Best locations to live in North Carolina for eventing/ show jumping/pony club

We are looking to relocate some where in North Carolina. My kids do eventing , show jumping , and would like them to do Pony club. We would like to find a location that offers all of those options where we can do weekly lessons and show without long distance travel all the time… Thank you

Anywhere near Tryon!

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I’m in Charlotte area- lots of hunter stuff, and some local CTs, but most recognized events are 2 hours away (Windridge and Carolina Horse Park). Southern Pines area offers a lot more for eventing.

There is a great pony club barn near Winston Salem called Hidden K Stables.

The Landrum/Tryon area has River Valley PC which is a very active club in the Carolina region. They have well organized monthly mounted meetings with an unmounted curriculum as well as additional unmounted meetings throughout the month. They have a nice range of levels (they are probably heaviest in the early teenage and D3 levels right now), have even started a Junior PC for their itty bittys, and have an active Horsemaster group that participates alongside the regular PC. I am invited to instruct for them occasionally and enjoy visiting. They are already in an abundantly rich area for good instruction and are starting to further strengthen their instruction program by including more meetings and clinics with National Examiners.

They are close to Greenville Foothills PC (its 30 minutes away in nearby Greenville, SC) and that’s a club that offers regional clinics with well known NE’s several times a year that are open to all USPC members. Most of the Carolina region national certifications and upper level preps happen around Greenville, SC and Landrum/Tryon. Eventing rally is at FENCE in Landrum every year. Show jump rally moves around but has been at Clemson University the last few years. Dressage rally also moves around and was at the Carolina Horse Park near Southern Pines. Quiz rally is generally near Columbia, SC. The region is geographically small (say compared to the Midwest region!) and the most you would have to travel for rallies is typically 4.5 hours.

There are two horse trial venues in the area- Windridge and FENCE. Windridge runs several times a year and even has some unrecognised ht’s. FENCE has two a year. The Fork is now nearby as well since it’s at TIEC.

The Tryon area has an active hunter pace series that gives a discount to USPC members and offers access to beautiful trails and land. There are two active hunts in the area both of which are very PC friendly. Of course you’d be near Tryon International! There are many equine vets in the area and one quite reputable equine hospital.

There are several local hunter/jumper schooling show circuits in the area. There’s a very active riding club that many of the PC members join- Foothills Riding Club. They put on multiple dressage shows/combined tests throughout the year and provide a great experience for very little cost.

A local Tryon area realtor and former USPC Board of Governors member, Libbie Johnson, gives what she calls a Tryon Horse Country area tour to anyone interested in relocating to the area. She also started (and has since handed off) a weekly online newsletter reporting on the goings-on in the area. You can find it on Facebook- it is called This Week in Tryon Horse Country.

If you’d ever like to come check out either River Valley or Greenville Foothills please let me know and I can put you in touch with the DC’s. Let me know if you have any other questions! :slight_smile:

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I’m in Southern Pines so I am biased but I think this is a great place to live if you want to event. Horse country has tons of trainers and farms within a few miles drive, and the Carolina Horse Park hosts at least one event per month and is just a 45 minute trailer ride. We also are within a few hours of Tryon, and there are several other events in NC that are not a far drive. It’s a great, central location and offers a lot. We also have the Walthour-Moss Foundation, which is 4000+ acres of trail riding open to the public. There are tons of jumps out there, too. Really great horsey place to live :slight_smile: If you have any questions about it feel free to PM me. I’ve been here 8 years and am very happy here.

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The Triangle Area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) is an hour from the Carolina Horse Park, about 3 hrs from VA Horse center, 3.5 from Tryon and its 3 events (Wind Ridge, FENCE, Fork, and if anything else goes in at TIEC as we all expect it will…), 4 hrs from the NoVA events, and 5 hrs from Aiken. There are lots of local unrecognized events, and schooling venues, as well. The Eno Triangle PC and Horsemasters (of which I am a member) are an active group. I love living here :slight_smile:

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