Barns/Trainers in Lexington KY area

[ThatBayHorse]

I may be relocating to the Lexington area soon. I am looking for trainer/barn recommendations in the greater Lexington area (could be Georgetown, Versailles, etc). The list below includes some very wishful thinking, but this would be ideal. Your recommendations don’t have to hit all of the marks Mostly looking for something small/safe. Cost is not really an issue, although I’m not going to pay $1000/month. I would prefer an english barn, but would take a western barn if most of the checklist below is checked!

• 24/7 turnout with access to stalls in winter for bad weather on GOOD pastures (not overgrazed, etc)
• indoor AND outdoor arena
• small group or private turnout
• access to outside riding, either trails or paddock lanes
• small, not a ton of boarders/lessons so not having to constantly share the ring with lessons
  -access to trainer, either good one on site or ability to bring one in
• friendly culture, boarders chill and respectful
• horse-smart… I’ve had horses my whole life, I don’t need people constantly telling me what to do with my horse
• trailer parking
• jumps or jump arena
• farrier/vet hold, if needed (can’t always get off work)
• good feed, hay, etc, someone who isn’t constantly trying to do the cheapest possible thing
• safe fencing

For the trainer, I just want someone kind that is OK if I don’t have huge competitive goals. I’m 35 year old adult amateur (I’ve been riding my whole life, but not very competitive) with a 10 year old OTTB mare. I’d like to do some schooling shows, but nothing major.

If anyone wouldn’t mind private messaging me about Lexington area in general, I would like that too to look at neighborhoods to live in,etc.

Thanks!

[kt]

Have you done a search on past posts? We have this question asked about Lexington every so often.

I know you said you don’t need it to tick all the boxes, but I think your biggest challenge will be finding a place with both an indoor and outdoor that is also a small barn. Pasture board (with run-in shelters) is common, but I don’t know if that’s what you mean by 24/7 turnout with stall access.

Many (but not all) places with these sorts of amenities are going to be at least medium-sized boarding operations. For instance, Champagne Run off Richmond Road meets a lot of these points, but it is definitely a larger-scale boarding/lesson facility. I think they have pasture board.

Another option might be with Three Day Farm (Tanya Davis) near Midway. Really nice smallish boarding barn, and I think they also have pasture board.

It’s been about 10 years since we moved from Lexington (miss it so much!), so I’m out of the loop on the most up-to-date options. The biggest piece of advice I can give is be aware of the driving and traffic situation when you’re considering where to board and live. It’s not like LA or DC traffic, but it takes you longer to get from one end of town to the other than you would think, especially at rush hour on New Circle. It sounds obvious, but being strategically located near work and the barn will make a huge difference in the amount of time you have available to ride and also your sanity!

[caryledee]

Agree with kt! These roads were not meant to deal with the hoards of people moving into this area. I am a transplant and traffic around Lexington gets me crazy sometimes. One thing I will say is that most places are not huge lesson factories so most of the places I have boarded I have not had issues with getting ring time. If you are on Facebook, join some of the groups there (Central KY horse boarding, KHJA, Lexington KY equine community) for boarding options. The better barns (especially the small ones) tend to fill fast and keep a waiting list.

[ddashaq]

As KT said, the barns with an indoor and an outdoor are all medium to large operations. Off the top of my head: Lucky Dog Eventing, Carriage Station Farm, Bryan Station Farm, Champagne Run, Antebellum Farm and Team CEO would tick most if not all of your boxes. I left Lucky Dog after three years for reasons that had nothing to do with care- it had gotten a bit busy and was a much more serious eventing barn than I require. The care was stellar the entire time I was there and Jenn O’Neill is an excellent trainer. It is not crazy with lessons but there are a lot of boarders. There are some smaller barns without indoors (honestly, you don’t have to have one here. My first four years I didn’t have one and missed only a few rides over the winter due to weather) PM me if you want those names as well.