Dressage scene in different states-relocating

[Texarkana]

@see_u_at_x

Soooo, I currently live just outside of Baltimore and keep my horse 1:20 minutes west of here and am moving there over the next few weeks to be closer to him. Partial telecommuting is helping with that. My horse is in full training with a GP rider/trainer who has gone to Nationals and ridden in CDIs. You have options in Maryland, Virginia, and even West Virginia for housing if you wanted. It all depends on where your trainer is located and how far you’re willing to trailer. There are decent housing options available to you if you look anywhere west of metro Baltimore and east of Cumberland, though obviously the further west you go, the cheaper it will be. Yes, there is, unfortunately, a lot of development happening in pockets all over Maryland, but have you seen what’s happened to Northern VA over the past 20 years? It makes me want to cry every time I drive the Greenway between Leesburg and Reston. The con is that Maryland isn’t necessarily the friendliest state to retire in from a tax standpoint, but in that case, you could maybe look into parts of VA, WV, or even Southern PA (Gettysburg area, for example), which are all more tax-friendly towards retireees.

Also the eastern shore and southern Maryland have plenty of land, a very reasonable cost of living, and strong horse scenes.

You are so right about retirement. But I’ll throw Delaware’s name into the hat as a good place to retire. A blue state, retirement friendly, and good infrastructure. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Delaware has a huge horse community. Huge. QHs/western, Arabians, trail riders, and a large standardbred racing industry. Plenty of vets, farriers, feed/hay, tack stores, etc. What they don’t have is a lot of organized dressage, eventing, or H/J. But if someone is retiring, not competing anymore, but still wants to have horses, it’s a great place to be.

[IdahoRider]

@atlatl

What surprised me is that Idaho is .068 or 68/1000! I wouldn’t have even checked Idaho but it came up in my initial Google search!

I live in Idaho and the cost of housing right now is ridiculous. The dressage scene is very small. You will have to haul out of state if you are serious about showing. We have one national level rider local to me who has a wait list for students and borders. She bundles board and lessons/training rides, so you’re looking at over $2,000 a month. We have a regional competitor who also bundles and the cheapest package is $1,140. And that is about it in the Boise area. And they routinely haul to Oregon and Washington for shows. There is also one instructor that is local, but I don;t know what her particulars are. I know there is a wait list for boarders.

The politics are horrible, with one politician saying that he did not support licensing day cares because that would encourage women to work outside the home. And that did not even raise eyebrows here.

The panhandle has easier access to Spokane, which might make it more attractive. The winters up there can be hard.

Many of the horses here are kept in pretty crappy environments. Down here in the Boise area we have a state of the art vet hospital and some really good farriers. A lot of people up north take their horses to the vet school in Washington.

Weather is extreme here. High 90’s/100+ in the summer and below freezing/single digits in the winter. Some snow, but not a whole lot. You know, a few inches and then it melts. We did have a hundred year storm a few years ago where it just snowed and snowed. I am a teacher and we were closed for a total of 11 days. We ended up having school on national holidays to make up for the days we lost because there are only three snow days allowed. Since then we have had very light snow. A few inches once or twice a season.

I have lived here for 22 years and don’t really recommend it. We would have left a long time ago if we weren’t raising kids and looking to beef up retirement.
Sheilah

[Turntable]

@Texarkana

Also the eastern shore and southern Maryland have plenty of land, a very reasonable cost of living, and strong horse scenes.

Does the eastern shore have a good horse scene? That is one area that jobs pop up in my field from time to time and proximity to DC for visits (not work) is attractive to me as well. I was told there isn’t much showing in that area though.

[JanM]

Just remember from the Virginia, through Anne Arundel County the Maryland eastern shore side is the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge. Lots of people are not fond of that trip. There’s even a drive service where with advanced notice someone will drive your vehicle across.

Not to be confused with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.

[Knights_Mom]

Virginia is beautiful horse country with all sorts of resources. Closer to venues and much longer warmer weather season with far less snow than the other places. Maine and Vermont are gorgeous but not ideal for the ultimate horsey experience.

[Texarkana]

@Turntable

@Texarkana

Also the eastern shore and southern Maryland have plenty of land, a very reasonable cost of living, and strong horse scenes.

