I currently board at a multidiscipline facility in San Marcos. I have a young mare working at training and 1st level. Does anyone have recommendations on a great (friendly, reliable, knowledgable, caring, good energy) dressage trainer who will travel for training/lessons?
I might be open to moving as well. How about excellent dressage barns and/or trainers in the North San Diego area? I’d prefer a facility with a covered area since winter is coming.
Appreciate your suggestions.
Are you from the area? Because I’d think open arenas are better - warmth from the sun. It’s not like you need protection from snow!
I’d check out Jeremy Steinberg’s barn and if it’s close enough to you (someone here will know the name of it, and I think it may be on his site), but you would have to be available for lessons on weekdays since he gives clinics most weekends. He’s a fantastic teacher, and will give instruction on the very basics up to very technical high level work, depending on a rider’s needs.
Protection from the rain in the winter and the sun all the time are the reasons for a covered. An open arena sucks in CA. Period. With a covered in the rain you get to ride every day. Otherwise… it can be days -> weeks without.
Jeremy is at Ridgemar Equestrian in Del Mar.
If he can’t come out to San Marcos, you can always trailer in for a lesson.
Not too many barns have covered arenas AND good trainers at the same facility, so your choices may be limited. Ridgemar has a very rideable track around the outside of the arenas that is groomed and dragged for riding when rings are closed because of rain. Sometimes the large GP (dirt) field is dry enough to ride when the rings are not. Also, there are seven large turnouts if riding isn’t an option.
It doesn’t hurt the horses to have some time off in the winter from riding “every day” in a ring. The horses still get out, either through turnout, hand walking, lunging, trail ride, or riding outside the arena. It’s actually good for them.
Maybe some places in CA, but not San Diego. I lived there for 27 years. San Diego averages 40 days of rain per year. You definitely don’t need an arena to protect from the rain. And its not like inland valley with 90-100+ degree temps, especially in winter the sun is a joy. I can’t imagine anyone choosing to ride inside in San Diego when it has one of the best climates in the country. It is literally what the city is known for.
Right?
Maybe someone should explain to the likes of Steffen Peters, Jan Ebeling and Guenter Seidel as I believe (but could be mistaken) that none of them have covered arenas.
I’d love one for the much hotter in my location summers, but one of the joys of winter in these nicer climates is riding out in the sun.
Yes, very few covereds around. I was horse hunting in that area this past Summer. And I had a horse boarded out there the Summer of '16, so I got to ride out there myself then as well as to audit at some big-name places.
Nowhere did I see or ride in a covered dressage arena, with the exception of the facility that Absolute Equestrian mentioned above. And I tried horses and audited lessons at seven or eight different stables in the North San Diego area (including at Arroyo Del Mar, Albert Court, Ad Astra, and Seabreeze), as well as facilities in Temecula and in Orange County.
Those places just didn’t have covered arenas. The trainers based there all seem to get the job done, and the footing in the outdoor arenas included some of the best products available. They do lose some training time day-to-day when they’re hit with a lot of rain, and I remember hearing that rain was a factor in the cancelation of a Southern CA show this past Spring.
So it can be an issue, but apparently it’s not a regular occurrence because many of those places have the $$$ to install covered arenas if they felt they were needed. If I were looking to move there I don’t think I would include a covered arena on my list of criteria because that would severely limit the boarding-stable options.
Its not the money… its local zoning and Coastal regs that prevent it. Moorpark/Somis has 5 covered rings. 3 on Triunfo Canyon Rd. in Agoura alone. That’s 8 within 12 miles of each other. These areas don’t have the same issues with permits.
Really? Where in Cali do you live? The far northern reaches? It does rain there - a LOT. But not the rest of Cali…
I live in the Foothills of central Northern CA, we have MUCH more weather extremes then San Diego, which is Camelot - it only rains at night, and is sunny and 80 degrees all year long! Even here in the “extreme” weather of the Sierra foothills, there aren’t a lot of covered arenas. We get (on average) about 3 times the rain that SD gets, and I still spend most of my year riding outside. We also are about 20 degrees hotter then SD in the Summer - and as long as I ride in the morning, it is still nice.
