Boulder, Colorado area trainers/barns for junior hunter/eq rider

[FishOutofWater]

It’s looking like our family may be moving to Boulder, Colorado in the next 12-15 months. Part of my due diligence is investigating barn and trainer options for my daughter and her horse. This will be our first time changing barns and trainers - she started with her trainer and has gone with the program from learning to steer to qualifying for pony finals and now moving on to a children’s hunter/eq horse who has the scope and ability to take her through junior hunters/big eq classes.

I’d love suggestions of facilities and trainers in the Boulder area (Parker/Elizabeth will be too far) who might be a good fit for this. We will want full care (but not full grooming), good facilities, a good indoor, reasonable turnout (not expecting grass turnout year round, just ability for horse to stretch his legs) and a generally well-run and managed facility. Trainer-wise we want someone safety-conscious, positive, and equally (or more) focused on the growth, skill development, and overall well-being of the child as on the outcomes in the show ring. We want opportunities to show out of state, but not pressure to be constantly on the road. Having peers/other middle school age riders is important, and an IEA team is a nice perk but not essential (our current barn doesn’t have one, but my daughter is intrigued by the idea). If/when plans solidify we’ll ask for referrals from our current trainer, of course, but since this is still hypothetical I don’t want to mention the possibility of us leaving yet (hence my post here). I should also add that I know this is quite a wish list that may or may not be achievable.

Second, I’d love any advice on how to manage the timing of this. Are programs normally full? Is there a waiting list? Will people think it odd of I start inquiries now with the 12-15 month time horizon? Or will they understand that getting the basic information is part of the decision-making process? The riding situation will affect everything from whether we go forward with the move to where we focus our house hunt.

Thanks for your help/thought/ideas. I just thought I’d figured out this whole riding/competing thing for my daughter, and now I’m once again feeling like a fish out of water navigating this.

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Lived in Colorado and I can tell you that based on where you’re relocating from, it’s gonna be an adjustment. Not just for you, but also for horse.
I moved from the East Coast and things were vastly different out there. Turnout, horse care, and just general showing was way different. If you are used to showing on the A Circuit and have options a short drive away, know that you’re limited to about 7-9 shows in the area, and most trainers will be shipping to shows in California, Illinois, Texas, or New Mexico. So expect some hefty shipping bills to go with barns on the road, or being limited to Colorado Horse Park and Estes Park for your general show options for late spring/summer/early fall. Winter time is tough there and most go to Thermal (California) or FL (WEC or WEF). I think they have added a few indoor winter shows locally, but I think it’s only a handful.
I rode out in Parker near Horse Park and there were a handful of people that were from Louisville/Boulder area that came that way for lessons and kept their horses in full training there.
If your kid’s goals are the big eq or junior hunter finals/indoors and you’re committed to campaigning, you may want to look into Bridlewood/Michael Dennehy. They’re based in Littleton which is still a drive from Boulder, but he’s brought many juniors to the finals and been in the top ribbons.
Overall, Colorado is a place where you visit and think you want to live in one area, but once you get settled and get a feel for it, you might find yourself wanting a slightly different area. Even though it’s throwing money out the window, I highly recommend renting for a year or 6 months to get a feel for climate, traffic, crime rate, people, etc. before going ahead with buying somewhere before living there for awhile. The real estate market there is already bonkers, so you won’t miss out on anything waiting a few months, and with any luck, maybe the interest rates will actually drop!

[Roni4444]

I moved from the East Coast to CO. While I am a dressage rider and am south of Denver, everyone here faces similar issues. There are not a lot of choices for boarding and quality training. Higher end boarding facilities are easily $1,000+ and there are not many. The weather, while there is wonderful sunshine and low humidity, requires an indoor for serious riding and riding year around. Winters can be very cold and long (it can snow in September and June). And there are many many windy days!! Wind you cant ride in and have fun. Most places have limited turn out, mainly due to the weather conditions. The show season is short and also with only very few venues.
Several nice barns have been sold to developers or BO are tired of having boarders and close down. It’s not a state to move to for the equestrian sport but there is beauty to the state and lots of outdoor activities.
It is possible to find a decent place but it might involve a drive and there are few alternatives if something changes.

