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

[AmberlyDC]

Thanks all, interesting range of responses on commuting! I think we are going to focus on some of those areas and surroundings for now and see how it goes. Being closer to the bay and coast is appealing as does keeping everything on the same side of downtown. It sounds like there are more farms and open space in the western shore than I thought.

If we do end up further out looks like W or SW is the way to go. although I do plan to check the area I_dratherbe suggested as that sounds ideal, if we can afford it.

[Baybear]

Brandywine would be a good choice there are a several good barns out there. I would also suggest Montgomery County, I live in Darnestown area. So could taken the MARC train/metro to Navy Yard the days they go in. I’m close to Sugarloaf Mountain which has nice hiking, the C&O Canal has some good hiking like the Billy Goat Trail and it’s easy enough to get out to hiking spots in Harpers Ferry, WVA. Montgomery County, Howard County are very equine friendly with several top notch hunter/jumper barns.

[Darkwave]

Regarding trails in the DC metro area - this guide, albeit 12 years old, may be quite helpful.

One thing to keep in mind - in the DC area we use the term “trail” for many paved multi use trails that are almost certainly NOT what he is interested in. For example, the Custis, Mount Vernon, W&OD, and Capital Crescent trails are all called “trails” but each is paved and at times heavily populated by cyclists, runners, families walking, etc. They are great to run on if you focus on road races/marathons, but likely not the preferred option for someone who enjoys trail running.

I’m told that Rock Creek Park in DC has a nice selection of actual trails (I don’t run on them because I am an asphalt princess).

In addition to the link I provided above, the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club will also be a good resource in planning out what is available. I see that their site includes a page dedicated to trails in the greater DC area - that page will likely be of great use to you.

[wanderlust]

@AmberlyDC

Thanks all, interesting range of responses on commuting! I think we are going to focus on Brandywine and surroundings for now and see how it goes. Being closer to the bay and coast is appealing as does keeping everything on the same side of downtown. It sounds like there are more farms and open space in the western shore than I thought.

If you are looking for good show barns, or anything approaching it, do not go east of DC out to PG county (Upper Marlboro/Brandywine). There’s really not much there.

Would strongly suggest Leesburg VA area or Poolesville MD. Have kept horses in both places, and they are the easiest to get in/out of the city from the west. Tons of great local and rated shows at Morven Park in Leesburg, close proximity to Upperville/Middleburg, and it gets real rural real fast when you head west. Lots of great room for the husband to run.

@Bigbaygelding12

I worked in Montgomery Co in Maryland - similar sort of businesses, there. But I cannot emphasize just how horrible the traffic is in the area - my 20 mile commute to and from work along the toll road and across the American Legion bridge would usually take me 1.5-2 hours each direction.

Just to be clear, this poster was commuting from Loudoun to MoCo, not Loudoun to DC. The beltway loses a lane going into Maryland, the traffic at that choke point is awful at all times. You don’t need to do that to get into DC.

[AmberlyDC]

@wanderlust

If you are looking for good show barns, or anything approaching it, do not go east of DC out to PG county (Upper Marlboro/Brandywine). There’s really not much there.

I may not understand the names of the areas. Some posters above said that the PG Equestrian Center was near there and has shows and that there is a lot of showing either an hour or so. Are there two areas/ counties with that name in different states? (I have been confused by that one already!)

As far as a show barn, I am not looking for the traditional full training show barn, no. I do my own schooling on the flat and I do my own care at shows. I also need very little handholding at shows, as a dressage rider I often just go alone or with a friend anyway. I would like to take over fences lessons and possibly show with a trainer / meet them at shows but strictly a la carte. Boarding wise the most important thing to me is good care + nice footing to ride year round + hacking access off the property.

[Bristol_Bay]

@AmberlyDC

Just curious as to where you live now. It sounds pretty ideal, horse-wise.

[wanderlust]

Sent you a PM

[Texarkana]

@AmberlyDC

@wanderlust

If you are looking for good show barns, or anything approaching it, do not go east of DC out to PG county (Upper Marlboro/Brandywine). There’s really not much there.

I may not understand the names of the areas. Some posters above said that the PG Equestrian Center was near there and has shows and that there is a lot of showing either an hour or so. Are there two areas/ counties with that name in different states? (I have been confused by that one already!)

As far as a show barn, I am not looking for the traditional full training show barn, no. I do my own schooling on the flat and I do my own care at shows. I also need very little handholding at shows, as a dressage rider I often just go alone or with a friend anyway. I would like to take over fences lessons and possibly show with a trainer / meet them at shows but strictly a la carte. Boarding wise the most important thing to me is good care + nice footing to ride year round + hacking access off the property.

I don’t live in that area, but I’m pretty sure you won’t have issue finding that.

Check out the classifieds in Maryland’s horse publication, the Equiery:

The Equiery

The listings certainly aren’t comprehensive of what’s available, but there are two pages of ads for boarding barns throughout the state to get you started with your search.

[AllTheCarrots]

Wherever you wind up (or to gather more data for your decision), point your SO towards PATC, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. A great resource for hiking, trail running, camping, climbing, etc., as well as a network of rustic rental cabins and social/volunteer opportunities with people who are into all of the above.

https://www.patc.net

[touchstone]

@wanderlust

If you are looking for good show barns, or anything approaching it, do not go east of DC out to PG county (Upper Marlboro/Brandywine). There’s really not much there.

I’m not an expert on the trail opportunities, but I will say, having commuted to barns in all the various directions from D.C., that there is by far the least rush hour traffic coming into the city from the east. There are a bunch of barns out that way with nice boarding facilities, rings, and trainers. But not as much fancy full service as in Virginia or up north in Maryland.

[Janet]

@AmberlyDC

I may not understand the names of the areas. Some posters above said that the PG Equestrian Center was near there and has shows and that there is a lot of showing either an hour or so. Are there two areas/ counties with that name in different states? (I have been confused by that one already!)

PG Equestrian is a show facility, but not a show barn. No horses live there between the shows.
I do not know if there are show barns nearby.

[StormyDay]

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

[JenEM]

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.

[AmberlyDC]

@JenEM

From the OP, it sounded like she was explicitly NOT looking for a training program in a hunter show barn,

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.

[imbassetma]

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.

[BAC]

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.

[victoriakent]

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.

[Texarkana]

@victoriakent

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.

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.

[horsepooramateur]

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.

[horsepooramateur]

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!