The Irish National Stud and Gardens is a very cool spot that was recommended to me by several veterinary colleagues so Sally and I took a day trip there earlier this week.
I think by car it's only about an hour west of the city in County Kildare; but on the bus it took about 2.5 hours (I loved seeing the countryside and thankfully it was a fancier bus with wifi and charging ports etc.). We also got to see the Curragh, one of Ireland's most famous racecourses, as well as many, many, many sheep.
It's an interesting breeding farm because it is owned by the Irish government so, for a relatively low admission fee, you can spend the day wandering about and learning about and SEEING the stallions standing stud, the mares with foals by their side, and the retired "living legends" (i.e., geldings). Most of the stud farms I know of are not open to the public in this way and are certainly not giving out dozens of tours a day to non-horsey folk.
Also, the original owner (Colonel Hall) was incredibly into astrology so he made the roofs over the stallions' stalls glass so that the stars could guide them. Wowza.
The most memorable horses on this day for me were Invincible Spirit, who is apparently very fancy but looked very bored...
...and the very friendly and strangely named Beef or Salmon, a long-retired national hunt gelding with a fabulous career...
...lots of mamas and babies...
...and a very friendly foal (foal scratches are foal scratches, anywhere in the world).
In additional to the tour—which I found to be slightly PG-13; didn't realize I was going to have to try to carefully describe terms such as "womanizer" (about Colonel William Hall Walker who purchased and started the Stud in 1900) or explain live cover vs. AI to Sally (the Irish apparently have a different take on what is child-appropriate, I think!)—there were beautiful gardens (and we didn't even make it to the world-renowned Japanese garden),
a fairy trail (and awesome playground importantly located adjacent to a cafe) for Sally,
and a really cool "National Racehorse Experience" museum/virtual reality exhibit to teach about the racing industry in general. While I actually have mixed feelings about the racehorse industry as a whole (that's perhaps a conversation for another time), I find it impossible not to appreciate the beauty and athleticism of the horses, and this exhibit was impressive. They even had an endoscope that you could pass into a fake nostril!
Lastly, I bought a mug that says "Irish National Stud" on it and of course David joked it was made just for him. Insert eye roll/comment about dad jokes here. :)
So, if you find yourself in Ireland, I highly recommend this as a full day trip!!
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