[mroades]

I don’t think what you are looking for exists in Boulder. I hope I am proven wrong!

[IPEsq]

You cannot easily get all of that on your list in the Boulder area. But there are some barns that could make some of the list depending on your priorities. And yes, all of the programs that would be close to what you are looking for tend to be full with wait lists. Full care board is also well over $1k now (getting closer to $1500) for quality care, especially if you want halfway decent arenas and some potential access to grass.

[clanter]

not the question that asked but when faced with having to move to Los Angeles (Chatsworth area) I was able to convince my company that it would be cheaper for them to let me commute from DFW.

This arrangement work for about ten years where I would fly out on a Sunday remaining through Thursday flying back Thursday night on the 11PM flight which usually only had about five passengers.

Depending upon the projects I was only need in Chatsworth one or two weeks a month otherwise I would be either at the plant in Mexico or visiting trouble site.

Each year the arrangement was reviewed but was always easy to prove cheaper than moving my family and horses to LA and paying me at Californian rates

[FishOutofWater]

Do you have recommendations of programs that might be a fit for particular aspects of the wish list?

We’re actually coming from a place now that cannot provide all of this - we have turnout less than half the year, no local showing options for more than half the year (and long hauling to get anywhere where you can show from October - April), and limited barn options without a significant drive. So compromising will be par for the course.

How does it work with navigating wait lists? Or does it vary by barn?

[Rackonteur]

University of Colorado - Boulder Equestrian Team

Riding Lessons | Boarding | Boulder Equestrian Center | Boulder

https://www.gargotfarms.com/boarding-options

https://www.rabbitmountainequestriancenter.com/index.html

https://www.triplecreek-ranch.com/

4-H - Boulder County Extension

[WavyRider]

Front Range Show Stables in Erie checks a lot of your boxes. They do require training board and a certain number of A shows per year. It’s about 30 minutes from downtown Boulder.

For a closer option, consider Singletree Farm. Very reputable training program, but less intense than Front Range.

[IPEsq]

A few questions…how much riding and/or lessons do you want during the week? Training rides necessary? How much local showing do you want to do versus rated (or will that depend on if/when you are ready to move up?) and how much travel? How soon are you thinking your kiddo will be ready to move up out of the 3’? What goals do you have for things like Jr hunter finals or the equitation? Are you a horsey parent who is knowledgeable and involved in horse care and veterinary and farrier and tack decisions or do you prefer your trainer to drive that?

[FishOutofWater]

Great questions. We’re generally aiming for five to six days a week of riding, with a mix of flat lessons, jump lessons, and hacking. Training rides probably necessary in the near term, but not necessarily in the long term.

Local v. rated shows is just hard to say - we don’t have great local show options where we are now, so we pretty much exclusively do rated shows in the summer and two to four weeks of away shows during the school year. Introducing local showing options to the mix expands our options, and we’re definitely open to it if there are good local options. (Hard not to love a well-run local show that doesn’t require a hotel or interfere with school and gets you in and out in one or two days rather than six, with correspondingly lower cost!)

Really hard for me to predict how long until they’d be ready to move up beyond 3’ at this point, as I just don’t have a frame of reference for it. And similarly hard to know about things like Jr Hunter Finals and eq medals - a lot will depend on how kid and horse develop, together and separately. I’d tend so say they’re in the category of nice options to have if the stars align, but not going to arrange our lives around pursuing them.

Finally, I rode as a kid, but never as seriously as my daughter rides. I’m a horsey parent in that I mostly know what the vet/farrier/bodyworker/saddle fitter are doing and I try to be there when they come if there is a chance of any issue arising. I want to be kept informed and involved in major decisions, but I rely heavily on advice and input from our trainer and can’t think of a time when I have gone against the trainer’s recommendation. I will also say some of that is by necessity - our current program requires a fair amount of owner involvement in decision making and such. That said, we would not be happy with a program where trainer makes all decisions without consulting owners and owners just pay the bills as they arrive.

[keepthelegend]

I grew up in Boulder! Have you looked at Sleepy Hollow Farms in Longmont? I had good friends ride with Mark Mead that were very happy with him.