Joy ride: a 1,000 mile horseback trip through western Ireland | Hilary Bradt

The guidebook publisher’s dream of a solo horesback trip came true, but proved a greater challenge – and more exhilarating – than she’d thought possible

When did I first make the transition from enjoying horse riding as an accomplishment to realising that seeing spectacular scenery from the back of a horse is an end in itself – slow travel at its very best? I think it was in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, about as spectacular a place as you can get, but also as tiring as any mountain hike if you’re on foot, with thin air, steep paths and treacherous drops.