Eventing/Boarding in the Houston, TX area?

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Hi all - I am a longtime user who hasn’t been on lately (well, in the past few years!), so I had to create a new screen name. Anyway, I am looking to relocate to the Houston, TX area due to work opportunities (I’m a teacher) with my fiancee, and we both ride. We have two horses we’d be moving, so I’d like to get an idea of the local scene. Questions below:

1. Boarding rate? We’re looking for full board, no coastal hay, with turnout, all-weather arena to ride in, jumps, place for trailer parking, and dog-friendly (we have a very well-trained dog that currently comes to the barn with us on a leash)

2. I’m assuming that we would need a covered arena? We both work during the day, so could only ride at night. We definitely need lights! We’re coming from right outside Southern Pines, NC, so I know it will be very different, but hot sticky weather is hot sticky weather, right?

3. What’s the show scene like? Any places to school XC? What are the rates for lessons? We like to take semi-private lessons. Cost on local shows (the non-rated ones)?

Thanks so much, and if I have any more questions that pop up, I’ll post them here. Appreciate it!

And if there are any teachers in the area that would be willing to chat with me privately I would definitely appreciate it!

[RacetrackReject]

Check out the GHCTA website and facebook page for possible suggestions and possibly the Area 5 facebook page or website. I’m not sure who all is still active around Houston at the moment, but you probably need to narrow down which part of Houston you will be living in, in order to get useful suggestions since Houston covers such a large area.

The most local show to Houston is going to be PineHill.

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Thank you! I will check those out asap.

[MudMagnet]

Houston is so massive that boarding really depends on where you want to live. Most barns of the English persuasion I believe are on the north/northwest side of town like Tomball, Cypress, and Conroe (closer to Bellville/Pine Hill too). New Horizon Stables does CTs as well, but they have no covered.

The community however small is FANTASTIC

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Thanks for the responses so far. We actually don’t have an area of Houston nailed down yet - still working on the job/house thing. We just wanted an idea of what kinds of facilities there were, and how much.

What is the average price for board in the area?

And is there a need for a covered arena, or can you ride year 'round without one?

[OverandOnward]

You don’t need a fully enclosed arena. But a covered/roofed arena will make a big difference in being able to ride on a regular schedule. It RAINS when it rains in Houston, and Houston is officially a semi-tropical climate.

I am not sure you have processed what the word “massive” means in relation to Houston. There is really little point in listing any barns until you know where in Houston, because the greater Houston area is the size of a small state on the upper east coast. :winkgrin: You could like one, and end up living/working an 1 1/2 hours away during busy traffic periods (Houston traffic always seems to be busy).

I don’t know about closer in to Houston, but in the outer rim $650/month is a frequent basic rate for no-frills full board.

Since you are still exploring where you would like to live, I would suggest first concentrating on which area of Houston you think you would enjoy the most and focus on finding a job/life there. There are horses everywhere outside of the central mass, but the west (north of I-10, and along 99/Grand Pkwy) and northwest (Hwy 290) side is closer to a large and vibrant English riding horse community that extends west and north (the further from the center, the more horses). It’s also one of the more expensive areas of Houston, but has lots of new and old dining and shopping establishments, and just general life experiences.

What kind of work do you do? Some areas may have more of it than others. But overall Houston basically consists of a lot of good-sized cities all glommed together on to one giant system called “Houston”. Decide where you want to be and then start from there.

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Sorry - I wasn’t asking for specifics, just an idea of how much more board will cost in the area. We’re looking around Sugarland/Richmond area (my sister lives there). Pretty sure that we need a covered arena, so that may change things. We’re both educators, so we’re flexible on where we live. And we’re also considered sub-tropical (southern NC), so used to the extensive heat/humidity.

So, it looks like $600+ is average for full board with a covered arena? And everything seems to be between Houston and Austin?

Also, what is the average cost for private lessons with a reputable (doesn’t have to be big name) eventing trainer?

[sheltoneb]

FYI, I lived in Charlotte for several years and then moved to Houston. Charlotte had nothing on the heat and humidity in Houston. I found a covered is a must to get out of the sun. In the summer, it is common for the temperatures to stay above 90 until about 8 PM. Some days, the temp never gets below 80. For comparison, the Katy, Tx May average high/lows are 88 to 69 and September it is 91 to 71. In Southern Pines, the average Temps in May are 79 to 55 and September 82 to 60. The average May temps in Katy are the same as July in Southern Pines.

It is not the individual days of high temps that bother me, it is the unrelenting heat and humidity for 4 + months. While I did eventually get used to the heat, it took several years. If you haven’t visited during July or August, I would suggest you do so.

For planning purposes, I think the $600+ for board is a little low. I currently ride dressage only. The average full board is closer to $800 to $1,000 with a trainer on site. That doesn’t include lessons or training. You can find less expensive options, but I wouldn’t necessarily plan on it when budgeting.

[OverandOnward]

@Our Lady of Perpetual Novice

… We’re looking around Sugarland/Richmond area (my sister lives there). Pretty sure that we need a covered arena, so that may change things. We’re both educators, so we’re flexible on where we live. …

Costs vary radically from one area and barn to another. Hopefully someone can tell you more about Sugarland/Richmond.

Sugarland/Richmond brings about a million thoughts flashing through my brain, but it’s hard to know if they have any bearing on your situation or not. If I didn’t care at all where I lived except for horses, and wanted to do eventing / dressage / hje, I would be further north than that in the I-10/99 area or further west. And … well, Sugarland/Richmond is low and flat, and just me personally, but the mud and puddled water would wear on my nerves and barn area and my horse’s feet. And the tendency to flooding during long heavy rains, which isn’t that unusual there. But I’m sure there are horse facilities in that area that are not so bad when it’s wet.

