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Best horse-friendly area to live within 2 hours of Washington DC

I was thinking about trail riding today, and it popped into my head about the fact that while boarding barns or housing communities may not look like they are near a trail system, they might actually have a huge system in the subdivision.

For instance; I backed up to one neighborhood that had miles and miles of trails; my neighbor rode endurance and she never ran out of trails. But none of them were marked on maps because the HOA had put in easements in between each house. They were mowed and taken care of.

A lot of Loudoun county in the farmland area has unmarked trails in between properties. You could easily ride for miles and just have the neighbors wave as you go by their house. Just be polite, don’t ride through the middle of a field with crops in it, and stay off the manicured lawns :slight_smile:

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From the OP, it sounded like she was explicitly NOT looking for a training program in a hunter show barn, but a boarding barn with show jumping, dressage, and trail riding opportunities. She might do well at one of the smaller eventing-focused barns in this area, rather than a hunter program. Especially if she plans on showing on her own, which implies access to a truck/trailer. I’ve done something very similar to what it sounds like the OP hopes to do for the past 6 years out of this area (minus the trails/running thing).

PGEC is a show facility–they host big rated shows in the fall, Capital Challenge and WIHS. Pre-Covid, there were several other A shows there, but they ran elsewhere these past few years due to PC county restrictions; I’m not sure if they’ll be coming back, but the two spring As at least just moved up to McDonough, which is a hair over an hour away. There are local hunter/jumper shows there pretty much monthly except during the dead of winter. The local dressage GMO runs a recognized weekend show there every June.

My commute in from Annapolis, even when driving, is frequently shorter than it was when I was living in Falls Church VA. I do not miss the NoVA traffic at all. You get a lot more bang for your buck property-wise east of DC, too.

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Yes, I do not ride hunters. Just dressage and the jumpers. I was warned that some areas on the east coast only had private show barns with a hunter focus, which wouldn’t work. She alo prefers as much outside time as possible. I think an eventing focused barn would be good. If you have any specific recommendations let me know and we will check them out! Thanks.

I was thinking about trail riding today, and it popped into my head about the fact that while boarding barns or housing communities may not look like they are near a trail system, they might actually have a huge system in the subdivision.

Exactly, unless you ask locals you would never know. This is our situation now, on paper the barn does not back up to public land but in reality it does, due to the local trail system that has been in place since the 1960s. It’s not mapped anywhere and I have no idea who owns it tbh but everyone uses it for dog walking, jogging, walking, horses etc. Most properties here have access to it.

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I would also recommend Poolesville-Boyds MD/Leesburg-Middleburg VA area. I live in Frederick, MD, board in Dickerson, MD, but work from home. Occasionally go into downtown DC, I only drive as stated above, the Metro is a mess. But I allow 2hrs each way. Anywhere near a MARC train stop in MD is nice. While the schedule is somewhat limited, the MARC train commute is nice, quiet, able to work and have your coffee in the AM, adult beverage on the way home.

I board at Destination Eventing in Dickerson. I rode out alone on trails directly from the barn for 1.5hrs on Sat, never crossed my path. Can access the canal towpath if you are brave enough to ride over the train bridge for miles more riding.

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My friend lives in Bethesda, keeps her horse in Poolesville, which seems to have lots of horse farms and acres of rolling hills and fields, I love it. She is retired now but used to work in DC, from Bethesda its an easy ride on the metro to the city.

Just chiming in since you mentioned the beach as a possibility - I live near the beach and I grew up in Montgomery County. From Salisbury to DC is about 2.5 hours (you can only go about 63 mph without risking a ticket the entire way to the Bay Bridge) and that is IF the Bay Bridge isn’t backed up/closed and I only make that drive not in rush hour. I do love where I live, but really not a feasible commute to DC (though I do have a few friends who are State Troopers and do it but usually have an apartment they can crash at closer to work.) Oh and then its still another 35 mins east to the beach proper.