Does the eastern shore have a good horse scene? That is one area that jobs pop up in my field from time to time and proximity to DC for visits (not work) is attractive to me as well. I was told there isn’t much showing in that area though.

We have jobs?

I think we have a well above average horse scene. A lot less than the western shore of MD, but significantly more than most states.

As far as dressage competitions, there aren’t any recognized dressage shows on the eastern shore, but there are a lot of schooling shows. We are under the PVDA GMO and some of the shows are part of their schooling show series.

If you want recognized competition, it’s a reasonable drive to shows on the eastern shore of MD, PA, and NJ— on the northern part of the shore you could be somewhere like Blue Goose in less than an hour. Going to the shows in PA is actually easier than going to shows on the western shore of MD because it’s a straight shot north, as opposed to having to drive across the bay bridge. Although driving across the bay bridge isn’t that bad if you time it well and the weather is good.

We have a few serious dressage barns. A few USDF licensed judges and instructors. A few USDF medalist trainers. We get some big name clinicians from time to time, and are a reasonable drive to a ton more in other parts of the state. Access to horse services is pretty good.

It’s an area you need to visit because it can be an acquired taste. It’s very rural on most of the shore and the people who live here actively work to keep it that way. I mostly love that. It’s the best of both worlds… until you need to make a doctors appointment, ha.

[the_sandiest_shoes]

On the topic of politics, where I live in the Central Valley is basically West Virginia. It is NOT the California you think of typically. It was really jarring for me when I first came here and (as an extreme lefty) it takes some getting used to. Plenty of Jesus and Trump signs galore.

[CanteringCarrot]

You could not pay me to live on the Eastern Shore or anywhere in Delaware and some parts of Maryland. Especially Delaware. Good God, no.

There are much nicer places to live that have more or a dressage scene, or even if they don’t they’re still worth it over Delaware

[Fiesta01]

That’s the great thing. We are all so different in our tastes. If we’re lucky, and with a lot of work, we can end up some place we really love. Here’s to all of you ending up where you truly want to be.

[CanteringCarrot]

That’s the “great thing” …there are so many places in the US alone that have so many differences. So people can sort of find their own little corner, so to speak, that works for them, for whatever reasons.

Delaware and a some states in the middle of the map aren’t my jam, but some people love those states and call them home, and that’s fine. I’m often swayed by landscape (I’m really into outdoor activities), culture, certain aesthetics, the local population, industry, and traffic, to name a few things. My tastes are very different from some in this thread, and that’s fine!

If I had to live somewhere by choice in the US again I’d choose somewhere in New England or the PNW, but would be open to NC too. Of course many of the areas I like are $$$

[OceansAway]

I am sure Delaware is being mentioned as an offshoot of Virginia being one of the states we are looking into. Sure, there are plenty of other states with great dressage connections, but they likely weren’t mentioned due to other disqualifying factors that have been brought up throughout the discussion. Though as far as Delaware is concerned, I doubt it is outdoorsy enough for what I am into, though considering I’ve only driven through it, I can’t say for certain.

[Texarkana]

@CanteringCarrot

You could not pay me to live on the Eastern Shore or anywhere in Delaware and some parts of Maryland. Especially Delaware. Good God, no.

There are much nicer places to live that have more or a dressage scene, or even if they don’t they’re still worth it over Delaware

I’ll totally agree Delaware is not a romantic destination. I ONLY brought it up because the tooic came up that MD is not very retirement friendly, and it is a nearby option that is good for retirement. Total tangent to the OP’s original question. I said myself it has no real dressage scene, I was just pointing out it does have lots of horses.

Eastern shore is definitely an acquired taste, which is why I said that. But I don’t know too many places where I can look out over cropland and water and trees for as far as the eye can see, yet also go ride with 4 or 5 different USDF licensed instructors and judges without driving more than 25 minutes any direction. I don’t want to oversell it like it’s a dressage hub or anything, but we have a lot quietly happening here. I can drive to multiple dressage trainer’s farms in less time than I can drive to the grocery store.

I spent 11 years in Middle Tennessee. We had a really nice GMO. But I think that entire expansive region covering the entire mid-state plus northern AL and southern KY had less than I currently have within the boundaries of my dinky redneck county.

