SHE has been busy this week grooming for her friend and student Ciara McNamara, who rode in the flat ridden Connemara class at Dublin, but Siobhan Cazabon of Cleggan, Co Galway, has also been busy with a project of a different kind.

Daughter of dressage instructor Judy Cazabon and mother of international dressage rider Alana, Siobhan and the rest of the three-generational team have been busy creating a new venture: Café au Neigh. The coffee and treat trailer is situated on a beautiful spot overlooking the sea at Cleggan village in Connemara where visitors can stop and take in the stunning view while also getting their caffeine fix.

If they are lucky they might even see Alana and Siobhan performing some dressage movements in the arena across the road.

“I used to park my horsebox there when the riding stables were open,” explained Siobhán. “Sometimes, when I would be about to embark on a journey, I would be running through my checklists - phone, keys, passports, handbag, coffee, horse! And then the view would catch me. I would find myself wishing I could take a few minutes to sit there, drink my coffee and soak up the tranquility.

“Also, for me coffee is almost as essential for getting through the day as spending time with horses. Sorry Maslow, but my hierarchy of needs goes horses, coffee, breathing and then chocolate, other food, shelter, etc!

“As the stables had closed since Covid, there was some tidying to do. We had some groundwork done with new gravel laid. I then had to find a trailer and machines and source beans. I like good coffee and I want to serve good coffee. Before I began I talked with my family, I knew I would need their support. From traipsing around the country with me checking out trailers and machinery (my brother) to hand-picking weeds and dead-heading flowers (my niece), they have all been fantastic.

“My daughter Alana looks after social media between running her yard and raising her baby. My son James has been thrown into a barista career and has become an amateur accountant, thankfully, he loves spreadsheets!” Congratulations also from the Horse World team to Alana and her husband Colin Conneely who recently welcomed their beautiful baby daughter Alice.