Queen Anne’s County is lovely and has tons of horse things, not as built up as the Western Shore, good access to waterways for paddle boarding and you can commute to Salisbury/Berlin/PG for horse shows. Its flat as a board on this side of the bay which stinks for hill work but is great if you like living on the water.

My brother lives in Brunswick MD which has lots of access to trails and the river for running, kayaking, etc. Its also about an hour drive to horse shows like Upperville and Swan Lake and Warrenton are also easy from there. Its hilly there if you like that terrain. He could also take the train into DC instead of driving.

My mom is outside of Warrenton and its a beautiful horse filled area. That commute to DC might be doable once a week.

A lot of areas having running clubs - it might be helpful for you to look into them and see where they run as that will give you a good sense of what is available in different areas. What sort of terrain does your SO enjoy running? That might help us help you.

This is where I live. We recently moved 2 miles over the county line, but my family still works, shops, and goes to school over in QAC.

I sing the praises of the eastern shore constantly on COTH. I lived in PA, VA, TN, TX… and I chose to come back to the eastern shore. I think it’s one of the best kept secrets for horses.

If I were the OP, I would probably strive for the western shore first, though. She can find everything on her list there with less of a commute to DC, especially if budget isn’t a concern.

But the crazy thing about MD is nearly the entire state is within 2 hours of DC. You can live in the middle of nowhere like I do and still be less than 2 hours away.

I won’t deny that the horsey areas of NoVA have better quality horse scenes than some places in MD. But, MD just has a lot of horses period and horses are accessible everywhere here.

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I think the southern part of Anne Arundel County would be a great fit for you assuming as you said, budget is not an issue (and housing is extremely limited, rentals even more so). PG County is just south, also not a bad choice, but much nicer housing and water access in AACO. It would be a straightforward commute to Navy Yard once a week, that is not an abnormal commute from the area even daily. For specific barn recommendations of places that would offer SJ and dressage lessons but not require you be in a full program, I would look at Dovecote Equestrian, Trevi Manor, Liberty Ridge Stables (PG County), and Glenwood Farm (this one is particularly difficult to get into). All are great options that prioritize horse care, time outside, offer lessons and frequently participate in clinics. As far as I know none of them currently require you to be in a program. All of these also have a great culture of adult amateurs that like to socialize and support each other at shows but also respect that everyone is capable of doing their own thing. For human housing I would look in the Annapolis, Edgewater, and Davidsonville areas, going as far as Harwood and West River if you prefer more rural.

The water access in Anne Arundel is amazing - you can paddleboard, kayak, sail, etc. and it’s really all around you. The only thing that might be a deterrent is lack of 10 mile + running trails, but as someone mentioned, you can get to a few bigger parks within a 30 minute or so drive and really all of western MD is an easy day trip. You are also only 2 hours from the beaches of MD and DE! As someone who has always had to drive 30 mins to an hour to get the absolute best barn experience possible, I imagine your SO is willing to do the same for his hobby, but it might not be exactly what he is looking for in that regard.

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One last thing - every single barn in AACO has a waitlist and can afford to be selective about boarders right now due to many boarding operations closing in recent years. I would suggest reaching out and getting on the waitlist anywhere you think might be a good fit ASAP because turnover is very low at the “hidden gems”. I’m sure this is the case in much of the country, but just realized you had 2 horses, which is going to be even harder so better to start the process early!

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I would look at Montgomery County first, because it’s going to be closer, and then Baltimore County (north of Baltimore City) if you’d do a longer commute - rush hour is going to be closer to 2 hours. Baltimore County is cheaper than Montgomery County and has a very diverse mix of things - you can horse show, event, fox hunt basically anything you want within a 15 min drive.

