It is a mystery to me that in our country which is so in love with the horse, that designated trails or bridle paths are all but non-existent here.

In fact it appears that instead of being initiated and promoted they are in fact lazily discouraged or prohibited.

Horse owners who have no desire to be involved in show jumping, eventing or dressage but who just want to go for a quiet leisurely ride are being pushed out on to busy roads, away from the countryside they wish to cross.

Knowledge

I have to admit, I am lacking in knowledge in this area but I was quickly brought up to date by Johanna Krois of the Three Counties Hacking Club of Kildare, Laois and Offaly.

She searched for information in order to pursue her group’s idea of creating a bridle path in the midlands that could run across bog lands, forestry and along canal banks.

She quickly found that if the person she needed to talk to in Bord na Móna, Coillte, local authorities, Irish Waterways etc. was not in favour of horses she would get nowhere.

“To avoid the work and time that would have to be given in order to create the terms and conditions with local riders – it is simply easier [for the authorities] to say no,” Johanna reports.

“We were no isolated case. All across the country horse riders of all abilities, young and old are finding themselves turfed out of the countryside and on to ever busier roads.”

This led me to do a bit more research into the websites of Bord Na Mona, Coillte and Irish Waterways.

Annoyingly they all gave lip-service to horse riding but when I went a bit deeper I found that getting a licence to do just that on lands these bodies control was all but impossible as the process was so convoluted.

What is now needed is a working group with representatives from all the involved authorities, plus the stakeholders, to take a firm grip of this solvable problem

The Three Counties Riding Club is not taking all of this standing still. They have sent a comprehensive 17-page submission to amongst others President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Sean Fleming, Eamon Ryan, Catherine Martin, Heather Humphreys and a variety of other Ministers of State and Senators.

In addition they have initiated an online petition at change.org called Regain Access For Horses To Irish Countryside.

So far they have over 1,500 responses from similarly affected individuals.

What is now needed is a working group with representatives from all the involved authorities, plus the stakeholders, to take a firm grip of this solvable problem.