History of Foxborough Riding Club

Founded in 1972 Foxborough Riding Club was the first Riding Club in the South of Ireland.  The founder members were Esther deGroot, Helen Mangan, Theresa Bernon, Birget Holfeld and Gladys McCormack.  At that time Esther lived in Foxborough in the Glen of the Downs and that was the name that was used for the Club.

The club grew rapidly and at one time had nearly 200 members, all of them active participants in the competitions that were run by the club.  It became apparent that it was difficult to accommodate the numbers at competitions and a number of other clubs were encouraged to start and the numbers became more manageable.

Unlike the majority of clubs in the country that are based at Riding Establishments Foxborough was unaligned to any particular establishment and activities were held at various venues.  All types of competitions were held and a large number of members took the Riding Club Exams.  There was also a very active social side to the club, we ran fashion shows, travelling dinners, quizzes and a huge fund raising event which was a stage show called the Foxborough Follies.  Clubs began to spring up all over Ireland and in 1975 the Association of Irish Riding Clubs was formed as the governing body for all Riding Clubs.