My daughter will be attending UC San Diego in the fall and we would appreciate any leads on boarding situations for her horse. Looking for something within 45 minutes of UCSD if possible. She does dressage, trails, lower level jumping with her horse. She is OK with not having a trainer at the facility. Just basic and safe. Thanks in advance!
Rancho El Camino - probably the least expensive and one of the closest. They have jumps and limited trail and no training requirements. Their current dressage trainer is moving Aug 1 and I wouldnt recommend the other trainers there.
Other barns nearby - Newmarket, Ridgemar, Showpark - are all more $ for boarding, plus require the horse be in training to board, but are good options, especially for hunter/jumpers
Carmel Valley Ranch (formerly Clews Ranch) has been recently redone, has lots of trail access, no dressage, but I think a h/j trainer is working there now and prices are good with no training requirement
those are the closest to UCSD - within 30 minutes, except in the worst of traffic.
A bit further inland along the 56, but still within 30-45 min, typically:
Sunset Hills Ranch - a variety of trainers, trail access, limited boarder access. The property was just sold to a developer, but some say it won’t be developed for a few years.
Rancho Bellamar - this is where the dressage trainer from REC (above) is moving. Not fancy, but big property, really big paddocks or stall options, trails, no training requirement, option for dressage and Working Equitation instruction with Marion Wright / Belvedere Stables. Only thing from your list is no jumps.
Canyonside Stables - great trail access, new dressage trainer I know nothing about, not expensive and no training requirement, I believe.
feel free to pm me with questions
ps. I’m a UCSD alum myself
MissAriel, thank you so much! Super helpful.
Absolut Equestrian, thank you so much!!
I second Rancho El Camino as the best overall option. Not sure if the UCSD equestrian team is still there? Carmel Valley Ranch would be good, despite no dressage. There’s a wonderful multi-use trail adjacent to the barn. Seabreeze is pretty expensive and the rules are on the extreme side. For various reasons I don’t think Canyonside or Sunset Horse Ranch would be good options for her particular needs. OP, if you need elaboration on anything I’ve mentioned feel free to PM me. I hope your daughter loves it here in San Diego! Make sure to check out the La Jolla Playhouse schedule - the best theater performances, you could time a visit to see a play or musical together
I wouldn’t say REC is the best option. It is the closest and cheapest. UCSD Equestrian team left there years ago. Management is poor, but if you don’t mind picking up the slack and doing some stuff yourself you can make it work.
Well, I guess by best option I meant closest and cheapest :lol: It offers most of what she needs and OP indicated it didn’t have to be fancy. I boarded there when Dennis coached the team, that was a few (4?) years ago. I also took traffic into consideration if she needs to ride weekday mornings or afternoons.
Thank you everyone for your replies! Really appreciate it.