Farms to Visit in Portland? (or other places.)

[ParadoxFarm]

Well, I have another thread on this forum asking about Portland and a possible move to the area. I am now here visiting Portland for a few days and wondered of anyone had any recommendations on any farms to visit that wouldn’t mind a pop-in visit. I know there is a list on the flying changes site, but would prefer recommendations from someone that knows more than I would picking blindly.

As background, we (DH and I) do lower level h/j. I currently have a jumper that I primarily ride and show 3’ at most right now. My new horse we will do hunters with. I would love to get her to 3’ as well, but since we are a new team, we are doing 2’6" for now.

Thanks in advance. Feel free to recommend other places to visit that are not farms!

p.s. love the cool mornings! I’m from the muggy-hot south.

[Merrylegs]

Hi ParadoxFarm,

I could put you in contact with a couple of places to visit depending on what you’re looking for. Can you send me a PM?

[ParadoxFarm]

Thanks, Merrylegs. I will pm you when I get back to my room today!

[Merrylegs]

I just figured out how to send a PM myself and sent you one!

[Green_Light]

If you’re just looking for fun places to visit, check out Quailhurst in Sherwood! It’s a dressage barn AND a winery, so it’s really a nice place to view =) Just up the road from there is Oxer Ridge Farm, which has a beautiful view of the Willamette Valley. You can find/search them on Facebook! Then you can roll down to the highway, swing by Devonwood (another dressage barn, but it’s beautiful), and then head towards Beaverton. There are a ton of barns in Oregon and a lot of h/j trainers. The best advice is to go watch them teach and ride because you will get a million responses about who is great and who is the devil but ultimately you need to find the one who works best for you! Also, it will depend entirely upon which part of town you live in. If you’re in the Gresham area you’re not going to want to drive to Sherwood. If you’re in Sherwood, you’re not going to want to drive to Woodburn. Or Vancouver.

Enjoy your time in Oregon!

[pony_alter]

PM is not working to message you, definitely visit Wilsonville / Sherwood. Hunter Creek show ground is on Wilsonville Rd.

[Calvincrowe]

Do try to get up to the Rose Test Garden in Portland–gorgeous flowers everywhere and amazing views of Portland, it is also near the zoo–a great place to see, and they have a baby elephant! Squeee! Try to get up the Gorge a bit, at least to Multnomah Falls…or on to Hood River, for wine tasting and brewery tasting, they have a huge number of both, right in town.

On the horse barn visit front: Hmmm…I’ll bet Cornerstone would welcome a visit (give them a call, Linda and Wade are very nice).

I don’t think Wild Turkey is open to the public, but my gosh…what a place! It is on Wilsonville Road, just before Huntercreek. There are no shows this week in Portland, sadly, and most barns are resting before the last two A shows at Huntercreek (or they are up at Thunderbird in BC).

Feel free to PM with questions–but a quick phone call to Cornerstone (in west Portland) or Tile Valley (Beaverton) would give you a westside visit or you could call Quiet Rein (Oregon City) for an east side of PDX visit. Our barn is across the river in WA, and I know the owner would be happy to have you stop in, let me know if you think that might work out (I’m there Thursday evening for a lesson…as if that is an enticement! :lol:).

[BITSA]

Swan Training in Wilsonville; great barn, great barn-owner. Fun along with great training. PM me if you’d like more information

[horsedoggirl]

I know I am a little late to the game but Darci Bayney just merged with Akiko Hamada at French Hill Farm in the Wilsonville area and their program, and barn is to die for. I could not write a better review for them. No good words do them justice. In my opinion there’s no one better. PM me with any questions, I’ve been to a few barns in the area and will be at Zona/Stellar to stay permanently.

[ParadoxFarm]

Thanks, all. We had a whirlwind vacation, but are now back home in the muggy hot south. Ick. Anyway, we kind of did a lot in our short stay. Though I didn’t get to actually visit farms, we toured around and looked. We drove by Wild Turkey. Wow! What a place! Thenast Whipnspur. We passed the show grounds (can’t recall name off top of my head). While we were there we also went to the shore at Cannon Beach, hit the International Rose Test Gardens, did a Portland bicycle tour (very cool), and also hit Mt. Hood and went hiking. We enjoyed the trip.

