Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin

All those who took and passed one of the AIRE Amateur Tests Awards in 2007 now have their names listed on the AIRE web site. The list of names of those qualifying from Rose Cottage can now be found at http://www.aire.ie/news/article/aire_amateur_tests_awards_2007.html.  Congratulations are due to all on their success. 

[NB Owing to the passage of time since this article first appeared, this information is no longer available on the AIRE web site and the link above is inoperative]

Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin

Early in 2008, Rose Cottage inaugurated a Pony Riders Group and it is becoming a great success.  Aimed at and restricted to, those children who are regular riders at Rose Cottage Riding School the Group holds stable management evenings during school terms, ridden rallies in the holidays and other special events.  These might  include dressage, beach rides, jumping, treasure hunts, picnic rides and visits. We hope to have more on recent events soon. Watch this space...  Become a regular rider now if you'd like to be one of the Group!

Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin

Two more wins in March 2008 for Rose Cottage by Sam McDermott - again riding Zuko and again at Greenacres too.  She won both the In-hand and the Ridden Coloured Classes and took the Coloured Championship as well!  As if this was not enough and also from Rose Cottage, Ashleigh Mc Dermott came second in a field of ten in the Family Pony Class and was even nominated as Reserve Champion in the Family Pony Championship. You can see more here

Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin
We were to have had a jumping day on the 4th January 2008 - before the children went back to School - but it had to be cancelled.  It had snowed in the night!
But there were some compensations because, before it melted, it gave us the opportunity for a few photographs taken behind the scenes, not least of some of our donkeys who grow the warmest coats in the winter and often don't need rugs even in such weather, though they do hang around looking rather nonplussed when there is snow!.  Have a look here for a few of these photographs.

Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin

One of our 2007 "arrivals", Patrick (by Dandy, out of Domino and nearly 11hh by the end of 2007) was formally registered with the Irish Piebald & Skewbald Association last year as a Piebald colt (Piebald is the - now mainly Irish - name for a black and white coloured or pinto horse). Regular visitors to this site will have probably noticed that Patrick's colouring has caused quite a lot of comment over the past months - and not least on an excellent American Horse forum (go to http://www.thepetsforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=35 and look under Breeds and Breeding) - from him being brown/white at birth, to chocolate/white soon after, then several shades in between and getting blacker as the months went on.  Well, our vet finally decided at the end of 2007 that he's a Piebald and his registration was duly approved in November.  He now of course has his own EU equine passport too. You can see more of Patrick at and soon after, birth here, at 6 months here and at approx two years old here.    Anyone who might be interested to understand more of the Irish definitions of Piebald and Skewbald and the American influence on their popularity in Europe might like to pop over to the IPSA web site at http://www.theipsa.com/definition.htm. But do come back here!

Rose Cottage Riding School, Malin

Santa Claus came to us just before Christmas 2007 and stayed some time too! Have a look here for some of the photographs of that day.

We also had a fun 2007 Halloween Day here.  We ran a Fancy Dress Gymkhana for the Children!
Do have a look at the pictures here - it's surprising the horses weren't frightened!!