Also - BaCo has the NCR trail, Gunpowder falls and Patapsco State Park nearby which are great for running/biking/whatever

I’ve commuted to the Navy Yard for 15 years from northern PW county. It’s not terrible. The Navy Yard is more or less on the east side of DC. The drive from Loudon or Fauquier is an absolute bitch. I66 is under major construction and is waayyy worse than I95.

Unfortunately, covid mostly killed slugging (carpooling with strangers; it’s a DC thing). That made the express lanes free. If you can afford the tolls in VA, the express lanes on 95 are great. The toll for the entire length can reach $30 or $40 easily - this is the cost ONE WAY.

There’s a good amount of construction on I95 around Fredericksburg, but it’s not awful. Most of the southbound work is done, and northbound is coming along.

I can’t speak much to the H/J scene; I drive 2-4 hours south to a saddlebred barn.

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I’m in southern PA (very nearly Baltimore county) and on a clear Sunday morning at 4am I could get to the Navy Yard in 2 hours. It’s a drive I dread. So unpredictable. 2 hours could be 4, Baltimore traffic is a real thing and so is DC, double jeopardy. Lots of good suggestions here. Poolesville area is lovely. Not so familiar with some other eastern MD suggestions. Agree getting out 66…also a nightmare. Good luck with your move.

As I read all of these comments and also think about things…OP - I really think you should focus on the Fredericksburg area and the Manassas area (both outer Virginia suburbs). Both of those areas should be convenient for horsey stuff for you and trailrunning outdoorsy stuff for him. Additionally, the VRE trains run from both those areas to L’Enfant Plaza in DC - from there it should be a quick trip on the metro green line to the Navy Yard.

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If you end up in Loudoun County, check out the Ashburn Area Running Club (AARC). We are a really fun group of runners, ranging from casual runners to Boston qualifiers, competitive triathletes, etc.

The W&OD is a trail from Falls Church to Purcellville. I love my running routes in western Loudoun.

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What are some good FB groups for AACO area ?

Southern Maryland Horse Network and Anne Arundel Horse Network are most active :grinning:

Thanks. I sent in membership request for both.

Chipping in with trail running info. I used to live in the Poolesville/Boyds, MD area, worked in horses, was a runner off and on. Within a 15 minute drive of where I lived, I had access to the C&O Canal, Little Bennet Park, the Seneca Greenway, the Seneca Ridge trail, Hoyles Mill trail, Ten Mile Creek, Black Hills Park, and whatever they call the chaos out the back of the Germantown Soccerplex. Many of those link to each other. For example, you could do Black Hills -> Hoyles Mill -> Soccerplex -> Seneca Ridge -> Seneca Greenway -> C&O… Is 200 miles enough for him? :laughing: MCRRC (the local running club) is very active, and the running store in the Kentlands is great.

I now live in Prince George’s County, and there are some good trail options (Rosaryville, Jug Bay, Governor’s Bridge, Merkle) but definitely fewer choices. The local running scene seems to be more focused in DC proper or in Annapolis. PG would be the better commute to Navy Yard but for once a week both locations are completely viable.

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Renting in this area is costly too. A 2-hour commute is not necessarily the right way to phrase it around here, sadly. For example, I live in Mont Co Maryland, commuted to work in Tysons Corner Va. morning commute = 30-45 minutes, afternoon commute would normally be 1 - 1.5 hours regularly and sometimes 2. Get into bad winter and you may as well book a hotel room it can and has been that bad sometimes
To make SO’s life easier, you should probably consider an area when they could take the subway or train. Not sure why SO didn’t like the area of Maryland - Montgomery Co/Frederick Co./Howard Co offers many choices for boarding options - Plenty of eventing, dressage and H/J barns. Many will require some sort of lesson/training program.

In my experience, there is running and trails and nature access everywhere in the DC area (I’ve lived in Arlington, Alexandria, NW DC, and in two different places in MD). I don’t see how finding human trails could possibility be any sort of a problem. As stupid as it sounds, Arlington and DC aren’t two of the fittest cities in America for nothin’!

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