We are seriously contemplating the move. Lots to think about and plan, though. It would be a huge move.

Thanks, again, everyone!

[horsepoor]

Before deciding to move here, visit when it rains. And the days are super short, like after the winter solstice, so January or so. The summers here can be wonderful, but the rain and darkness can take getting used to. I’ve been here 40+ years and still get depressed thinking about the long periods of rain ahead.

[crimsonsky]

[QUOTE=horsepoor;7156427]
Before deciding to move here, visit when it rains. And the days are super short, like after the winter solstice, so January or so. The summers here can be wonderful, but the rain and darkness can take getting used to. I’ve been here 40+ years and still get depressed thinking about the long periods of rain ahead.[/QUOTE]

where is the rain?!? cries i’ve been here for a year and apparently i’ve brought the heat and sun with me (from NV) as it hasn’t rained or been gloomy as touted since i’ve been here. unfortunately for me, we moved her for the rain!

[Rainrider]

Portland area

Take a look at Side by Side- brand new facility on Wilsonville Road 2 miles from show park- I am sure you can drop by- there is a sign on the property!

[horsepoor]

[QUOTE=crimsonsky;7156479]
where is the rain?!? cries i’ve been here for a year and apparently i’ve brought the heat and sun with me (from NV) as it hasn’t rained or been gloomy as touted since i’ve been here. unfortunately for me, we moved her for the rain![/QUOTE]
October 15. At least, that’s what it seemed like last year. Beautiful summer, then the tap was opened and it rained from then on. I’m in the foothills on the east side, so we tend to be wetter than Portland itself. It will come. Just be patient (and tomorrow’s forecast is looking pretty darn rainy, but of short duration).

[ParadoxFarm]

Thanks, all. Yes, we plan to come in the rainy season. Can someone give me an idea of when the weather is at it’s worst?

[PNWjumper]

[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;7156553]
Thanks, all. Yes, we plan to come in the rainy season. Can someone give me an idea of when the weather is at it’s worst?[/QUOTE]

The real answer: October - June

The answer by Murphy’s Laws: anytime you’re not here (until you move, that is)

[shadowanne]

December. It’s the coldest cold/wet down to the bone and sometimes we have snow/ice depending where in the area yo are.
It’s always hard to be motivated to go to the barn in Dec.

Thanksgiving through mid January if you want a range. But weather here is 70% unpredictable.

[Calvincrowe]

Come in late November or December–dark, gray, wet. You’ll see why there’s very little pasture turnout and lots of indoor rings.

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=crimsonsky;7156479]
where is the rain?!? cries i’ve been here for a year and apparently i’ve brought the heat and sun with me (from NV) as it hasn’t rained or been gloomy as touted since i’ve been here. unfortunately for me, we moved her for the rain![/QUOTE]

When it is “spring” you’ll longingly wonder why you wrote this. I moved here from San Diego 20 years ago. Moved during the summer and LOVED it. Then learned about “freezing fog” and “black ice” and 90 of 94 days without sunshin (that was a bad spring). it’s the only season i dont like here. Grey, warmish and bleck.

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;7156011]
Thanks, all. We had a whirlwind vacation, but are now back home in the muggy hot south. Ick. Anyway, we kind of did a lot in our short stay. Though I didn’t get to actually visit farms, we toured around and looked. We drove by Wild Turkey. Wow! What a place! Thenast Whipnspur. We passed the show grounds (can’t recall name off top of my head). While we were there we also went to the shore at Cannon Beach, hit the International Rose Test Gardens, did a Portland bicycle tour (very cool), and also hit Mt. Hood and went hiking. We enjoyed the trip.

We are seriously contemplating the move. Lots to think about and plan, though. It would be a huge move.

Thanks, again, everyone![/QUOTE]

I do love it here–it’s a beautiful state. The show grounds were Hunter Creek is my guess (right near Wild Turney–which is CRAZY NICE) and Whip N Spur (which is also where Swan Training is). Being a transplant who occassionally whines about the rain–I really love Portland.