In general, California is known for its wonderful weather - and San Diego and Santa Barbara probably have the nicest weather in the WORLD… It doesn’t rain much - I seriously doubt anyone has ever lost a WEEK of riding to rain in San Diego. Maybe out here in Nor-Cal where it does rain and we have some weather extremes, but not in Camelot!
I’m a bit envious of OP 
Malibu for 23 years and now Ventura and north for 12. No… I know nothing about the weather. :lol: The floods in the 90’s. 2 months last year with a closed arena thanks to the drought buster in Santa Barbara. Oh… and Jan E.? His people go down the road to one of the covereds when they need to in the winter. (just realized I forgot 1 in Moorpark) Even Hilda comes to visit when she needs to get ready for a show and the arenas are slop. Can you ride in the rain. SUre… IF the place you are, has spent the money to have an All-Weather arena. Not all have. It’s a question to ask when boarding: When do you close rings for rain, and for how long? And if they don’t have an all weather arena… what other options are available to ride/work/exercise a horse? Some places do not have anything else. This is SoCal. where land is at a premium. So… if your horse is ok standing for several days every time it rains… because there are no options… Great! If not… you need to ask.
Sun: Yes… its too bloody hot! Get over it. Anything north of 80 is just miserable when in the sun. Having a covered makes it much better, as we usually have breezes. If you like to cook… more power to you. Go right ahead. I don’t know how much time “you” have spent in the areas… It gets plenty hot in Santa Barbara…and Malibu. There will be a 15-20 degree difference between on the water and at 1500’ just a half mile in as the crow flys in Malibu.
So… what the OP asked for is not, in other areas of SoCal, out of reason. What was true for many through the drought years, wasn’t last year, and isn’t true in “normal” rain years. Some facilities, like Spirit, cover their arena(s) when it rains, like a baseball field. Works well for them. Then they can ride right away. Others… oh well.
Sorry this derailed your original post OP.
Thanks for the suggestions and feedback everyone. I’ve lived in Southern Ca for many years. We do in fact get lots of rain and the past few days it’s been 100 degrees. We’ve had a number of 90+ days this summer with high humidity. Sadly not the ideal climate many believe we enjoy year round. The last two years we were hit with severe flooding during the winter. Many barns lost months of ride time. The covered area at the facility I board at was a saving grace. Not a deal breaker, but the weather IS a factor here.
Olympian Roll Call:
Arroyo Del Mar/Steffen Peters - small covered arena used as necessary
Albert Court Ltd/Guenter Seidel and Christine Traurig - no covered arena
The Acres/Jan Ebeling - no covered arena
Keenridge Farm/Hilda Gurney - no covered arena
Rest of North County/San Diego Roll Call:
Coral Reef Ranch/Gwendolyn Sondheim Meyer (sponsor of horses for Beezie Madden and Guenter Seidel): covered arena
Bill Gates’ h/j farm (for his daughter Jennifer): no covered arena
You are assuming that all of the facilities available have other than the arenas available, AND that the others are open after it rains. I can name 3 for sure in Santa Barbara where that is not true. Its not that all of the other options wouldn’t be great… they just are not available.
Re: Olympians. As I said: Jan’s people either ride or trailer down the road to 1 of 2 covered rings when their ring is to sloppy and Hilda trailers over the White Birch. They have options “in the neighborhood” so don’t per se have the need to build their own.
LA County and Ventura County have quite a few Covered rings, clustered in certain areas. Again, its not always the money… but the zoning that prevents the construction. I do wish more people would put in good all weather rings that would hold up to the rain. But that is very expensive as well.
Creek Hollow Ranch in Ramona has a covered arena
It’s true that the BNTs run for cover in the rainy season. Much to the disappointment of the resident boarders at those locations with covered arenas. LOL
I was referring to Ridge Mar Equestrian in Del Mar, where Jeremy Steinberg is located.
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