H/J Barn Recommendations Lexington KY ( sorry for the story)

[Lizmo]

Hello CoTH!
Let me start by saying that i know this topic has been discussed at length however… I NEED YOUR HELP!
(and am trying to not count my chickens before they hatch!)

I am hoping to attend either UK or Georgetown College for college next year! I am from out of state (:o) so not in any way familiar with barns in the area besides my searching on CoTH! i need barn recommendations. I will not be bringing a horse and am still undecided on ISHA, but I am currently a working student and if possible would like to continue that or a similar position. even a possible grooming job. I know that these jobs are often held by riders who are much more experienced than me and are highly coveted!I am a hard worker and am always wanting to learn! I am not picky on if the barn is a local barn or AA Barn! I am looking to improve my riding , further my connections and gain more horsemanship skills!I also am considering moving to Lexington/Georgetown ( If I get in) soon after I graduate!
I am also willing to work breaks!
Also, any advice for being in Kentucky( I’m a Cali girl) , about college or any other tidbits would be appreciated and welcomed!! Feel free to PM!
Thank You!

[ReSomething]

I live outside of G’town. Have you visited here before? Georgetown College is a nice small place. Georgetown is a small place but it’s having growing pains. UK is a leetle bit bigger and they definitely have a student housing problem. DD is accepted and has had to rent an apartment in the community, she’s already out and working for the summer.

I got here in 2005 and very few barns had an internet presence, it’s better now but still weak, the big driver here is the TB industry - read this thread http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?441738-Buying-renting-farms-frustration . There is PLENTY to do with horses it’s just all over the map discipline-wise, Saddlebreds are important here, some TWH although the soring is getting a lot of bad press, quite a bit of eventing and then H/J also. I rode at the UK ISHA barn, Robert Murphy Stables. They had a strong program and an alumni is now the coach, I believe it is still good. Scheffelridge Farms is fairly close to G’town and has a lesson program, my DD’s best friend was a working student there but is leaving for college. River Mtn and Bally High in Versailles.
Spy Glass is right next to the Horse Park and I know there are a few others.

I’m not in the loop so much anymore, I changed over to saddleseat because it was easy to get to and close by my home. Now I just potter around with my retiree and his buddy.

You really should visit, KY is nothing like SoCal OR NorCal. Cold air off the Canadian shield in the winter but not enough for any decent outdoor winter sports, just enough to make driving miserable, and thunderstorms and humid Gulf air with the occasional tornado in the summer.
For all the horses here not too many of the locals keep one. Sure there will be some trail horses at a family farm out in the country - like around where I live - barbed wire strung from tree to tree, not exactly fancy. 30 miles away though are the most glorious horse farms you could ever see.

[Lizmo]

Thank You for all of the information! Good to know about the housing situation at UK! Also for the barn recs! How is the bus system? Any good or should I plan on bringing or buying a car? I am planning on visiting hopefully in November or September! I’m expecting a climate change lol , California has easy weather compared to just about everywhere else! Thanks Again!!

[classicrocky]

You should definitely bring/buy a car, just a recommendation! I was in California the week before last, and the public transportation is nice to have, but as a whole we have nothing. The lexington bus system is a bit scary, and I don’t even think Georgetown has one.

I just started lessons recently at Scheffelridge and I quite enjoy it. I have been out of the hunter world for 10 years so I am just reimmersing myself in it.

[MorganJumper848]

Will send PM

[Ponyplusaninch]

you’ll want to buy a car for certain–driving is your best bet to get around the area.

I’d recommend Joyce Brinsfield at Ballyhigh or Elaine Schatt at River Mountain. I’m not a huge fan of Robert Murphy Stables because of limited turnout–and when I went out to visit as a potential barn, things seemed to be disorganized and chaotic. It may have just been a bad day, as I do know riders/boarders out there who are very happy with the barn and training.

Those three are out towards Versailles. Expect to drive half hour to 45 min with traffic to get to the barn, but it’s really not bad. You’ll never be in stop-and-go traffic at lights or at a complete stand still.

[ellevt]

You’d definitely want to buy a car, unless you lived on UK campus. Georgetown has no public transit, and UK’s is very bad.

Housing in the Lexington area is pretty cheap though, you can save a good chunk of change by living off campus.

If you’re a newbie getting started, I would recommend joining the equestrian club/ team. That way you get some contacts. Another avenue would be doing undergraduate research in animal science or at the Gluck center. I’m a grad student at Gluck and have made most of my industry contacts that way.

If you’re interested in equine programs, you might also look at Midway College and University of Louisville.

It is very racing (TB) focused here, but there are lots of riding places. Eventing is big, big here. Some jumpers, not so many hunters but there are a few. Someone mentioned Joyce Brinsfield- she is very good! And saddleseat is pretty popular.

[ellevt]

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any other questions! Lex is a great place to live.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Also if you think you might like liberal arts… do go check out Centre College! Fantastic school. It’s an hour south of Lexington.

[caryledee]

Another popular H/J farm is Punchestown…
The area is growing in terms of sport horses. Most of Iron Works is now Sport Horse farms. Ashland, Spy Coast, Kessler, Roberts Show Ponies, Murphy Manor, Boggs Hill, etc.
Here is a list of other farms in the area: http://www.khja.org/trainers.html

[ReSomething]

Lextrans isn’t any scarier than the Greyhound in San Francisco or SacRT. Pretty low end transportation. And there is absolutely zip in terms of feeder busses into Lex from the surrounding counties. G’town has nothing, unless you are elderly doing the Active Day program.

So yes, get a car. You’ll have to learn how to take care of it from the salt in the winter or get a throw away.

All the barns go through phases as boarders, students and some of the instructors come and go. I was a lesson student so what I wanted wasn’t always what I’d want as an owner. I did find one chaotic, but fun and welcoming, and another had good instruction but an obvious bias towards the more deep pocketed potential showing, buying, boarding type client. Not much different than any other regional set of boarding barns.

If you won’t be here till 2015? then head up to go skiing and practice driving in snow/slush/ice. Then respect the stuff when you get here. Every time we get three inches on the Circle we get about a dozen cars losing control and sliding off the road - everybody who lives here KNOWS this - and they can’t seem to slow down or keep their focus and steer to correct.

Then a couple of days later it’s all melted off and things are fine again.

And freezing rain is deadly stuff, can’t tell it’s a sheet of ice, black ice, or just wet pavement. Bridges freeze first, steer into the skid, pray really really hard. I still have a dent in my behind from slipping down my four stairs, bounce, bounce, bounce. It looked wet darn it!