I have just found out that my husband’s job is transferring us to Brussels. It’s all a bit overwhelming (including the fact that I just bought a new, fabulous dressage mount a few months back… waaah). I know I will want to continue my dressage journey while there and am hoping at this point to find a reputable barn with great school horses that I can lesson several times/week. I’d obviously like to avoid the over-priced touristy options. And we might even want to take in to consideration best locations to be closest to his work and horsey options. Thank you for any help!
Try near Waterloo or the town of Ohain…they are outside the city of Brussels proper.
I was there many years ago…there was a tack store with a big horse statue in front and a number of hore facilities near Ohain.
Thank you so much. I’ll certainly look around that area!
sweetas, pick up the national magazine about the BWP. They will have a good calendar of events. I often went to the facility at Oud Heverlee for kurings and breed championships. It was interesting. Might be a good place to connect with folks.
There was a stable near there that I went to a few times for lessons. They did lots of group lessons–kids and adults. Had some nice school horses. I rode a nifty little baroque guy a few times there.
I also met Alex Wilms when I was there. He was an interesting fellow–he imported a lot of Russian bred horses to Belgium and then onward elsewhere for sport. He and his wife had done a lot of circus riding back in the day. I have no idea if he is still working.
Have fun–Belgium is a super interesting country.
I love Belgium. Haven’t seen the horse scene there but the beer is amazing and the people are wonderful. I am absolutely green with envy! I think you’ll find something that works horse-wise.
Where would one one find the BWP (I’m not sure what that is! But I’ll certainly be looking that up!). That’s great advice. Will be headed over in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can find a tack shop where people speak English. It sounds like there’s a great international school for the kids near waterloo, and maybe housing and riding facilities, also. The last thing I want to do is rent a house on the side of town that would put me far away from everything!
Waterloo is a very international community and has been that way for ages. I’m assuming the school you’re talking about is St. John’s - I really enjoyed my time there and it seems to have flourished and grown over the years. The area that pluvinel described - in the direction of Ohain, starting from just outside of Waterloo - has a good amount of horse activity and you should be able to find something that suits your needs.
Belgium is a great place to live.
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How do you feel about rando COTH visitors from the States? :yes:
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I would love it, lol. I have some great friends in New Zealand I met over the internet before I lived there.
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No dressage recommendations (eventer/show jumper here), but I’m living not too far away in the Hague. Feel free to hit me up if there is anything I can help with from over here/help you get settled or if you ever want to meet up with a local-ish COTHer!
I’m sure that would be fantastic! And I’ll take recommendations for other horsey must-do, must-see activities. As a life-long rider, finding some horse activities will be necessary for my sanity!
Hey Sweetas – I’m in Brussels too!
I gave up trying to find a barn with a trainer I like and good school horses so I switched to leasing a little mare and then finding lessons. Brussels is SUPER horsey and most horse owners are falling over themselves to find leasers. It’s definitely a “leasee’s” market here 
I’m still searching for a trainer, but I only started riding the mare a month ago so wanted to get to know her and figure out what kind of training will work best with her before finding a trainer. I lived in the Netherlands before this (and LOVED my trainer – so bummed to leave her) and so far I’m finding that the English here isn’t quite as good in general as it was up there. So far though, I haven’t had a hard time finding trainers who speak English – it’s more finding those who can come to the barn around my schedule and have the teaching style I like.
Feel free to PM me if you want to chat in more details about Brussels. Husband and I have been here a few years (although I was splitting my time between here and NL up until this past spring – hence the limited exposure to the riding world here). We don’t have kids, so can’t help on the school front but am happy to chat about other lifestyle elements!
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Thanks, Eventing Maff - just PMed you…
