Charlotte NC H/J questions

[Inthegarden]

Two different questions here:

1. What is the Charlotte, NC H/J scene like? My daughter recently graduated college and wants to start riding again. She hasn’t ridden in the last few years but as a junior was competitive in the big eq and junior hunters in the NY/NJ area. I don’t expect there to be barns that have lesson horses available and she isn’t financially in a position yet to lease something (her equitation horse is mostly retired due to an orthopedic issue). Any ideas or options out there?

2. My husband and I are thinking of relocating/retiring in the next few years, most likely somewhere near Charlotte since that is where our daughter is. Are there any places to avoid? We like rural but drivable to culture (if that makes sense). Thinking maybe small farmette where our equitation horse can live at home and I might get myself an OTTB to play around with. Ideally close enough to good horsepeople where I could ship in for lessons/schooling with the OTTB.

Thanks so much.

[PonyPenny]

Check out By Way Farms in Carthage NC http://www.bywayfarms.com/ Merilee Ventura is great. It is about two hours from Charlotte, The Southern Pines/Vass/Carthage area is really nice about halfway between Raleigh and Charlotte. The Carolina Horse Park is nearby too. If you are stuck on Charlotte, it may be too far, but I would check it out.

[Inthegarden]

Thanks. I will check it out. Might be too far but will definitely look into it.

[Limerick]

How far from Charlotte is ideal? An hour? Two hours? I am in Southern Pines which is two hours. It is Equine Paradise and has lovely restaurants and so many wonderful farmer’s markets and plays and fun events like trolley rides for foodies or ghost walks or thrift shopping. The area is home to the Moss Foundation which is 3000 acres devoted to equestrian activities. There are small farms and bigger boarding facilities and schooling shows and C/ A/AA shows at Carolina Horse Park which is 20 minutes away. If your husband golfs, Pinehurst is 15 minutes away and just hosted the US Open. I could keep going….

[DiamondJubilee]

I just have to say how much I love Southern Pines!! My husband and I used to go there every year to drive our ponies. You could go pretty much anywhere and we were able to do some of the trails on the Foundation (we stuck to the least sandy ones as it was a heavy pull).

The Horse Park is so close and we were able to show there at a CDE in April. Southern Pines is a horse lovers dream!

We are from Ontario so it’s a good 18hr drive for us. But we would come down for 3-4 weeks at a time and stay at a friends farm.

[mroades]

Charlotte has quite an active HJ community! I just gave a clinic at Terranova Farm and MapleGate Farm sunday. I give clinics at several A show barns there. And a lot of them are not far out from the city!