I have a pretty good job lead but the location is Wallop’s Island, VA. My contact says most people live in Ocean City/Berlin/Salisbury. Is there any dressage up there? What is horse keeping like?
I am in Aiken now and LOVE it, and really don’t want to move, but I kind of need a job…
Any info appreciated!
Thanks!
Check out Castle Farm in Snow Hill. There is also a guy in Va, way down the peninsula, named Richard Williams. I know nothing about the first facility; did a clinic w/ RW maybe 10 years ago. He was fine, but I was a newbie to collection and all that so was a bit intimidated.
You may want to ask either of them if they know of other locations; but having spent time on the Eastern Shore, I’m pretty sure you will not have many options.
[QUOTE=2tempe;8636595]
Check out Castle Farm in Snow Hill. There is also a guy in Va, way down the peninsula, named Richard Williams. I know nothing about the first facility; did a clinic w/ RW maybe 10 years ago. He was fine, but I was a newbie to collection and all that so was a bit intimidated.
You may want to ask either of them if they know of other locations; but having spent time on the Eastern Shore, I’m pretty sure you will not have many options.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the reply- I was afraid of that. It was hard to find anything on the internet - normally a bad sign.
I thought Kelly McGinn was on the Eastern Shore, but I could certainly be wrong. https://www.facebook.com/Kelly-McGinn-Dressage-366185273784/
PVDA (www.pvda.org) has a chapter there - Bayside - touching base with them might be a good starting point.
[QUOTE=dressagediosa;8636749]
I thought Kelly McGinn was on the Eastern Shore, but I could certainly be wrong. https://www.facebook.com/Kelly-McGinn-Dressage-366185273784/[/QUOTE]
Lauren is right, but I think Kelly is about 2 hours away from Ocean City and is near Kent Island, unfortunately. Two hours isn’t God awful, but it’s a little bit of a hike. However, for quality instruction that close to OC, that just might be the best option!
Becky Langwost-Barlow trains out of Preston, which is 45 min from Salisbury but a pretty good hike from Wallops Island. Definitely check out the PVDA Bayside chapter…not sure what else is out there, though I can’t imagine it will come close to Aiken as horse country.
I vacationed a couple of times on the Eastern Shore, when I lived in Baltimore. Except for the wild Chincoteague ponies :), I didn’t see a lot of horses out there. I wasn’t involved in horses at the time, so not really researching, but I think the “horsey” areas were more on the mainland, North of Baltimore. The Eastern Shore has lots of rural land, and I expect riding on the beaches on the outer bank would be amazing, but it seems like more a lower-income/ working farm sort of region. Lots of chicken production. The Chesapeake Bay side was yacht harbor paradise.
Richard F. Williams of Williams Dressage in Franktown, Virginia is really good. I wish I lived closer to him.
Hi,
I grew up in Salisbury and only left the area 2 years ago. Not a dressage rider but I have plenty of connections down there I could check with if you needed. Please be aware that while Salisbury and Ocean City are THE big cities in the area they are over an hour’s drive from you and there’s not a lot of speeding to be done - the cops will nail you in most areas and the locals drive like they have nowhere to be. (I’m a local - I can complain. 
As someone newly moving to the area you may never complain about the locals. Them’s the rules!)
I personally would never live in Ocean City. During the winter it’s great. During the summer it’s a mad house - tourists (stupid tourists), mad traffic and accidents are a guarantee. Expect your route home from about April to October to increase by 15 to 60 minutes on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are only good in comparison and you might as well plan to stay home on weekends or be out all day.
Salisbury isn’t bad - it benefits hugely from the new blood of the university. Fruitland and Eden just south of it are actually accessible and pleasant places. In Salisbury the better apartments tend to be up north, which means Salisbury traffic - still better than Ocean City. There’s also Pocomoke which is closer to you but not nearly as big city although at least it has chains more impressive than Royal Farm. (You will become a Royal Farm convert - mostly because there’s nothing else. Also, I hear their chicken is great.)
As far as farms/dressage trainers go: there’s Deri Jeffers down in Onancock (that’ll be south of you by a fair distance and I’m not sure that she boards), Renaissance Stables in Salisbury (boards and there’s a trainer), there’s a lesson barn outside of Chincoteague run by an event rider - they do boarding and I believe she has a dressage ring set up, someone mentioned Castle Farm in Snow Hill - they have a nice indoor and host clinics. With Snow Hill you run into an issue similar to OC - route 113 can be a bear but you’re mostly living off of it in Snow Hill. Also I enjoy Richard Williams down in VA. I had one dressage clinic with him (the only time I’ve ever ridden in a dressage lesson/clinic) on a friend’s horse who promptly bolted, launched himself into the air and attempted to kill me. After complimenting me for staying on he gave me a very nice, kind lesson.
Overall PVDA is thankfully pretty active because the area’s ultimately not all that focused-horse-person friendly. They do shows and bring in clinicians several times a year.
If you have a particular question I’m glad to answer and I can call on some actual dressage riding friends in the area for advise in at least the Salisbury area. (What really annoys me is there is another dressage trainer in the area that friends rode with and I’m blanking. I can check on that if you’d like.)
I can’t comment on what instruction they have normally but Castle Hill has Britta Johnston in regularly for clinics (I try to get a lesson in with her at least once a month either at her farm or when she does clinics up here) and I’ve sat on one of their brood mares, she was a fun little ride.
Oh, and if you’re into this sort of thing. I’ve heard from several dog show friends that Salisbury is a nice venue for Rally/Obedience. (completely unrelated but worth a mention)
Berlin is a great area if you don’t mind the commute to Wallops. Kelly Mcginn frequently teaches at Bay Point Equestrian in Ocean Pines, and has just started teaching some at Castle Farm in Snow Hill.
[QUOTE=I ride Gibson;8649499]
Berlin is a great area if you don’t mind the commute to Wallops. Kelly Mcginn frequently teaches at Bay Point Equestrian in Ocean Pines, and has just started teaching some at Castle Farm in Snow Hill.[/QUOTE]
Thank you! I don’t why I couldn’t think of her name. I hear wonderful things about Kelly.
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