[Turntable]

If you are an ocean person, you are an ocean person and that’s it. Some of us will put up with a LOT to live with horses and near the ocean. Fires, floods, bad roads for trailers, overpriced stores, even tourrrrristssssess. How I hate tourists. But I can’t imagine ever living so far inland that I couldn’t easily go to the beach for the day again.

[Texarkana]

@Turntable

If you are an ocean person, you are an ocean person and that’s it. Some of us will put up with a LOT to live with horses and near the ocean. Fires, floods, bad roads for trailers, overpriced stores, even tourrrrristssssess. How I hate tourists. But I can’t imagine ever living so far inland that I couldn’t easily go to the beach for the day again.

It may be worth checking the eastern shore out then.

I’m in the only landlocked county on the shore that doesn’t touch the bay or ocean, and even I’m only an hour to the Atlantic ocean and less than 30 min to the bay.

If you can deal with the rural, agricultural nature of the place it has a ton to offer IMO. Roads are fine for trailers. No fires. Yes floods (in a century I’ll probably have waterfront property here). Not so many tourists where I am but beach traffic is something you have to live with. And the best part- you aren’t really compromising when it comes to the horse stuff. No, it’s not Welly World or SoCal, but access is better than many places.

[emeraldcity]

Have not read this whole thread, so forgive repeats, but there is actually a pretty robust dressage scene here in Maine. A few reliable USDF shows, lots and lots of friendly schooling shows, and a decent number of dressage barns. Also, it’s a generally great place to live, if you ask me!

[Cowgirl]

Interested in North Carolina–anyone have specifics on the state? How is the economy and cost of living?

[Knights_Mom]

Maybe @eggbutt can chime in. She knows the area I believe.

Prices for housing are very good affordable wise. It’s beautiful country and Tryon is near there.

[Cowgirl]

Thanks!!! Anyone know the price of say a small horse farm in range of shows, trainers, etc.? Say 6-10 acres, 4 stall barn, arena, and nice home (3k sf nicely done)? Do you need an indoor arena or covered arena to ride year round there? Price of board and training? Not expecting you to do my work for me, but if you have resources (real estate sites, dressage club sites, etc.), I would appreciate it!

[eggbutt]

NC is a wonderful state to live in. Moderate climate with easy access to mountains and coast. There are several large cities with diverse activities, many highly recognized universities, and is currently considered a purple state turning blue.

The Tryon area is quite pricey since TIEC was opened. Here is a link to a Horse Farm realtor in the Tryon area: https://www.horseproperties.net/properties/tryon-polk-county-north-carolina-united-states

The Piedmont area has much to offer equestrians with easy access to show venues via interstate highways. The coastal area is more limited in equestrian activity currently but is slowly growing.

Cost of living in NC: https://www.sofi.com/cost-of-living-in-north-carolina/

NCDCTA.org is the website for the state USDF dressage chapter for more info on dressage and eventing in the state.

In the Piedmont area contact Cara Buchannan - she is an expert in finding horse properties based on your specifications: https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/56bc90707e54f7010021d5f9

[Turntable]

I went with a friend last year to look at some areas on the east coast. $1M and up for what you describe to buy in Tryon, probably more for a large house or with an arena. She was told min. $100k to put an arena in due to the soils. Board was hard to find and was $1k+ and the facilities were only OK. Almost no one had an indoor, but some had covered shaded with fans which was nice in the heat. Trainers all charged very high rates and a lot of them were only the kind of 3’ trainer you can find anywhere, nothing special. I think you could very easily spend $2500 on average board and average training.

Lots of people told us all the barns were doing short term rentals for the show people and it was driving out the regular horse people and that appeared to be true. Most of the working barns were 30 min away in SC and if you went one hour in any direction costs dropped by half. The horse areas on the trail system seemed to be mostly very old retired people per the person showing us around who seemed to know them all, and many of those farms were empty of horses. In 4 days of looking at properties and driving we did not see one rider in the private farm areas and very few horses at all.

Aiken was much more attractive to live in for a normal person- a really vibrant scene with lots of young(er) professionals and more livable horse areas. Like you can run on the trails there if you are a runner, but not in Tryon. There were many places to school xc while in Tryon almost none or only open one day a year. Most farms had horses and people were riding on the trails and were very friendly, even offering us to ride in the HItchcock woods on their horses to see it. However SC is not such an attractive state overall so ??