and views...
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and again...
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back at the yard...
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everyone had a lovely time...
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In August, at a lesson for young riders who
had not ridden before, we were joined by holiday makers Callum and Connor from
Skelmorlie in Scotland. They were riding Teazle and Bailey and they had such a fantastic time the first time they rode that
they booked to come back again! Callum rode George the second
time. The other riders on that lesson were two of our 'locals', Niamh riding
Sarah and Chloe riding Charm, with another holiday visitor,
Ellen who joined us from Belfast. Also to be seen in the shots below
are our leading helpers who always take great care with newcomers to riding.
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Callum on Teazle, ready to go
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Callum, on Teazle with Maeve leading
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Ellen on Charm being led by Rona.
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Callum on Teazle being led by Meave, Ellen on Charm being led by Rona and Connor on Bailey being led by Jasmine.
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Connor on Bailey being led by Jasmine (Jaz)
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Ellen riding Charm
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Connor on Bailey being led by Jasmine.
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Callum on Teazle followed by Chloe on Charm and Connor on Bailey.
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Callum on Teazle
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Ellen on Charm being led by Rona
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Connor on Bailey being led by Jaz.
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Connor riding Bailey
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Niamh on Sarah, Connor on Bailey, Callum on Teazle Chloe on Charm
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Callum on George this time with Chloe on Charm
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Niamh on Sarah, Connor on Bailey, Callum on George and Chloe on Charm.
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A lovely June Sunday morning
hacking out with Kate, around the Bay. Here we have left to right, Diane
on Domino, Katie on Zuko, Jennifer on Sarah and Max on
Skip. Domino missing her grazing by the look of it!
Left to right Diane (Domino) and Kate (Zuko)
Left to right Diane (Domino) and Kate (Zuko)
Left to right Kate (Zuko) Diane (Domino), Jennifer on (Sarah) and Max on (Skip)
Domino not quite as 'up for it' as Zuko just yet!
Left to right Diane (Domino) and Kate (Zuko)
The Kennedy Family came for a ride
one day in June 2008 and later sent us these pictures and this comment afterwards.
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Hi Kate, as promised
sending you the snaps taken of the girls. Thanks again for a great ride,
they have not stopped talking about it since they got home. Hope you have a
good summer and the weather stays good for you. Best wishes, Sadie Kennedy |
Chelsea was riding Miller and her friend Sadie (in
pink), rode Teazle. Sam was on the chestnut, Crooked , Chloe rode
Bailey
Just two of our liveries.
Rose Cottage Riding School has several
horses kept by their owners at livery on the yard . Some are working
liveries - where the horse is also used by the School and some are private ones.
Here on the top row, we see Ellen riding her own horse Clio and, on the
lower row, Lydia riding her working livery Sarah during one of the times
when she is over in Donegal from England. Clio is currently in foal
after very recently being covered by our own stallion Woody. We hope to
be able to report on a 'happy event' in around eleven months' time!
How about this as a place for a beach ride? This is 'Five
Finger Strand', the beach where we go for our beach rides. It's
sometimes hard to appreciate the beauty of the beach from ordinary pictures
taken at ground level so we thought we'd show these pictures taken from higher
up both of the beach and of Glasheady Island out to sea.. Could there be a better place for a beach ride? If you are a
sufficiently experienced rider then do come to Rose
Cottage Riding School and have a canter here.
Glasheady - the offshore island adds an extra dimension
In early June, 2008 Mike Harkin and his
partner Liz were here in Donegal for a short break. Mike's sister-in-law (Diane)
took them both to Rose Cottage so that her
daughter Scarlett could show them her own horse Joey and, while they were
there, Diane asked if they would like to have a lesson, Mike said 'Yes', but Liz
was rather frightened of the ponies. Nevertheless lessons were booked for
both just in case Liz changed her mind - or could be persuaded. She was
persuaded but by the next morning was very nervous. But, by the end of her
very first lesson, she was loving it and even booked another lesson before they
went home! She is now even hoping to find a riding school near where
they live in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Diane says she hopes she'll find one as
good as Rose Cottage. Thanks to all for this
lovely example of just how a nervous rider can get hooked on riding when taught
by the right person.
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11.2hh to 17.2hh !! |
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Here is everyone involved on the Harkin day! From the left: Liz, Diane, Scarlett, Chloe, Ellen, Sam and Katie |
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Liz on Charm all on her own |
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Liz on Charm really getting the hang of it |
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Mike on Tabs really going... |
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Now as it should be done |
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Diane's daughter Scarlett on Joey |
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22nd May 2008 We had a lovely party
of visitors from the UK on this Thursday in May and, very kindly, they sent us
this message and a host of photographs, afterwards:
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"Amazing
location and wonderful staff, a thoroughly enjoyable ride" – Tom, Nottingham
UK
"Back in the saddle after 40 years, thanks for making it so easy" – Caroline
(60), Newark UK
Thanks again for a lovely ride on the 22nd May. I've attached
some photos for you.. |
From left to right in the
first photo the names of our guests and the horses they are seen later to be
riding are:
At the back: James (on Sarah), Thomas
(on Domino), and in the front, Caroline (on Charm) and Lucy (on
Tabs)
18th May 2008 On this particular
Sunday we were delighted to welcome three American ladies over in Donegal and
staying with the Rev Lynn Cairns. They had come to us to have a ride,
English fashion, before going back to the States. The girls are Titi, Karen
and Kalli and afterwards we had this e-mail from the Rev Cairns :
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Katie,
The girls loved meeting you and had a ball on their ride. Thank you for
taking so much time with them. Titi and Kalli have gone back home.
You've got a great operation.
Dottie Cairns
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Back home safe and sound.
