Hogwarts riding academy comes to Offaly
Harry Potter wizard Devon Murray opens stable school
HARRY Potter star Devon Murray has swapped his broomstick for a bridle after opening his own public riding stables.
Devon, 23, who starred as Irish wizard Seamus Finnigan in the Harry Potter films has indulged his passion for thoroughbreds by establishing Ashe Haven Stables in Rhode, Co. Offaly. The actor already owns a stud farm in the county, but he decided to expand his business, recently adding the riding school and stables.
Devon said he was looking forward to working on his new project: ‘We just opened the stables last week and I am very excited about the whole venture,’ he said.
The Kildare native, who has been a horse fanatic since the age of nine, invested the money he earned from his film and TV roles to expand his stud farm.
‘I got into the horses when I was nine years old,’ he explained.
‘One of my friends had started riding and I thought I’d give it a go and see how I’d get on and I just fell in love with them.
‘I bought my first horse in 1998 just after I finished filming Angela’s Ashes. With the money I made from filming I bought him and I called him Ashes,’ he added.
It was during the making of one of the Harry Potter films that Devon decided to buy the stud farm as he missed the horses so much while he was on set.
‘While filming the third Harry Potter I had to give up horse riding. I was gutted. So while I was filming and not able to ride, I really didn’t want to be apart from the horses, so I started to breed them,’ he revealed.
Devon has continued to name his horses after his movies – after filming Harry Potter he called his second mare Sorcerer’s Magic.
However, now that the worldwide success of Harry Potter has come to an end, he has decided to devote all his energies to the horses.
Devon himself will be on-hand to give lessons and is working full time at the stables as he tries to get the business up and running.
The actor is running riding lessons for young children, including
‘I got into horses when
I was nine years old’
a number of pony camps for seven to 16-year-olds that will take place over the summer.
‘It’s a great activity for everyone and young children especially love being with the horses,’ he said.
Devon first got a taste for acting when his parents Michael and Fidelma Murray sent him to the Billie Barry stage school when he was six. Within two weeks of starting, he had landed a Tesco television advert.
He appeared in his first movie at the age of 10, acting alongside Aidan Quinn and Stephen Rea in the drama This Is My Father.
But he got his first big break less than a year later with his part in Alan Parker’s Angela’s Ashes, where he played Malachy McCourt. He then went on to win stardom as