Dressage/Boarding barns near Madison, WI

[Rook.to.King]

I may be relocating to the Madison area this summer, and just curious what is out there. I have no idea if I’ll be taking my horse (he’ll be 23 in May) or if I’ll be looking for some sort of lease. I currently ride with Kirsten Nelson, but have given up finding anything comparable in Wisconsin. (http://kirstennelsenhorsetraining.com/)

At this point, I would probably settle for a quiet barn (no h/j-ers flying around, no endless parade of group lessons) with extremely high standards of care and a usable indoor.

Help!

[TWH_Girl]

How close to Madison? I know of some good ones but near Oconomowoc area.

[Rook.to.King]

I don’t want more than a 30 min commute, ideally. I should have specified west side of madison, Middleton area. I think Ocon would be too long of a commute. Thanks though!

[Toblersmom]

Many (nearly twenty! Time flies) years ago I took lessons at Prairie Sport Horses in Sun Prairie. Doesn’t fit your needs on a couple of counts (very much a H/J show-oriented barn, and it’s on the East side of town). The owner/trainer, Felix, though, always struck me as a very affable, knows-everybody, you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours type of person so you could try shooting him an email to see if he has any suggestions. For all I know one of his kids (the oldest was about ten when I was riding there) got hooked on Dressage and opened a barn on the other side of town.

[betsyk]

Hickory Knoll in Fitchburg might be a good fit.

[Snowdenfarm]

Perhaps Snapdragon Farm south of Mt. Horeb? Here is a link to their FB events. Their past events look like they are into equine biomechanics like your old place.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/snapdragonfarmandstables/events/?ref=page_internal

[Wonders12]

Oh Madison. The horse community is funny there and unlike anything I have seen anywhere else. There are a lot of horses and a lot of barns, but there is very little industry. Most barns are an eclectic mix of riders with minimal programs and a wide variety of care. This works for a lot of people (and horses), but may be different than you’re used to.

I would definitely check out Megan’s place listed above.

Shelly Reichart has a beautiful barn in Lake Mills and runs an intimate training program there. I’ve watched a few of her clinics and like her teaching style.