Boarding search in Richmond VA area - Henrico, Hanover, Caroline, etc

[alterabian]

Forum ate my first post, so trying this again.
On a search for a new boarding facility in the Richmond, VA area (Richmond, Hanover, Henrico, Caroline, possibly Goochland, King William or New Kent for the right facility). I have a “that’s it I’m outta here” place I can go to if need be (friend’s farmette, but has no riding area) but I would like to find something a little more permanent. I live north of Richmond between Lakeside and Virginia Center Commons Mall, looking to keep it to a 30 minute or less drive, which ends up excluding the nice places in Powhatan and the River Road area of Chesterfield. My needs/wants below (written with a touch of humor, but you’ll get the underlying implications).

Must Haves:
Good pasture management (please, nothing that looks like a Petersen’s Guide to Toxic Wildflowers)
High quality hay (doesn’t need to be special hay, like Teff, just nice, clean, not moldy, not excessively dusty timothy/orchard). Arena of decent size with good footing (a few small stones here and there is one thing, looking like someone dumped a load of crusher run in it is out of the question). Plenty of clean water (yes, really). Excellent herd management (i.e. keeping an eye on herd dynamics, making good matches, ensuring my horse isn’t getting the shit kicked out of him daily or being starved out by a food aggressive horse. Yes, it’s happened and I have the chiro bills and UlcerGard receipts to prove it)
Ok with me using my own farrier/vet/chiro. Ok with outside trainers. Consequently, I am ok with paying a small fee for ring use for a lesson with trainer. Clean. (Not hospital clean, but, you know, piles of dog poop everywhere (sometimes in stalls or on hay bales), trash, a burn pile going all the time (including once with used motor oil), piles of manure in the wash rack, untended filthy stalls are really not my thing anymore. Not that they ever were.) Welcoming of all disciplines.

Would likes:
Full size round pen for lunge work and riding without stirrups. I’ll even sell tickets so you can watch my 40+yo fat arse hit the dirt. A real bathroom with a toilet and a sink to wash my hands. I’ll even bring my own hand towels and soap. Porta Potty with snakes, frogs and poisonous spiders doesn’t count. Free trailer parking. Don’t worry, it’s a little 2H tagalong, not a 5 horse GN with LQ. Holding for farrier. I always come for the vet, even just for Coggins/vax (as long as I know when it is). Climate controlled tack room. It really would be nice not have green, fur covered tack after it rains. Wash rack with hot water. My horse might actually enjoy a bath if the water isn’t 56 degrees.

Would be most excellent:
A lighted arena OR covered arena OR indoor arena

Stuff I don’t want:
Dress codes, drama, a required lesson program, feed through wormers,

Chestnut Oak and Glamorgan Manor are both out of my price range. That is in NO WAY a reflection on them, their reputations are outstanding and I really like both BW and LAH. I have only but so many $$'s coming in each month and many of them are spoken for. Oakdale, Saddlebrook, Damistia are too far.

Places I’d like feedback on if you have it (some of the places do not list their prices on their websites so if you know, please tell me). PM’s are welcome. If you have other places you can tell me about (i.e. private farms that have an opening), please let me know that as well.

Jess Bowen/JPB Equestrian – Ruther Glen
Norwood/Summerhill – Eastern Powhatan
Watermark Farms – Ashland
Hanover Heritage – Hanover
Deerfield – Manakin
No Worries – Manakin
Henebry – Goochland

Sorry this was long and thanks in advance.

[lachelle]

@alterabian;7722249

Jess Bowen/JPB Equestrian – Ruther Glen
Norwood/Summerhill – Eastern Powhatan
Watermark Farms – Ashland
Hanover Heritage – Hanover
Deerfield – Manakin
No Worries – Manakin
Henebry – Goochland

Watermark, Hanover Heritage, Deerfield, Henebry-I don’t have any insight on these.

LOVE Jess Bowen/JPB. She’s super nice and fun to be around. I’ve ridden with her and she’s trailered my horse for me before I bought my own. She’s mostly eventing but welcomes all disciplines and even shows hunters and western herself. Very pro-OTTB.

Summerhill is a nice facility, and is affordable. Not outside-dog friendly. They host shows there which our barn goes to. They have a HUGE, nice ring, but it’s built on a slope. So riding there can be challenging if that’s not something you’re used to but I imagine if you boarded there you would just get used to it.

No Worries has a GORGEOUS barn. Cute little boarder tack room. The horses look fat, happy, well cared for.

Other recommendations:
Four Seasons Horse Center is super nice. Nice size ring, a cute little hack-pack with cross country jumps. Really nice barn/facility.

I had a friend of mine go look at this place recently:
http://www.hiddenmeadowsfarmva.com/
Said it was nice but ended up not needing to move her horse.

I’ll post more later if I can think of more. Most of the places in that area are more expensive (Coventry, Hampden Row, Fieldcrest).

I cannot guarantee any of the places mentioned though have a round pen. The only two barns I can think of that I have seen have a roundpen are TD Stables (Lani Tigchelaar’s barn-Dressage primarily), and Suits Us/Applewhite Farm but that’s a co-op.

[Simbalism]

Henebry no longer boards. I used to board there and loved it. I have a friend at Summerhill and she loves it(not sure of board amount). I also have a friend at Norwood and she likes it. ( has been there about 3 years) There is a barn off the Oilville exit in Goochland area at Rockville Equestrian center. The lady is renting it. I think she runs it under Helgard or Heldegard something of that nature. She is nice and runs a clean well managed barn. If interested pm me and I can give you her phone number.

[ellie_belly]

I have been to Summerhill for shows and it is nice. Like someone else said, the ring does have a slope to it but its not terrible. I believe there are lights but I haven’t been there in years. I know someone said something about four seasons and that is a super nice barn. Hunter Lane is right down the street from it as well and I rode there as a kid and showed there growing up. They have a nice barn from what I remember and an indoor as well as a nice outdoor. They also hold shows for the local show circuit. I grew up in chesterfield but I haven’t lived there in a while but from what I remember those were nice barns and the horses were well cared for.

[lachelle]

[QUOTE=ellie_belly;7723788]
Hunter Lane is right down the street from it as well and I rode there as a kid and showed there growing up.[/QUOTE]

That’s where I’m at! But as far as I know (last time I asked) we weren’t taking on any more outside boarders.

That’s also why I recommended Four Seasons. They are our neighbors I LOVE the location. Just off of the 288/95 South exit.

Ellie would I remember you? I’ve been at Hunter Lane since 2002.

[jawa]

Summerhill has lights and a round pen. I believe they also have access to some trail riding, but I’m not 100% sure. Norwood is managed by the same people. I haven’t been there, but they do have trail riding along the James River.