One thing I never realized before moving to Dublin was how into horses the Irish are. Horse breeding, horse racing, horse riding, horse showing…you name it! I’m not sure where the passion for horses originates from, but it’s definitely something you encounter when living here. A few weeks ago Jeff went to the horse track for a work event, and then yesterday we decided to check out the Dublin Horse Show.

Held every summer, the horse show is a big equestrian competition that draws riders from around the world to Dublin. We saw horse/rider teams from Italy, Germany, UK, France, USA, and other countries (not exactly sure what they were competing for but I’m sure it was something exciting in the horsey world) 😄 It was fun to watch the various jumps the horses did around the course. As we looked on, a very serious sounding announcer gave a play by play of each jump and trick while the crowd watched quietly so as not to break the horse and rider’s concentration (with our loud children in tow, we didn’t linger to watch long).

Luckily there were several really kid friendly zones, so we spent the majority of our time in those. There were pony rides for kids and an area of bouncy castles, which are all the rage here (a festival here doesn’t seem to be complete without a bouncy castle and/or fun fair rides).

Best of all, though, was a stage dedicated to performances for kids. There was a juggler, a magician/puppet show man, and an Irish dancing troupe. Isaac absolutely loved the magician/puppet guy and insisted we come back to watch his second show an hour after the first one! Check out his huge smiles!

So I’d say our first horse show was a success! It was a beautiful sunny day and a fun family day out.