Hunter/Jumper Barns Near NYC - Recommendations?

[tnhorse]

I am graduating college in a week and am relocating up to NYC mid-June for work and unfortunately will not be able to take my horse with me I have been riding for 10 years and have shown on the rated and schooling show circuits all over the Southeast both with my own mounts and several times as a catch rider. I exercise a lot of horses for the barns where I ride, so I am in need of a barn that has lesson horses that are able to challenge me and teach me new things.

I am totally new to living up north, as I have lived in the South all of my life, so I feel a little out of the loop with regard to hunter/jumper barns around NYC. I know there are a TON but was wondering if anyone could recommend any to me that are close to the city (Long Island acceptable), have great instruction with lesson horses for an advanced rider, and go to shows.

Please help!! There is no way I can survive long without being back on a horse, so I am hoping for some great suggestions from you guys. Thanks in advance!

[joiedevie99]

Will you have a car? Where (which borough or suburb) will you be living in? How far are you willing to travel?

Also, try a search. There was a thread with quite a few in the last month or so.

[In_The_Gate]

I’m in a very similar situation and I’ve been riding with Leah Epstein here: http://www.ithilienstables.com/

It’s a smaller barn and Leah is wonderful. She has a great group of young adult riders from in NYC and people often carpool out so if you don’t have a car and are coming from NYC I’m sure you can find someone to go with.

[tnhorse]

joiedevie99 - I won’t have a car unfortunately, at least for the first few months I am willing to travel up to 75 minutes away for the right situation, but would prefer under an hour away. I will be living in Murray Hill. Thanks!

In the Gate - awesome!! that sounds like a great possibility, and I like that they do carpools from NYC - definitely a huge help for me! thank you!

[french_fry]

There are a lot of threads about this, but here’s a quick riding in NYC primer:

• You aren’t going to find a barn with school horses that jump above 2’6 and, depending on the barn, the schoolies may not have their changes/be show-quality. Many barns will offer part leases, especially to their city riders.
• Don’t bother with any of the barns that are located within the boroughs (Kensington, Jamaica Bay, Bronx Equestrian Center, Riverdale.) They either don’t have what you need (i.e. no jumping) or the horse care is horrifying.
• There is only one barn (Knoll Farm on Long Island) in the tristate that I would consider directly accessible via public transit (in that the train station is right across the street) but for many barns you can take a bus/train to the nearest station and then take a cab to/from the barn. A couple of barns that are within a ten or so minute walk from the train or bus are Bergen Equestrian Center, Garrett Mountain and Essex Equestrian Center. I’m not sure I’d recommend any of these barns, though Bergen is recently renovated and beautiful.
• A Zipcar carpool can work out great for multiple city riders (particularly if you take a group lesson) but you will have to find a way to get to/from the barn until you get established in a carpool situation.
• The LIRR and Metro North are insanely expensive and the average round trip train ticket is going to cost between $20 and $30. The NJT is much less expensive, maybe about $10 round trip on average.
• On Long Island I’d say the average lesson price is $75-100 for a 30 or 45 minute private, New Jersey is a little less expensive at about $50-75. I haven’t seriously checked out Westchester (Zephyr, Boulder Brook, Fox Hill, etc.) so I’m not sure of pricing.
• Many barns have several trainers operating independently out of a shared facility. Don’t just assume they’re all good; make sure to do your research. Google, COTH, show results, etc.
• If you have access to a car you can really make anything within 60 miles of the city work and your options open up exponentially.
• Everyone on COTH is going to recommend Redfield.

FWIW, since I don’t currently have a car I can’t justify buying a car just to get to the barn, but if I already had one I’d find a way to bring it so I could ride more easily.

[tnhorse]

oops - I should have done a little bit more digging before I posted this thread then…sorry about that and thanks for giving me such a great summary! My boyfriend’s family actually lives in Northport, right by Stony Hill Stables (I think that is it’s name) - but I think price wise taking into consideration all of the LIRR expenses and the expense of the lessons at that barn I’d be better sticking to somewhere in NJ.

[zakattack]

french fry - Riverdale Eq Center is under new management and has both high quality horse care and jumping lessons available. It’s not cheap though!

OP - Message me! I am also a rider living in NYC

[french_fry]

@zakattack;8131458

french fry - Riverdale Eq Center is under new management and has both high quality horse care and jumping lessons available. It’s not cheap though!

What?! Really?! Do you mind PMing me details?

[zakattack]

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