I am considering a move to Aiken SC and am in need of boarding barn suggestions. I ride dressage and am open to private or multidiscipline boarding farms. We are also tossing around the idea of a small horse property in an equestrian community. Any insight on the ins and outs of living in that type of a neighborhood?
I don’t know how those types of neighborhoods, but a friend who lives there says the horse scene is heavily polo/hunter-jumper/eventing and very light on dressage. Not that there aren’t trainers and barns, but many more focused on the other disciplines. Just FYI, per my friend.
OP, tell me which development you are interested in and I’ll give you my $0.02.
Depending on where you are from, light on dressage coaches is a relative term! It is heads and shoulders above where I am now. I just bought a small fixer upper, so feel free to PM me. I am trying to get myself positioned to move there full time.
Aiken has some excellent dressage trainers, and the best part is it takes you on an average of 15 to 20 minutes to get to most of them.
Shawna Harding, Jeremy Steinberg,Pierre Cousyns are all based out of here as well as some lesser know names , that are also very good trainers.
If you want to board at a dressage barn my first recommendation would be Fair Lane it is a private barn and Amy McElroy trains out of there, she is a judge and a very popular trainer.
Another dressage barn that is very nice is Vaughn Equestrian, there are others but those are the 2 I can think of right now.
Most of the dressage trainers here will travel to you if you live close in to Aiken.
Lot’s of choices here so good luck!
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Also if you want to try a multi displine barn talk to Bubba at Sandhills, they have nice trails , great jump ring, nice dressage ring, plus a racetrack and swim pond for the horses.
I have my own place but I love going to school there!
What type of boarding are you looking for? Full care? Training, etc. There are plenty of good dressage people around here. Lots of great equestrian developments as well. I’m happy to share insight depending on what you like and what you prefer -more social (three runs), more horse professionals based out of there (bridle creek), multi-discipline with barn (new bridge), keep your horses at home (fox hollow, etc).
Sandy Hills. It’s self-care only though and you do often get moved when winter people get in. We were there for a year and loved it (and Bubba!) but depends what OP is looking for.
I am open to self care boarding but I think full care would be my first choice. Lots of turnout either in a group or solo is most important. I’m not really into the social aspect of a barn and want to avoid a place with drama at all costs LOL. I take a few lessons a week and don’t need full training. An unrelated question is regarding crime…I was very surprised to see Aiken has such a poor crime rating…is is just in one area of town?
my oldest son was an exercise rider at a training barn there, yes the crime is high, He ended up buying a hand gun and made sure all the grooms and farms staff knew he carried it.
I lived on the really poor side of Aiken in my early 20s, also exercise rode and juggled a retail job while trying to get some good mileage with my eventer. Yes crime is higher than in some other more affluent areas … but I never felt I needed a gun.
I did have a break-in in my first apartment. I think they thought no one was home, but I was in the bathroom! Luckily I was fostering a Chihuahua I didn’t have a high opinion of at the time… I changed my mind after that, since he chased the man RIGHT back out of the window he broke through to get in.
There is a very big poverty divide in Aiken, which in part incentivizes and drives the crime… lots of hungry people :no: Be prepared for culture shock, if you are not from the South. I grew up just outside of Boston, so it was a big change. Other than the snowbirds, most of Aiken is quite poor – if you took the equestrian community and/or the second-home snowbirds out of the equation you’d have a very destitute town.
The most common crime while I was there was theft; don’t leave any valuables in your car, don’t leave doors unlocked in your house, etc. My friend did have her saddles stolen the first day she was in Aiken.
Otherwise, I really loved my time there. The people were wonderful, I really loved the friends I made there (many of them locals that grew up in the area), and there is endless things to do equestrian related… and LOTS of high quality instruction, all available within 20-40m of central Aiken. It is a wonderful, niche community – especially for equestrians.
Oh! I came home with four ditch dogs… there are a LOT of strays. If you are a bleeding heart like myself, be prepared… you might end up with a dog colony. The two barns I exercise rode for routinely had people drop off their unwanted dogs. :no:
If I did not have such an attachment to my parents and sisters, I would go back in a heartbeat… but unfortunately, most of my family really likes living in the arctic North… :yes:
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There is a very big poverty divide in Aiken, which in part incentivizes and drives the crime… lots of hungry people
son worked with racehorses, the farm workers were for the most part illegal aliens. Many, not all, really did not care about what was lawful they did whatever that wanted, took whatever they thought they could take.
He left
That’s sad. I had a positive experience with the people (including those w/o citizenship) at the Aiken training track. A lack of legal citizens working the backside is not unique to the Aiken training track. Two of my close friends worked for Darley and had great experiences.
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This. It’s hard to explain the south to people who haven’t lived there. There is a huge poverty divide.
I never had any crime issues but you will see that many of the neighborhoods are gated. I believe there are still some BNTS who come for the winter (Silva Martin is one) but it is more H/J and eventing geared.
Aiken is an adorable town, actually a bit bigger than I thought it would be, and Augusta is right there which has a kind of sad mall, airport, and a reviving downtown. Beech island on the SC side has been built up and is a beautiful little community now.
Aiken always gave me the feeling I was about 10 years too early. I think that it is changing, just slowly.
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My place is in Windsor, which is just outside of town. It’s growing pretty fast our here, which I think is good. While there are a lot of drivers here, I managed to find a little gem set on the top of a hill in a small enclave. My neighbors on one side are jumpers, Hunter people are moving in across from me and I am next to two driving people. I did not have the $$$ to be in a development plus I am not a fan of planned communities. You will get more bang for your buck NOT being in a planned community, but like any property, you will want to consider the neighborhood. These are always TONS of places for sale in Aiken. The right one will come along.
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How about the New Ellenton area?? We plan to move from NE Tx. back to an area “near” Aiken, but not right close to the town. Just want a nice property (40+ acres)…home, modest barn and pastures…not competing any more. Advice???
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