From left to right, Titi, Karen and Kalli
Titi on Sarah (one of our skewbalds), Kalli on Tabs (a bay) and Karen on Charm (riding the grey)
Not many views better than this!
From left to right, Titi, Karen and Kalli
Charity Ride Outcome Readers of this
column will recall that in September of last year nine children and two adults
from Rose Cottage Riding School
took part in a Sponsored Charity Ride from the School up to Malin Head (that's the
northernmost point in the whole of Ireland) and back round via Knockamany Bens.
It took them no less than 5 hours to do the ride which was in aid of the Carndonagh
Community Hospital. The final amount collected has now been established and was
€1,412 . Thank you to everyone who contributed, to those who took
part and to those who helped in any other way. A little more detail and
some pictures from the day can be found a tad further down this page, here.
Santa came to Rose Cottage Riding
School this year - As a part of our Christmas festivities
for the children, Santa came to Rose Cottage just before Christmas!
Do have a look at these pictures taken of him with his Elf, Jimmy, as he meets and
talks to, both adults and children. A lovely day.
October 31st 2007 - Halloween!! This year we held a
Fancy Dress Gymkhana on the day of Halloween. The children were invited to
dress up and to dress up their ponies too. The result was fabulous and
thoroughly enjoyed by all - including the horses! Do take a look at some
of these images - and don't miss next year!
Just click on any thumbnail to see a larger picture.
Don't be too frightened (!) - the horses weren't!
In September 2007, no fewer than nine children and
two adults from Rose Cottage Riding School
took part in a Sponsored Charity Ride from the School up to Malin Head (that's the
northernmost point in the whole of Ireland) and back round via Knockamany Bens.
It took them no less than 5 hours to do the ride which was in aid of the Carndonagh
Community Hospital. The final amount collected was €1,412 and the sum is
to go toward air mattresses for the hospital. The pictures below show them all at the
half way point - outside The Sea View Tavern in Malin Head (Have a look
at just how clean the numnahs all are!) and then after
the long hack we see the horses on Lagg beach enjoying a paddle to soothe their
aching hooves before tackling the home straight. Well done everyone - and
special thanks to Diane who cleaned all the saddles too the day
before!
A Jumping Day.
Rose Cottage Riding School held a Jumping Day
on Sunday 2nd September 2007. This was held to introduce newcomers to
jumping and also to bring on those having some existing experience. More
photographs of this day can be seen
here but the
winner of the Chase-me-Charlie*, riding her own 13hh pony, Betty-Boo, was Aoife
McGlynn aged 12. Aoife managed a fantastic jump of 1.10m (that's 3ft 7¼ins)!!
Very well done Aoife.
*What is a Chase-me-Charlie? It's an excellent
game for those learning jumping because it requires an ability to 'do the
business' just when it's needed. Everyone lines up at a single fence and
jumps it in turn. If your horse refuses, knocks it down or runs out, you are
eliminated. On each round the fence goes up higher and higher until there is a
winner.
And we've got a Poem written about us too!
Emma Noone from Clonmany, at 11
years old, so enjoyed her time at Rose Cottage Riding
School that she wrote a poem about it for us! We thought you'd
like to read it.
ROSE
COTTAGE RIDING SCHOOL
It's a great place to go to learn to ride,
Plus lovely people on the side.
The lovely horses whether girl or boy,
The lessons are fun which you enjoy.
No matter what the weather,
Either hot or cold.
They carry on, doing their best,
And the horses always doing what they're told.
All the horses,
Trained to perfection.
Because they're treated,
With pure love and affection.
The way it goes,
I think it's cool.
With joy and warmth,
At Rose Cottage Riding School!
August 22nd 2007 was a special day for 24 youngsters at
Rose Cottage
Riding School. No fewer than twenty one youngsters took and passed their
Level 1 AIRE qualifications in Stable Management and Equitation and three girls
took and passed the same exams at Levels 1, 2, and 3! Congratulations are
due to all the students for doing so well.
If you want your children to obtain accredited AIRE qualifications or to pass
the very important Road Safety tests, Rose Cottage Riding School
is the
place to do it. Why not give Kate a call?
The
children were all trained by Kate and her assistants but the examinations were all
conducted at Rose Cottage by AIRE's independent examiner, Gillian
Doherty. Here are the proud award winners showing off their certificates.
Level 1 awards on the left and centre and Level 2/3 awards on the
right. More information on the tests together with photos of both the teaching
and the examinations themselves are at our AIRE Examinations page
here
The Harkin family keep their Connemara pony Joey at
Rose
Cottage Riding School. Diane's daughter Scarlett showed him in the 13.2 - 14.2 Open
Section at the 2007 Clonmany Agricultural Show and, as you can see from the
second picture below, Scarlett and Joey together won a well deserved 3rd place rosette for
that section. Well done Scarlett!
Mum, Max English and her daughters Jazzy
and Bella are in the process of training
Skip, a pony they are currently buying.
Here Max and Jazzy are
schooling Skip - all under the beautiful backdrop of Trawbreaga (Trá
Bhréige) Bay.
A family visited us from England
in late July 2007 and the father kindly
sent us this message later by e-mail: "Thanks for the wonderful afternoon with the kids
and ponies, some pics attached".
So, here is Mum, with their little one, and with their son
(riding Miller) and daughter (riding Charm) all enjoying a few hours
relaxation at Rose Cottage Riding School.
[Back]
| Home |
Menu | Gallery |
Foals | Customers |
Pony Group |Teaching/Exams |Jumping |
Behind the Scenes | Useful Sites
| News | Sam's Wins |
Business Card |
Brochure | Newsletter |
Frog/Horse |Slideshow |
11/10/2008
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