Beach Gallop On Downhill Beach, Northern Ireland

Horse riding with Crindle Stables in Northern Ireland

I felt nervous, excited and a little overwhelmed all at the same time. We were driving down the narrow roads in Northern Ireland, following a massive horse truck somewhere near Downhill Beach. It was a stunning day with sunshine and a chilly wind coming from the ocean and we’d already spent a few adventurous day in this lovely country, mostly exploring the filming locations of Game of Thrones.

And today, we were going to ride horses down one of the most incredible beaches we’d ever seen during our travels.

Once we got to the parking lot, the friendly people from Crindle Stables started getting our horses (and us!) ready. We put on some very Thrones inspired cloaks and got ready to ride. We’re not very experienced riders, so climbing on a horse was kind of intimidating at first. But once we got properly settled into our saddles, it wasn’t that bad at all. On the contrary: the horses stayed calm all the way and very obedient to our inexperienced, gentle commands.

The ride itself was breathtaking. The sea mist, the waves, the wind, the absolutely majestic surroundings. We had little kids waving at us and a small dog accompanying us for the whole ride. I never wanted it to end. I stole little moments all to myself by letting the horse take me where he wanted, just for a minute or two, so I could really try and take it all in.

Afterwards, we sat in our rental car and tried to put our feelings into words. Things like “what did we just experience?!” and “probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done” were said. We were a little exhausted by all the excitement, but so, so happy to have done it.

Our Instagram post from the day of the gallop.

This blog post is a part of our new short story collection called Memorable Moments.