Fingers crossed that Hurricane Harvey was a once-in-a-lifetime event that won’t happen again in 30 years or so. But maybe it’s part of new weather patterns. Or maybe La Nina has stabilized and we are having a warm dry winter. But what I’m getting around to is that Sugarland/Richmond not only had a LOT of flooding during Harvey, and voluntary evacuations including horses/livestock, but it was also one of the areas where roads were still flooded and impassable 5 days after Harvey technically ended. I just don’t want to deal with that in my life and have avoided the typical low flat terrain in southeast Texas.

On the other hand it’s not that far from beach vacation areas! There has been tremendous growth and development in that area. In the end it’s all a matter of personal preference, of course, and what bugs me might not be important to someone else.

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Thanks, OverandOnward! Yeah, I’d much rather be towards Austin, but job opportunities and family put me closer to Richmond/Sugarland. I’m definitely looking for a place with a covered arena. Here in NC it is pretty much constant mud and rain from about November through April (if you are not lucky enough to be in the Sandhills/So. Pines), so I would welcome a covered arena! I understand how wet it is, but I think I could make it work with a covered arena to work in. Thanks again!

[va2txrider]

Try contacting Pine Hill (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pine-Hill/160359237319922). They used to run lots of schooling and USTA events when I lived in TX, and would be a good resource.

[SansSoucis]

It’s been a few years since I lived in Houston, but my full care board cost $675. That was in Tomball, but as people mentioned there’s a huge price spread depending on where you are. I found that if I wasn’t picky about the main discipline of the barn, it opened up options. I ended up going with a place that did hunter/jumpers, but all of the horses looked great and they had good quality of hay and there was a track for fitness. I didn’t have much luck finding any eventing coaches who had any more experience than I did. Most of them top out at P. As others have mentioned, the humidity and heat in Houston are worse than even Virginia’s. I brought my horse down at the end of September so he could adjust after the worst of summer happened, but even so, there were many days in a row that never dropped out of the 80s, even at night. You’ll want a covered arena if you plan on riding in the summer for sun relief. The plus side is that there are plenty of winter days that you’ll be able to ride in short sleeves! I would ask pretty carefully about the flood history. Even before Harvey, the area around my barn flooded multiple times badly enough that I couldn’t get from my house to my horse, but the farm had put money into water control, so the barn was safe. When it rains, it RAINS. If you’re coming from NC, shows are going to feel a lot further away. I think the closest full event was about 4 hours away, and they’ll be overnight shows. I had a little bit of sticker shock after being used to 1 day shows, and ended up not going to any recognized events while I was there (I just couldn’t swing the cost). Lessons with a nearby dressage coach were about $90/hour. I also opted to work a lot with the on-site jumper coach for an affordable $35/hour. The event scene is pretty thin on the ground in TX, and mostly centered in Dallas. Austin has more, but still not many, options. If you have a truck and trailer, you’ll have an easier time than I did (I was a baby teacher and super broke at the time), but I would still count on spending more time travelling than you’re used to right now to get to even schooling events.

[NeverTime]

Thanks for bringing this topic up! I relocated to Houston last August and have been looking for places for my daughter (and, maybe, me again some day) to ride. We live in the Heights, so very close to downtown, and it’s been a struggle to find anything. The traffic is atrocious, so all the northwest areas (Cypress, Tomball, etc.) seem too far away – once you factor in traffic – to get to after school and get home at a decent hour. I may be wrong because I haven’t actually done it, but judging from the depressing drive-time estimates Waze gives me, I haven’t even tried.
We’ve recently just found a small H/J barn located north of the city, near the airport. So far, t’s perfect for what my daughter needs at this stage in her riding career. and I’m just thrilled to get out of the city for an hour each week.
I’ll echo what other people have said about the apparent lack of eventing around here. Seems to be mostly dressage and H/J, but hey, that’s an opportunity to really dial in two phases of your eventing, right? Also, I’ve lived in Washington, D.C. (an actual swamp) and North Carolina and, no, neither of those places has anything on the heat and humidity we’ve experience here so far. It’s great that you can ride in the evenings; I suspect that’s the only time you’ll want to ride for more than half the year!

[RacetrackReject]

Which airport? lol Kidding. I assume you mean Bush Intercontinental since you said North. Are you talking about Tex-over or Cornerstone maybe? Or one not that far out?

Holly Flint is in Magnolia, but I’m not sure if she has a full facility up yet (they moved last year I think) and she just had a baby. There are more barns out that way as well, but that’s not going to work for the Sugarland area.

[Our_Lady_of_Perpetua]

Wow it’s been a little bit since I’ve checked this, but I appreciate all the responses! You guys, I don’t wanna move to Texas and give up NC eventing, but at this rate (what NC pays its teachers), I am going to have to sell my horse in a few years! Thanks again for the input.

[OverandOnward]

Honestly, I think Houston is a bit tropical for the intensity of eventing. I really don’t expect it to become stronger directly in the Houston area (or south of Houston) due to the unfavorable climate. But plenty of eventing afficionados who are anchored in the Houston area do travel to school xc and event further north and west. There are actually a fair amount of eventing trainers within 2 to 5 hours of Houston, and students meet them at the location.

Another thing to remember is the scale of distance in Texas. Two hours isn’t necessarily convenient, but that’s not considered ‘far’ in Texas, so when people talk about how far (or not) places are, keep that in mind. One hour is practically next door. Four to five hours won’t stop Texans … heck, you can leave in early morning and be there by noon, so it’s fine. Coming home you can leave by 6 pm and be home by 11 pm. Do-able. You need to learn the best places to get gas on the way, stations with enough roof over the gas pumps to keep truck & trailer in the shade while pumping and visiting the restroom. And … Buccee’s on Hwy 290 west of Houston. :winkgrin: