Riding at the Castle Leslie Estate in Ireland

The Castle Leslie Estate is a 1000 acre estate adjacent to the village of Glaslough in County Monaghan Ireland. The estate has miles of horse trails and hundreds of cross country jumps to try. The estate comprises of park land, meandering streams, several forests, and lakes. There is also an indoor horse arena for jumping and dressage lessons.
The Leslie family has lived on the estate since the 1660’s and is open for others to enjoy. I stayed in the comfortable Hunting Lodge overlooking the stables.
Everyday we went riding in the morning and in the afternoon. We rode in the forest and countryside, walking, trotting, cantering, galloping, and jumping with the wind always being at our backs.
From my week at Castle Leslie and a week traveling around Ireland, I learned the Irish are passionate about their horses, their football, and their Guinness beer!
Tom

The Hunting Lodge where I stayed during my riding holiday

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View of the stable from the Hunting Lodge

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Entrance to the stable at Castle Leslie

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Stable in the Equestrian Center at Castle Leslie

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Stable in the Equestrian Center at Castle Leslie

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The Irish Thoroughbred is handsome, strong, sound, and athletic

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Dinner with my new friends at the Snaffles Restaurant

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A Dutch rider, two French riders, and an American rider with our horses

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Horses and Friends

Meeting for dinner at Castle Leslie
in the Stables Restaurant,
at a table with four friends who have been riding together

A young Dutch rider who dreams of
her love, a horse she rides now and
is saving her money to buy him

A French woman who loves to compete in
horse shows and all that is French,
wine, food, her language, and her husband

A French man who is learning to ride
and jumping for the first time at Castle Leslie
and lets his wife love horses because he loves her

An American who is shy and loves
feeling connected to the horses he rides
and is learning to feel the same with people

what to have for dinner?
Irish steak, lamb, chicken, or fish
and then lemon sorbet or apple crumble
with raisin and cinnamon for dessert?

I decided to start with Moroccan mint tea,
then pan seared Coley with warm fennel, spinach, muscles,
and cockle in a garlic wine sauce,
finishing with vanilla ice cream and cappuccino

everyone sharing their passion and love of riding,
laughing and telling horse stories to each other
as if horses are their family,

always knowing when you’re happy,
always knowing when you’re comfortable,
always knowing when you’re confident and
always knowing when you have carrots!

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My Teacher Named Ken

today I was assigned
a paint named Ken,
thinking to myself that a paint colored horse
isn’t a true English riding horse,

thinking to myself,
as we picked up the canter,
will he be there when I ask him to jump?
will he hesitate or jump with boldness?

as we galloped toward the fence,
his breed didn’t make any difference,
Irish Cob, Irish Sport Horse,
Pinto, or Thoroughbred

as we jumped the course,
his color wasn’t important,
all that mattered was being much happier
because we found each other

Tom and Charlie getting ready to do cross country jumping

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Facing the Unknown with Charlie

while riding cross country today,
facing the uncertainty with new jumps,
along with meeting new riders,
I asked myself this question
“can I do what we have not done?”

there is no way to know but to jump the fence
and find out if my horse and I can do it,
can Charlie and I jump out of the water
and go up a three step jump
and take a fence on top of the hill?

then gallop downhill over another log fence,
dropping down from a step fence into the water,
trot up to a two step fence and back down
to the three step fence and back into the water,

Charlie was a true champ
and as I was walking him back to the barn,
I was reminded of the African proverb,
“If you want to get there fast, go alone,”
“If you want to go far, then go together

Wilson with his new best friend

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Staying Between the Ditches with Wilson

first impression of Wilson was of being lazy
and not wanting to work,
wishing all he had to do was walk
and my wishing I was on another horse
that wanted to jump

feeling worlds apart
and not connecting with each other,
then remembering we can’t complain too much
because we are blessed
to have these magnificent creatures in our lives

then deciding to be friends
because Wilson was my teacher for the day,
showing me that we don’t always get what we want
and finding gratitude in the hand we’re dealt
is how to enrich one’s life

Riding and Jumping at Castle Leslie in Ireland

all dressed up and ready to go,
boots, breeches, helmet, gloves,
silently saying “I can do this”
and wondering who I will ride today

tighten up the girth,
adjust the stirrups,
walking into the jumping ring,
mounting up on “Ken”

starting with a warm up walk, trot, and canter,
getting the feel for each other,
trotting over poles on the ground
while standing in the stirrups

now time to jump a course,
first straight ahead counting to myself four strides,
then jump and angle to the right,.
then jump again and change direction,

all the time thinking, relax and let the jump come to you,
stay steady, hold him together, until he gets there,
let him feel your confidence
and feel him lift you over the fence,

walking back to the barn,
taking off the saddle and bridle,
brushing him down,
then putting him back into his stall

as I gave Ken his carrot,
I was reminded of what Winston Churchill said,
“No hour of life is wasted
that is spent in the saddle”

More Memories at Castle Leslie

Riding on the estate through the park grounds and forest

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Having fun walking in a meandering river

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Out for a ride in a forest on the estate

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Taking a break in the lake

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View of the lake from the Castle grounds

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Heading back to the barn at the end of a wonderful ride

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ORIGINAL MUSIC PERFORMED BY BONNIE INSULL AND RICH SCHER

POEMS PHOTOS AND VIDEO
Tom Yeager
www.warriortogypsy.com
Email: tom@tomyeager.com

MUSIC
“Bynx/Bab’s Reel”
written and performed by
Bonnie Insull and Rich Scher
CD available from
http://www.dancetowildfire.bandcamp.com

VIDEO LOCATION
Castle Leslie Estate in Ireland

VIDEO DESIGN
Jason Pearson

“Thanks for watching” Tom

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