Everything at Harmony Cottage Farm is built with a wonderful natural feel and this sees the two stable blocks, the wash bay area, cafe and office and tack room all built of lovely timber which gives the place such a warm feel. The tack room is one of the cleverest designs I have seen yet and sees two large shipping containers 'built into" the building which houses the cafe, office and washbay.This gives the saddlery the all important protection from fire and water damage and also they are the safest storage against theft as you would need to be very serious about thieving to get into this tack area - and let's face it properties all over the world are unfortunately susceptible to theft and horse properties are definitely no exception!

The two stable blocks house 40 horses between them and each barn is named. The Oscar Barn is named after a horse Mick owned and produced and sounds like it was a particular favourite of his and the second barn is the Kilbaha Barn which just begged the question of why Mick and Tony O'Sullivan and Mark Devey have a barn named after Capt, John Leddingham's great showjumper - so the question was asked and Mick's answer was - "this horse was a great horse, so laid back, he had a great attitude and perhaps would never have been so great with another rider because the horse and John (Ledingham) represented a great partnership and went to great heights together."

I do have to say that having a formal interview with Mick O'Sullivan is almost impossible - he is a man of few words and yet he says much! I asked him how he would describe Harmony Cottage Farm - is it a competition barn, a livery barn, a training facility - how do you see it Mick? The answer took some time coming and finally I was told "fun - that's it fun is what we are about - now put away your pen and paper and come and SEE what we are about" and that is when our tour of the property began - and I admit I did not pick up pen and paper again as Mick was right - this place is all about feel and relaxation and the pleasure of being in an environment which is there for the benefit and well being of horses - and of course the resident dogs who casually stroll around the place, keeping well out of the way of the horses.

Left: Even the wash bay is surrounded by greenery and it comes complete with something we have found unusually hard to find anywhere in Ireland - a water hose with good pressure - and this was has sensational pressure so much so we thought of asking what the secret was as even the shower in our house is cause for laughter about how you have to "chase the drops around just to get wet"!

Currently there is no Indoor Arena which would be

seen by many in Ireland as a drawback and the Harmony Cottage owners are not saying they will not build one but they are reluctant to as they see "horses" as an outdoor activity and if that includes getting wet then so be it - but I suspect that they will eventually build one as the climate really doesn't lend itself to working horse after horse out in the driving rain which is so often a "day in Ireland" - but time will tell whether they build one or not. Add to the Derby Arena, the Grand Prix showjumping arena with the fibre/silica surface and the Cross Country Training Track and Cross Country Course and you think you couldn't ask for much more. But then you are taken to the "working down" arena which is a meandering sand "arena without fences" where you can work your horse down after a heavy training session and you can loop and bend your way around the trees which are planted in and around this area giving the horse a sense of freedom and relaxation. Everything at this place is designed to ensure the horses "mind" is always in a good place - certainly the work of "horsemen" who care more about the horse than the requirements of modern living and yet all the modern conveniences are there at your beck and call.

The school horses and ponies (above right) were grazing knee deep in the most luscious looking grass the day we visited and the sun glistened on their naked bodies which made us smile as they were so content - in fact most casually lifted their heads to see who was coming and then when satisfied we were not coming to ask them to work they were again heads down and grazing.

Now if what you have read here sounds like we are on the pay roll Harmony Cottage you are very wrong - this is not a paid editorial nor do we have any connection with the people who own and operate the Farm other than we have met them at various shows we are also at. What you are reading are the impressions we got from our visit to Harmony Cottage and I don't think it would surprise any of our readers to know "we were impressed"!

If you are a local check out the SJAI Bulletin for dates of shows to be held at this great venue and if you are visiting Ireland then put this one on your list of places to visit!

And an important note for visitors - it is very easy to find if you get directions from locals who will give you landmarks to look for when needing to turn etc. The jumpingaround.com crew have found themselves lost on numerous occasions getting to various venues which are supposedly easy to find so if we giving it an "easy to find" rating you know it really is easy!