My first time horseback riding

Each week in Ireland seems to become more and more exciting. Last Monday I decided to be brave and perform a couple songs at a local pub’s open mic. Everyone there was extremely nice and even cheered my name when I screwed up a song. I believe that Champlain College Dublin is booking a pub for a night so that everyone in the program can come and play music or read poetry or any other talent they wish to display.


The most exciting part of this week was definitely our trip to Glendalough where I got to ride a horse for the first time in my life. Before Friday, I had never even touched a horse and now am so glad that I finally tried horseback riding. The man who worked at the barn lead out four people at a time on an hour trek though windy, muddy, beautiful trails through the woods and hills of Glendalough. My horse’s name was Pluto and was a giant white beast. The feeling you get from riding such a huge, powerful animal is wonderfully exciting. I loved every minute of it.
We all got on our horses and without any instruction of general riding commands, the four of us and our horses started walking single file behind our trek leader. The first few minutes I was terrified and felt that I had absolutely no control over this animal and hoped that he wouldn’t throw me off his back. But after a few instructions on how to direct him and stop him I felt a little better. The trek was beautiful and at times we could overlook large hilly fields and mountains off in the distance lit by the perfectly sunny day.


Without much warning, our trek leader told us we were going to trot and to hold on, and I soon realized why holding on was so important. While trotting down a hill, I got about ten times the amount of adrenaline I usually get from a roller coaster. It was so much fun. At many times we were walking two feet from the edges of grassy cliffs. I remember just praying that Pluto wouldn’t slip or take a step too close to the edge and tumble.

When we got to the point in the trek where we were going through skinny paths in the woods, I saw numerous deer running around. Three deer in particular stood about ten feet away from us as we passed. I remember their faces just staring at us and not being afraid because they figured we were just other animals in the woods. All of us were silent in awe staring back at the deer, trying to soak in every second of this amazing experience. It was a great trip and probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’m definitely going to try to ride again once I return home this summer.