Feedback needed about Maryland riding stables & boarding

[trakcz]

Hello! I will be moving to the Maryland side of the DC Metro area. None of my friends & acquaintances know the area. (Granted, it’s about 1000 miles away from my current residence.) Please provide pros & cons for any stable within 50 miles’ radius from Bethesda, MD. I plan to live in Rockville. Please, no people or barn “bashing.”

I have a young warmblood. We’ve been taking basic dressage & hunter (minimal jumper because he’s still growing). He’s got a dominant “horseonality” but has become an awesome horse with which to work due to Parelli type training. He definitely needs his turnout & ample hay. He’s smart, curious, and gets bored if he has nothing to do.

It would be great to have quality lessons at the stables but can trailer if the lessons aren’t too far from the boarding stable. Thank you!

[Mango20]

Start with the stable listings at The Equiery: equiery.com
That will give you an idea of what type of barn and which area to look. There are hundreds of boarding facilities within 50 miles of Rockville. You won’t want to drive that far - 30 miles should be a big enough radius with plenty of choices.

[SaratogaTB]

Oh wow, Rockville isn’t far from Olney and Highland, beautiful horse country. You will have lots of choices. I recommend checking out Kennedy Dressage in Unionville. If you’d like to train with an eventer PM me. Good luck!

[JenEM]

[QUOTE=SaratogaTB;8523270]
Oh wow, Rockville isn’t far from Olney and Highland, beautiful horse country. You will have lots of choices. I recommend checking out Kennedy Dressage in Unionville. If you’d like to train with an eventer PM me. Good luck![/QUOTE]

:eek:
Rockville to Unionville is 2 hours in good (nonexistant) traffic. While there are a lot of good facilities and trainers up that way worth going up to clinic with, that is a long way to go to board.

Well within 45-1hr are a lot of options. Look out towards Poolesville/Barnesville/Dickerson and up towards Damascus/Laytonsville/Brookeville. There are plenty of good options close to you there, depending on what you want to focus on. Are you looking for more of a Dressage focus? Hunters? Jumpers? Parelli, since you mentioned that? A better idea of focus would help people narrow down what to recommend to you.

[trakcz]

I’m definitely looking for dressage but also plan on exploring the hunter/jumper arena (pardon my pun). I have a 6-year-old warmblood who’s still growing, so I don’t want to do an excessive amount of jumping at this point. He was “green-broke” when I bought him in June 2014.

I’d like to work with my horse more days than not, so I’d prefer no more than a 30 minute drive from Rockville, if possible.

[trakcz]

Yes, I have studies the Equiery site, as well as downloaded the Maryland guide to licensed stables.

[gottagrey]

The Equiery is a great resource but doesn’t really help someone who is unfamiliar with the area. Rockville is a great area for access to horses -and we are fortunate to have a pretty big equestrian scene here. There are plenty of H/J, Dressage, and Eventing barns. As a couple of other posters mentioned the best is to decide where your area of focus might be - h/j or eventing or dressage. Then of course there is also your budget.

Where in Bethesda/Rockville will you be living or working? Downtown Bethesda traffic can be a bear as can some areas of Rockville. I work in Rockville - live 9 miles from work (20-25 minute drive w/ traffic) and 13 miles from my barn. From work to barn its 45+ drive… from home it’s 15-20 minutes.

Traffic here is a bear. I’m PMing some barn suggestions.

[EasternMkt]

Are you going to be working and where? The answer may actually impact where you choose to board, esp. if you are going to be making a traditional commute. Alternative hours or reverse commutes can be helpful. I think that JanEM hit the communities that would most likely offer good quality barns w/ ample turnout.

[trakcz]

I’m familiar with the nasty DC Metro traffic. I lived in NVA for 14 years. That’s part of why I need input. I’ll be working at Walter Reed. I want to live close to the Metro so I don’t have to drive because of the bad traffic & non-existent parking.

[CapitolDesign]

Our farm is the only place in Germantown and closest to Rockville by quite a bit. Www.mooredressage.com. Most of my students trailer in if they’re doing only weekly dressage rides, but there are nearby (very good) trainers who can give you weekly jump lessons if you wanted to board at our place for a more dressage-heavy program.

[DoodlesMom]

I live in Northern VA and keep my guys just west of Dulles. It’s a haul, but my barn is laid back, has great care, and awesome people. It’s like 40 miles or less from Rockville, but… I’m familiar with the traffic around here! Anyway, if you are interested, or need something temporarily, PM me. Also, check out VirginiaEquestrian.com and MarylandEquestrian.com. Good luck!

[Sing_Mia_Song]

[QUOTE=JenEM;8523464]
:eek:
Rockville to Unionville is 2 hours in good (nonexistant) traffic. While there are a lot of good facilities and trainers up that way worth going up to clinic with, that is a long way to go to board. .[/QUOTE]

Unionville, MD (between Mt Airy/New Market/Westminster), not Unionville PA. About an hour from Rockville, yes, even in traffic. I work in Silver Spring just outside the Beltway and can be in Unionville in 55 minutes on the best days, about an hour and ten minutes when it’s bad. My horses are usually at home in the summer, but we’re boarding at Rockland Stables in Unionville this winter, and I can’t say enough good things about the care.

Still, agree that going west to Poolesville or east to Brookville/Laytonsville are your best bets if you don’t want to spend a lifetime on the road. I live near Unionville, so I’m making the drive anyway.

Most of the barns in Montgomery/Howard Co are either eventing/dressage or H/J. Rarely do you have both in the same barn, at least in the bigger barns. However, if you have a truck and trailer, you can ship out as well. I find the care/personal attention is better in the smaller places anyway as a general rule.