Hello there, We are moving to North Carolina next year and right now trying to hone in on just a few neighborhoods which will ultimately be determined by proximity to trainer and school. My 16-year-old daughter is very passionate about eventing. She currently trains 4x a week and boards her horse at trainer’s facility in the current state we live in. We are looking for an eventing trainer in N.C. that can take a novice rider to the upper levels. Ideally a trainer who competes but still has time to train a student and would have room for our mare to board. Would love any advice and suggestions thank you so much!
I’d update your title to include city and state. Unless you are basing the entire family’s location around the trainer, it’s a big state to not create some basic geographic parameters for recommendations.
3 Likes
Highly recommend the mecca of eventing in NC which is the Southern Pines area. Carolina Horse park is located near there (about 15-20 minutes) which holds rated and schooling events. You can school there the day before each War Horse Trial. You can volunteer there and get vouchers that you can use towards events. Sporting Services runs dressage show where you can also volunteer and use those vouchers for the dressage shows
Lots of great eventing trainer such as Caitlin Romeo (has a lot of kids her age at her barn Woodlawn Farm), Jasmine Hobart, Charlie Plumb (CDP Stables), McKenzie Day Cumbea, Karen Mahaffey is in Sanford (30 minutes from Moore County). Not sure if Will Faudree coaches but he is another one.
I highly recommend Caitlin as I have seen her teach and coach at events. She is an Advanced Level rider. Karen is also very good. I also highly recommend Lynn Doki as a dressage trainer. She loves working with eventers and has a few of them as clients
1 Like
I’d suggest asking your current trainer to make inquiries on your behalf. Lots of options in that area. One professional to another usually saves a lot of tire kicking…
5 Likes
Thank you! 
Will Faudree is amazing to work with and highly recommend. I know that Kimmy Cecere is located in Hoffman, literally riding distance from Will’s XC course. I don’t know if she’s teaching outside students but might be worth reaching out to her.
Jasmine is lovely and a good friend of mine has horses in her program and has been very happy with her.
1 Like
Hello, State is North Carolina. From our research it looks like to trainers are in or around Southern Pines. High School is also very important. From what we’ve researched it sounds like Moore County has two solid “A” high schools. Ideally (originally) wanted to live somewhere around Raleigh/ Durham - Chapel Hill. We are currently living in a state population 1 million, and have realized that we really do need to be driving distance from a bigger city with lots of culture, and food options, shops etc. We did already speak with Doug Payne however he is transitioning into only Hunter Jumping, from our understanding. Our daughter currently trains 4X per week and would train every day if possible 
. We have long winters where we currently live too, which now has become a nuisance. Hence why we are moving to the southeastern region of the country. My husband is planning a trip to NC in early October. Hoping to hone in on more specific areas once he sees it all.
For the RDU area there’s also Holly Hudspeth at Quail Roost north of Durham. What level is your daughter currently competing? And when you say she “trains” four times a week, are you saying that’s how often she rides or are you looking for somewhere she can have four lessons a week?
For schools, most of the high schools in Moore County are terrific. O’Neal (private) has a lot of the horsey kids but Pinecrest and Union Pines are more diverse with stellar academic opportunities and extracurriculars.
3 Likes
Again NC is a huge state. Southern Pines has good trainers but it’s also a sleepy resort and golf town. I would have been a miserable teen living there. It’s tiny tiny. Perhaps not so relative to wherever you are moving from but I’d definitely visit first.
Does the location also meet needs for family careers and other important considerations? Even if the income earners are currently remote, remember that jobs come and go. If they can no longer work remotely, proximity to a substantial city may be really critical to maintain your current lifestyle.
There’s a horse scene in the research triangle, of course the Tryon area, and Charlotte. It’s great you’re supportive of your daughters passion but I’d figure out the area first and then horses rather than base a family move around trainers who could up and move tomorrow or be a poor personality fit in person.
7 Likes
You may want to post on the North Carolina dressage and combined training association Facebook page.
There are a lot of trainers in N.C. some better than others and some should not be hanging out a shingle.
I didn’t realize Doug Payne was switching to hunters, that makes me go hmmmmmm
2 Likes
Thank you, very good points.
