Ballydougan Road, Downpatrick, Co. Down
St. Patrick's Coast Endurance Ride, now in its 8th year, and continues to develop. A stunning 32km (20 mile) loop taking in forest, old railways, farm lanes and fields as well as a significant distance of beaches, less than 1.5km of road work to top it off.
Taking place on Saturday 2nd September this year, it is a not to be missed day. A Dinner will be held on the Saturday evening, open to all, so make a weekend out of it, stabling is available on site as is camping for anyone interested.
The event features Pleasure Rides for all, non-members welcome, of 16km (10 miles) and 32km (20 miles) [note the 16km ride does not take in the beaches]. Competitive Rides (CTRs) from 32km (20 miles) up to 80km (50 miles) and this will be joined by Competitive Endurance Rides (ERs) of 80km (50 miles) and 120km (75 miles).
Entries will close on Tuesday 29th August at Midnight. (unless ride is full first so don't delay)
We have designed a range or memorabilia to 2023 to celebrate the return of the ride after Covid.
The range of products depicts a lovely image by Shona Burch showing some of the features of the ride making it a lovely souvenir of your day.
Items include:
Item are available from www.shonad.co.uk. Just use the site search and type in ILDRA to all the items together.
St. Patrick's Coast Endurance Ride 2023 - again what a great success it was. The weather was kind this year and the continuation of the new Team the BHS classes played a large part in this success. The riders faces as they crossing the finish line says it all = see our Miles of smiles compilation (right/below)
The ride start and finishes at Downpatrick Race Course with great facilities. There will be on-site catering available on the day and of course the prizegiving dinner in the evening. Our photographer was back to catch those stunning images on the beach and as you, weather permitting, ride up the racecourse to finish.
A stunning 32km (20 mile) loop taking in forest, old railways, farm lanes and fields as well as a significant distance of beaches, with less than 3km of road work to top it off is waiting for our intrepid competitors.
The event features Pleasure Rides for all, non-members welcome, of 16km (10 miles) and 32km (20 miles) [note the 16km ride does not take in the beaches]. Competitive Rides (CTRs) from 32km (20 miles) up to 80km (50 miles) and this will be joined by Competitive Endurance Rides (ERs) of 80km (50 miles) and 120km (75 miles) as demand requires.
We host a Farmers and Prizegiving event on the Saturday evening after the ride. But this years will be extra special as we join to celebrate ILDRA's 30th Anniversary (see more).
We would encourage anyone who can stay to please come along and support this part of the event. It is YOUR chance to say thank you to many of the farmers and landowners over whose land you will ride whilst having a great evening and maybe even picking up a prize.
It is open to everyone (non-members welcome) but you must purchase tickets in advance. A limited number may still be available from the ride office on the day but strictly subject to numbers.
We are delighted that Murphys Bar and Restaurant are again providing the catering - Their very generous support sponsors the food for the Framers and Stewards - a huge thank you to them for this generous support.
Click for more details and to book your place.
As usual the 16km (10 mile) Pleasure Ride will not take in the beaches at Ballykinler and Tyrella so if you want the beach ride enter for the 32km (20 mile) class.
There are also prizes for Pleasure Riders - to be eligible all you have to do is Vet before starting and within 30 minutes of finishing and make sure your times are taken at the start and finish - no extra cost - so why not plan to challenge yourseleves and improve on last year or set a benchmark for next year.
from 2016 aproaching the finish line
Thanks to Aloeride for this great wee reminder from the St. Patrick's Coast 2016 ride when we welcomed teams from England, Scotland and Wales to the Home International and Celtic Challenge Competitions.
There are more videos of the ride on the Aloeride web site at www.aloeride.com/videos-st-patricks-coast-ride-home-international-2016
Please note ALL horses entering the race course property MUST have up-to-date (annual) Flu Vaccinations. Therefore we cannot accept entries from horses or ponies that will not be up to date with their shots. Sorry no exceptions.
New Regulations for stabling at the racecourse can be found here: https://www.hri-ras.ie/getmedia/2e9d5775-4dac-4ee8-b9f2-cd69e07f02a8/Rule-91-(Equine-Influenza-Vaccinations-%E2%80%93-New-Time-Intervals).pdf
We have limited alternative stabling in a local livery yard approx. 8 miles from the racecourse and it will be allocated on a 1st come 1st served basis if you don't meet the HRI regulations. We are also looking for additional stabling in the area - or feel free to organise your own if required. We are sorry about the late notice on the stabling regulations but is is unfortunately out of both our and the racecourses control now.
If you are stabling you need to send us your vaccination/passport scan. Please send it using email to admin@stpatrickscoast.com
Regulations for stabling at the racecourse can be found here: https://www.hri-ras.ie/getmedia/2e9d5775-4dac-4ee8-b9f2-cd69e07f02a8/Rule-91-(Equine-Influenza-Vaccinations-%E2%80%93-New-Time-Intervals).pdf