2 horse-poor girls thinking of moving to Tryon, NC. Anybody familiar with the area?

[eponacelt]

For NoVA Grand Prix trainers, one of the best, who has trained a whole string of horses from green to Grand Prix is Lauren Sprieser in Marshall. She competes in CDIs and has made 5 or 6 of her own GP horses, as well as helped many amateurs train their horses to FEI (me included).

You could move to the farther reaches of NoVA (like the Valley) and trailer in to Lauren’s with a reasonable drive. I live in Culpeper, have an outdoor ring, and can usually ride most of the winter.

[Applecore]

While it doesn’t account for horse expenses ;), I’ve found this cost of living calculator to be a pretty reliable estimate of relative costs of living in different places (and I’ve lived in 4 states in 4 time zones in the last 5 years).

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

There’s not a ton of GP dressage trainers, but there are enough good ones, cost of living is very reasonable and there tons of horse properties in Lexington, KY area. Fun area outside of horses too.

I’d also consider Florida but not Wellington (just for cost). Especially if you were within an hour-ish of Wellington to trailer in, you’d have access to a huge number of good trainers, and the cost of living is pretty reasonable.

I do think Asheville, NC is a very cool town, and love the blue ridge, so although I’ve never been to Tryon, that general area would be on my list to check into for sure.

[cb06]

[QUOTE=arary;8979345]
A lot of people have mentioned NoVa, and I used to live there. So who is in NoVa in terms of really good Grand Prix trainers? I’m fairly modest in my aspirations but my friend is far more ambitious! Right now she’s making do with the occasional clinic but really wants to work more often with an international-caliber GP trainer. Sounds like Tryon is maybe not the dressage mecca she was picturing? I’m actually seriously considering this move but far from convinced.[/QUOTE]

There are many good Grand Prix trainers in NoVa. A short list off the top of my head of trainers with their gold medal, who trained multiple horses themselves up to Grand Prix (as opposed to buying a trained horse), and are actively showing…
Lauren Sprieser
Wanja Gerlach
Sara Spofford
Alison Head
Some that are very close (Intermediare) and also good trainers and/or instructors
Inga Janke
Holly Wilmoth
Donna Gatchell

I know there are others good ones around…

Most also regularly host clinics with top International trainers…
(ie. Lars Peterson)

[Magicboy]

Maybe look at and compare GMO activities in places where you want to live

[corgif]

I’m just posting in here to follow your thread. I have dreams of retiring close to the Tryon area in a few years. I’m not a fan of hot weather, so I want to live in the higher elevations within driving distance to Tryon/Columbus. My husband loves Asheville, but to me, it’s full of tourists, and I want to be closer to the horse stuff, so I’m thinking Flat Rock/Hendersonville.

I’ve also spent quite a bit of time in the Southern Pines area. In the winter, it’s unbeatable. Mild temps and nice sand footing. Summers are hot like most places in the South. Terrific horse offerings in many disciplines, and being able to ride/jump/drive (carriage) in the Walthour-Moss Foundation property is unreal.

Good luck in your search!

[KeepOnKeepingOn]

I just did it. I relocated to Landrum, SC (20 minutes to TIEC) from Boston exactly a month ago. Although I work from home, so not quite the leap of faith you’re considering…I don’t know how strong the job market is down here. In meeting some of the locals everyone loves it here, but they leave because of the availability of jobs.
I moved here to get in on the ground floor. Serious talent is already here, and with the WEG coming in two years it’s going to boom with more. My horse is boarded with Eric Dierks and his wife Trayce, for you eventers chiming in here :), and they are lovely, lovely people. Erik is a natural teacher and he has a dressage background, and has really helped my riding. I’ve also just started riding with Jennifer Roth. She is an S judge, has brought several folks and horses from Training Level to the FEI including producing her own horses to Grand Prix.
If you have Wellington dreams you’ll only be about 10 hours from there. Folks up here go down there for long weekends I’ve been told. I myself will go down to meet up with some buds sans horse, and I’m looking forward to making it a long weekend without a plane.
We’re renting a house in adorable downtown Landrum, and I really like it here. It is a major change from Boston, but we walk downtown to a couple of good restaurants and shops. It is culture shock, but the climate is just so much better.
My mother lives in Hendersonville, NC, and that’s a lot bigger, but still small city, and there is a lot more to do there than down here in Landrum. She’s about 40 minutes from TIEC. That might be a good area for you to check out, too. There will likely be more jobs up that way.
Lots of wineries and breweries. It’s a really fun area.
One more thing to mention is Belissimo has put some serious $$ into the Asheville airport, which is actually in Hendersonville. Runways are being widened and lengthened for direct flights from more places. He’s also opening a quarantine facility for the horses coming in for the WEG.
Cool place, nice people, inexpensive compared to Boston right now, and nicer weather.
Come on down!

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

OP - If you’d like our Tryon Equestrian Directory (100+ pages of all things horse related, including realtors), send me a PM with your address and I’ll drop one in the mail for you.