Two fold question- relocating to Pittsburgh this summer.
Looking for recommendations for a hunter/jumper lesson program in the Pittsburgh area.
Looking for retirement farms or pasture board in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and struggling to find any.
They do not have to be the same facility.
Seconding BarGee and Cedar Run - I’ve never ridden at either, but I know a number of people who have either come through BarGee or are still there and quite happy with it. My barn owner sold her old horse to Cedar Run for use in their lesson program (he’s in his twenties and mostly just carting kids around now) and she’s in regular contact with them and quite happy with how he’s doing, so they may potentially take retirees as alternate_universe said, although I don’t know for sure.
The Appleworks riders usually pop up at a lot of the local H/J series - if you’re looking for a consistent show program that hits bigger shows consistently then BarGee would be your best bet. They go to Chagrin and WEC in Ohio for rated shows quite regularly, and I knew a few girls who would also go down to Kentucky and Florida with them when I was in high school. Something to keep in mind is that board tends to get cheaper as you head east of the city (out towards Murrysville/Apollo/Saltsburg) so that might be worth looking into if you’re looking to retire a horse. There are still some decent facilities out that way (I grew up riding at one of them), but they won’t be quite as much of a money suck as the ones north of the city tend to be (due to proximity to downtown and differences in property taxes, etc.).
Edit: Amending this just to say that a few of the girls I know who’ve gone through BarGee are now riding professionally on the jumper circuit, so if you’re looking for a barn that’ll hit that side of things as much as hunters, BarGee is a good bet. Some of the “H/J” programs around here should really just be called hunter programs, so that’s something to keep in mind too.
Historically Ahna Cafaro has had a decent string of riders, some of whom were HOC-based, and she was another one who would go down to Kentucky, but I’m not sure if she’s still coaching consistently given that she has her own farm and has Amazing standing at stud (and everyone I knew who trained with her has since gone on to college and moved elsewhere). Everyone I’ve known who’s trained with her seemed to like her a lot, but I’ve never met her.
I’ve also heard some recent rumors of HOC potentially going through another ownership change at some point here so all bets are off as to what the training/lesson situation is going to look like up there in the future. Then there’s also the fact that the footing in their arenas is kind of notorious for being terrible and multiple owners have said they would fix it and then never really did (which is a real shame since the facility is gorgeous otherwise).
Someone just asked about #1 https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/hunter-jumper/10356043-pittsburgh-boarding
Perfect! I’ve seen BarGee pop up a lot.
I’ve been really struggling with finding a good situation for my retired horse. Currently trying to decide if I’m ok missing out on the majority of his remaining couple of years to leave him in a perfect situation in KY.
BarGee is a legit place. It’s where I took lessons in high school. I haven’t been back in ages except to drive by and it looks like it’s still a good place.
Horse on course is closin June 1st. It’s been sold, not sure if it’s sold to a developer or equestrian
I don’t think I suggested it for the retired horse? I agree. Likely no true “show barn” is going to be ideal for the retired horse. I’ve only been discussing #1 (place to take lessons) on this thread.
If the rumors I’ve heard are true, it’s an equestrian, but don’t quote me on that cause that’s pretty prime real estate so it could easily be a developer too.
Either way, tl;dr, OP, HOC isn’t worth considering what with all the changes going on around there. I have a friend who boards her four horses at BarGee (she’s the one who designed their current website, funnily enough), and her mother keeps hers there as well, and I’ve never heard a bad thing from either of them. They’ve got a retired horse there, but money obviously isn’t a concern for them. I know of a few different barns in the area where people have retired horses, but as it seems you’ve discovered, there isn’t really a place around here that is specifically for that purpose, and I’ve been thinking about it for the last day or so and can’t think of anywhere that really offers pasture board or anything like that.
Travesty Farm out in Apollo was always a good place when I was there and there were some retired horses, but that was 10 years ago. They do have ample turnout and as far as I can tell, their schedule hasn’t changed since I was there (8-4 during the winter, 4-8 overnight during the summer), and it’s also less than $400 a month in board (care was always good when I was there and they had a farrier on site, land is just cheaper out there than it is up north so they don’t have as many taxes to cover). They’re an eventing barn, but they might be worth looking into for your retiree if you want to bring him up here.
Travesty isn’t closed—I saw them at a show at KEC two weeks ago and my barn owner went cross-country schooling there last summer. I have no idea why they wouldn’t call back, but they’re definitely still open.
KEC has some boarders but it’s a pretty small facility and I believe it’s geared more toward training board than any sort of retiree. It’s also a pain to get to if you’re coming from the city because it’s on the opposite side of 22 from where you need to be to turn due to the divided highway, so that can be a bit annoying. Travesty has… thirty-something? stalls between the two barns (possibly more, I don’t remember) and I know they had everyone from the most laid-back of trail riders to people who were serious about competing when I was there, so there should be less of a concern with being able to get a stall and being able to keep a retired horse, if OP chooses to go that route.
Barns out towards Ligonier usually have great turnout and lower board for your retired guy. Any chance you foxhunt? You could connect with the Rolling Rock Hunt secretary to ask for recommendations. Ligonier is about an hour east of the city.
Bargee has a long waiting list for boarders, but is definitely top notch. I think some people board at Cedar Run and hack across the street for training at Bargee.
If you have a good place for your guy currently, you might consider keeping that. To my knowledge there’s no real “retirement” facilities; my retiree here is just at a private boarding facility that’s set up nicely for a retiree and that’s probably your best best, if you do want to consider continuing your search up here for a place for him.
There’s a few places around for lessons, etc, though. Feel free to PM me; lived here my whole life.
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