hey there,
recently a student of mine moved to Kingston, Ontario without a horse. she will be looking for a dressage stable to take lessons at either on a horse they provide or possibly with horses available to lease.
any recommendations for barns or trainers in that area.
thank you
Briannon Johnson is in that area (Gananoque). I’m not sure if she offers lessons on school horses but I think they tend to have lease horses available. https://www.stonecreekfarm.ca/index.html
Bri Johnson would be a great choice
Gina Smith is in Brockville. They may have one or two horses for lessons.
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It might be too far of a drive, depending on where she is in Kingston, but Erin Josey in Spencerville (Ironwood Stables) would have lesson horses available and she’s a nice coach. Also, Belleville/Trenton area is 45 min - 1 hr away and have several stables, though I don’t much about them personally.
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Janine Little is also in Brockville, as is Liz Steacie. I don’t know if either would have lesson horses but lease horses may be a possibility.
It really depends at what level she rides at and how much she is vested in the sport.
Recommended above are a number of high-end names so to speak that would not be suitable for a casual rider, if that is the level she rides at. But may be helpful in directing her to something suitable. All depends on what her needs are.
Erin Josey is lovely, but Spencerville is at least 3 hours from Kingston.
Spencerville is only an hour away from Kingston. An hour and ten minutes maybe?? It’s just north-east of Brockville a bit.
I’m from that area/ grew up in Ottawa. Ottawa itself is only about 2 hours away. Not sure if you’re thinking of a different place? Maybe 3 hours in the worst snow storm ever?
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Probably the best way to find a lease horse is to ask the locals. The employees at Wilton Tack, Greenhawk and The Bridle Path might have some answers. There’s not much good dressage in Kingston.
I am a local…
Goforward is right… Kingston is lacking in good dressage instruction.
There are very good instructors that travel here regularly to teach at private barns but only if you have your own horse. And they probably have waiting lists.
Cadora/QSLB offers excellent Gold/Silver/Bronze/EDS shows at 2 Kingston area facilities.
Leigh Wheeler is an excellent coach and can certainly ‘teach dressage’ very well, but she makes her money from the hunter folk. There are some decent schoolies where she teaches, but none are ‘dressage only’.
O’Hanlons are an eventing barn. Of course, dressage is part of eventing, but I don’t think it is their focus and they don’t have schoolies as far as I know.
Bri Johnson is the only ‘dressage-only’ boarding barn in this area. I don’t know how many schoolies she has either.
And Spencerville would be 2 hours from Kingston. I live 20km north of Kingston and it takes me well over an hour - more like and hour 15 minutes - to get to Erin Joseys.
Haha not to press on this point but I’m mystified by these driving times. My dad lived in Kingston and I lived in Ottawa and I’ve gone back and forth on that 401/416 route many, many times. It’s 2 hrs to Ottawa so I don’t know how it could be 2 hrs to Spencerville, which is closer? Google maps says 1 hr 12 min - maybe this is a traffic thing?
I rode with Erin when she was at Ruth Koch’s place many years ago in Oxford Mills. Maybe the place she’s at now is considerably far off the freeway than Spencerville proper making the drive longer or something, but I got the impression she was fairly close to Brockville since she met up with me when I was there one time.
Big fat no to the first suggestion…yikes
Bri isn’t the only dressage only barn, Evergreen stables which is 5 minutes out of town also offers lessons and boarding. I think Karen has schoolies too. That would be my recommendation! https://evergreenfarm.ca/
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I’m a hunter rider but know a few dressage riders that board at out of Evergreen Farm and are very happy there. I’ve also heard good things about Bri Johnson and Shelly McArthur, although I believe you’d need your own horse as she only freelances in the Kingston area.
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Is Karen a dressage coach / rider? Did she change her last name perhaps? The name doesn’t ring a bell and I couldn’t find any EC competition results for her.
Yes she is. Shes an excellent coach 
The EC results system is not accurate and doesn’t work half the time, that’s my guess why nothing comes up lol
@BigMama1 I don’t know Karen but I have been to her farm and it’s lovely. Her EC results are searchable under Karen Ann Cullum
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Bri Johnson / Stonecreek posted a nice looking schoolmaster on Instagram today she has available for in-barn lease.
I’m also in Kingston. Karen cullum is great. Shelley McAurthur is also fantastic although she only freelances in Kingston, your student would need her own horse or a lease. Worth checking out son ridge farm north of Kingston - lovely boarding farm and Shelley goes there weekly to teach. Occasionally some boarders offer their horses for lease… I can think of one perhaps at the moment.
Worth checking with Selena O’Hanlon as well. I know Selena events but she and her mom have always focused on the horses going correctly and the importance of dressage.
I realized I never responded! Thank you all so very much for commenting and I’ve passed on the information!