Hi! She competes in beginner novice and I should have said “trains” four times a week. Coach only allows two jumping days and the other two days are spent in dressage. Current trainer does not have a cross- country course which has affected her performance at shows. Recently competed at Rebecca Farms (The Event): Dressage score: 29.7 Showjump: Clear, a run-out during cross-country.
If you do settle in Southern Pines, Whitney Westons may be a good fit. She has a full service boarding barn that is more along the lines of what you see in colder climates, structured support at local events and a full cross country course.
Caitlin Romeo also has boarding at her place and travels to shows, I believe Jasmine does as well. You wouldn’t go wrong at that level and progressing upwards with any of them.
1 Like
At BN she should be fine in any reputable eventing program. If she were running prelim+ or had really big plans I can see more framing around relocation. Any major city should have a few decent options. I’d narrow where is best for the family and then edit the title to get more specific geographic recommendations.
5 Likes
Not exactly news… https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/eying-a-career-change-doug-payne-pulls-double-duty-at-kentucky/
Pretty open about moving to jumpers. I think the OP may have construed “hunters” and “jumpers”.
That said, as an NC-er, focus on home and jobs first. The horse stuff will follow. It’s a pretty big leap to pick an area based only on a trainer recommendation that may or may not work. Greensboro has a lot of great trainers, as does Johnston County. We also have the Tryon area and Western NC, which no one has mentioned. (Also a fair share of options in to So Pines and Raleigh/Triangle area already mentioned)
5 Likes
I think the question was whether your daughter is actually taking 4 lessons a week or just riding 4 times per week. 4 lessons is kind of a lot and you’ll want to make sure whatever program you’re looking at can accommodate that schedule, especially if your daughter will be in school and needs evening lesson slots. You’re probably looking at a program with multiple instructors on staff who can cover if one is away at a show, etc. If she’s just riding 4x per week with only 1-2 lessons that’s easier, but then you’ll need to consider the cost of training rides for the days your daughter doesn’t ride, and you’ll want to know if those are always done by the trainer or by working students.
Having a cross-country course on site is not all that common, but the east coast generally has more available schooling facilities than out west (I’m assuming you’re somewhere out there based on Rebecca Farm) so trailering out to school isn’t that big a deal. That may vary depending on where you actually end up since you’re looking at such a big area, but I wouldn’t limit your options based on that without scoping out the situation.
I’ll also echo the poster who said you don’t really need a top-class program for someone currently at BN. You’re likely to get more tailored attention and advance faster in a barn that’s more focused on riders at a similar level to your daughter, and won’t have to worry about working around a top rider’s show/clinic schedule.
4 Likes
Good points thank you.
Kate Brown over in Aiken is really good.
1 Like
I’d focus on the quality of education first. Chapel Hill has the best public schools in the state. A solid A rating doesn’t impress me at all, spoken as the mother of a high school civics teacher in a nearby county who finds himself hamstrung at every turn by county politics. I understand Moore County is worse.
2 Likes
There is also Aaron Stuckey Hill at Portofino Equestrian Center in Clayton. Has a group of kids and a full XC course. https://portofinoequestrian.com/
[quote=“piaffequeen2, post:3, topic:799105, full:true”]
Highly recommend the mecca of eventing in NC which is the Southern Pines area. Carolina Horse park is located near there (about 15-20 minutes) which holds rated and schooling events. You can school there the day before each War Horse Trial. You can volunteer there and get vouchers that you can use towards events. Sporting Services runs dressage show where you can also volunteer and use those vouchers for the dressage shows
Lots of great eventing trainer such as Caitlin Romeo (has a lot of kids her age at her barn Woodlawn Farm), Jasmine Hobart, Charlie Plumb (CDP Stables), McKenzie Day Cumbea, Karen Mahaffey is in Sanford (30 minutes from Moore County). Not sure if Will Faudree coaches but he is another one.
I highly recommend Caitlin as I have seen her teach and coach at events. She is an Advanced Level rider. Karen is also very good. I also highly recommend Lynn Doki as a dressage trainer. She loves working with eventers and has a few of them as clients
