Creating a 'sport of kings experience' in and around Kildare town

Kildare Failte is keen for Kildare town to be known as the hot spot for Ireland's Ancient East's Sport of Kings trail.

“This is a theme that resonates with Kildare and is at the very essence of the County's tourism,” said Kildare Failte's Phil Donnelly.

“With the support of Failte Ireland, Kildare Failte are now in the process of creating our' Sport of Kings Experience".

A behind the scenes tour of the Sport of Kings Story took place from Kildare Town last Friday.

The tour began at the Heritage Centre and took in the origins of the Turf Club, onto RACE Academy, the School of Farriery and a visit to the Curragh Museum.

This was followed by a trip to the Irish National Stud.

The idea is to entice the 140,000 plus visitors who visit the National Stud every year to go that little bit further afield and seek out the Curragh Museum with it's historical artifacts and the , the School of Farriery to see how the horse shoe is made over to RACE to meet the apprentice jockeys, see them in action and all the hard work it entails and spend time with the horses. 

It is designed to touch on the elements of the thoroughbred, war horse and work horse legacies combined with Kildare's sacred and mythological Stories and to open up these parts of Kildare to the tourist who may not yet realise that they exist or that they can be visited.

Here is a little video from the School of Farriery in action.