I spent two weeks at Crossogue, an equestrian teen camp near Limerick. Limerick is a city in the Mid-West of Ireland and is part of the province of Munster. I chose to go to Ireland, because it's an english speaking country I never visited before. I was taken with the green nature and the unique culture. I was particularly attracted to the countryside of Ireland, which is why I decided to combine the study of english with a horse riding camp.
Crossogue is a working horse farm with a large compound and a great amount of cross country courses. They also have an arena and several bridleways as well as extensive meadows. Around 200 horses are kept at Crossogue, among which racehorses. Many people are working there, helping with the horses or in the house. The main building is hosting the guests and a part of the employees. The staff is very friendly and always willing to help.
I had two hours of english per day, aimed at not native english speakers. We had several topics like Shakespeare, foreign countries and natural and human catastrophes. We started the week with a Test for the teacher to estimate our level. We also did little presentations in groups and a revision of grammar and conjugation. Our teacher, Silvia, already tought english in a lot of different countries and could tell us about her experience in other continents. We could also learn some specific vocabulary about horses that we only knew in our first language. Since english was our only common language and we got English classes every day I could improve my english skills considerably.
The other guests came from Ireland and different european countries or even from the United States of America. We could compare our scholar systems and the horse riding situation in our countries and I made some very good friends. We were staying in rooms in groups of 6 or 8 guests and were able to practice several activities such as badminton, Tennis and table soccer. Crossogue is also home to multiple cats and dogs that gave us pleasure. On every Sunday we made a trip to a nearby city like Thurles, where we had free time, went to the cinema or went sightseeing.
We had horse riding lessons twice a day, usually one and a half hour on the arena, doing basic jumping exercises and another session doing cross country. Noel, our coach, chose one horse that we kept for one week, so we could get used to it and improve. We also did some little jumping competitions and a hack to the river. I learned a lot, especially since I never did cross country riding before. I fell from my horse a few times but thankfully didn't get seriously hurt and I could learn from my mistakes.
I discovered a lot about the irish culture and saw many beautiful landscapes. I could improve my english even though I had difficulties understanding the irish accent at first and made friends from other countries and continents. I enjoyed the irish cuisine, especially the freshly baked scones for breakfast. I'm planning to go to Crossogue again and meet some of the friends I made there.