Hunter/Jumper Scene near Portland,OR

[kbrethauer]

[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;8369956]
Rather than start rumors (flofleming, you very clearly have an agenda regarding PV), why don’t you contact Oz directly to determine the truth?

Studentforlife-- Agree with others that Cornerstone will be a great place to start. Great school horses, lease horses and a super program. They host their own local shows and attend A shows, too. Driving from SW PDX to Woodburn or even Oregon City would be a trek on weekdays due to traffic. Lionheart Training (Johanna Siefert) might be a good fit, too.[/QUOTE]

Don’t you think people should know? PV isn’t the only issue with that barn… It’s unfortunate that we don’t hold these people to better standards. There are plenty of other barns in the area that aren’t as unethical.

[flofleming]

[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;8369956]
Rather than start rumors (flofleming, you very clearly have an agenda regarding PV), why don’t you contact Oz directly to determine the truth?

Studentforlife-- Agree with others that Cornerstone will be a great place to start. Great school horses, lease horses and a super program. They host their own local shows and attend A shows, too. Driving from SW PDX to Woodburn or even Oregon City would be a trek on weekdays due to traffic. Lionheart Training (Johanna Siefert) might be a good fit, too.[/QUOTE]

Jesus, what decent person wouldn’t have an agenda with PV? I heard about that clinic from a reputable, long time H/J member of a notable training family. Clinics are public events, so I’m sure it was advertised. I’m comfortable with that being a fact.

[Thoroughbred1201]

[QUOTE=kbrethauer;8369997]
Don’t you think people should know? PV isn’t the only issue with that barn… It’s unfortunate that we don’t hold these people to better standards. There are plenty of other barns in the area that aren’t as unethical.[/QUOTE]

Yep. I agree. And unfortunately they are held up as the gold standard in Oregon. Plenty of good, ethical people around that have been mentioned, though.

[TresGauche]

Agree, TB1201.

[Calvincrowe]

Then instead of saying you “heard a rumor” say that on such and such a day PV held a clinic at Oz. That’s what I object to–the rumor mongering nature of your post. Don’t pussy foot around, be out and up front about it. I didn’t recommend Oz to the OP, nor would I as it isn’t the fit she’s looking for.

[eclipse]

Bitsa: I’m wondering if I met you at Thunderbird this summer! Were you staying in a trailer? My trainer was in her motor home next to someone that was at Riche’s farm :). And you ride a lovely chestnut?

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=eclipse;8370635]
Bitsa: I’m wondering if I met you at Thunderbird this summer! Were you staying in a trailer? My trainer was in her motor home next to someone that was at Riche’s farm :). And you ride a lovely chestnut?[/QUOTE]

Eclipse, I was not at TBird this year. (sadly!) My guess is you me one of the girls in Rich’s program (I am in the other program, Swan Training, out of the same barn. I am trying to think of who rides a chestnut with Rich, he does have some lovely horses (other than Flexible himself, of course!)

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=studentforlife;8368418]
Hi everyone in this thread! I am moving to Portland in a few weeks and was about to start a post and thought I could just ad onto this one. My needs are a bit different but in line anyway.

I’m getting my first ever grown up job (after many, many, many years in school) where I am actually going to make enough money to ride the way I want for the first time in my life (yea for me!!!). It’s in SW Portland.

I did a lot of schooling/local shows back in the day in all of the rings. I’d like to just spend a couple of months taking lessons and getting acclimated. So I’m looking for a barn that has a nice string of school horses where I can do some 3’+ which I know is super rare in lesson horses but it exists. I’d like to buy a prospect when the time is right (maybe a year or two) but I’d like to find a barn that has some good connections where I could find a nice lease if I find myself wanting to do that.

I want a barn that does some bigger rated shows because I’m very excited to have that in my future, but that does some smaller/local shows as well so I can get involved right away whether I own or not. I’d like to be somewhere that has a nice group of competitive adults, I’m 30 now, I don’t need to only compare myself to teenagers :). I’m not sure how transportation is there, so I guess I’m not sure how far I would travel. Probably not more than a 45 minute drive, but I’m not sure how many options that leaves.

I had a thought that maybe I will just start taking lessons once a week at a couple barns and try and find the place that feels right. Thanks for any help possible, I’m really excited about this next life phase![/QUOTE]

hmmmm, I don’t know of too many places that have 3 ft. school horses. There may be some just I am not familiar with them. Leases or even half leases yes, school horses is a tall order. I’d try Johanna at Lionheart, maybe Side by Side, and a few others. Google Flying Changes magazine and it has an Oregon trainer directory–I’d just call a few and if they say no, maybe ask if they know who does.

I commute from SW Portland to Wilsonville. No traffic its 24 minutes, after 3 pm weekdays it starts to get bad. Feel free to PM me good luck!

[flofleming]

[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;8370624]
Then instead of saying you “heard a rumor” say that on such and such a day PV held a clinic at Oz. That’s what I object to–the rumor mongering nature of your post. Don’t pussy foot around, be out and up front about it. I didn’t recommend Oz to the OP, nor would I as it isn’t the fit she’s looking for.[/QUOTE]

You’re misquoting me. I didn’t say I “heard a rumor”, I said I heard that they had PV for a clinic. Heard from a reputable source, and a clinic is public - not a secret. A secret would be something like, “I heard they took an inflated commission on that horse”. Different thing.

[peachy]

studentforlife - if there is particular program you are interested in, don’t hesitate to call them up and explain your situation and experience, regardless of their “school horse” situation. I was in the same boat as you when I first moved back to Portland 11 years ago (experience-wise and interest-wise).

I was moving back from a rural area and wanted to take advantage of learning from the biggest names in the area when I moved back, even though I was horseless. I called up two barns, one politely said that no, they wouldn’t be able to accommodate that. The other said sure, come on out and let’s see if you can ride. Apparently I passed the test and was able to take 3’ lessons all fall and winter on sale horses or other horses in the barn that needed to get out.

Horse ownership or lease would not have been possible for me budget-wise there (which I was upfront about) and I ended up finding something more sustainable as a long-term solution. However, it was a great experience to ride for a bit in that program and I am still super grateful for the opportunity.

[studentforlife]

Thanks Peachy (and everyone else). I’m just out of grad school so I’m certainly not loaded with extra cash but I should be able to in the next year or so. I have great flatwork (lots of dressage) but when the fences start getting over 3’ I start to loose my confidence so that’s really what I want to work on. I think the big thing is finding a barn that doesn’t need to make a ton of money off of everyone. Barns are businesses, there is nothing wrong with only servicing a clientele in a certain tax bracket, but that’s not the farm for me. That being said, I care a great deal about riding well and having excellent horsemanship skills and I really want to cultivate that, so I’m not just looking for a barn bop around. And I don’t think I will ever loose my fantasy of riding in grand prix class

[kbrethauer]

[QUOTE=studentforlife;8371482]
Thanks Peachy (and everyone else). I’m just out of grad school so I’m certainly not loaded with extra cash but I should be able to in the next year or so. I have great flatwork (lots of dressage) but when the fences start getting over 3’ I start to loose my confidence so that’s really what I want to work on. I think the big thing is finding a barn that doesn’t need to make a ton of money off of everyone. Barns are businesses, there is nothing wrong with only servicing a clientele in a certain tax bracket, but that’s not the farm for me. That being said, I care a great deal about riding well and having excellent horsemanship skills and I really want to cultivate that, so I’m not just looking for a barn bop around. And I don’t think I will ever loose my fantasy of riding in grand prix class :)[/QUOTE]

You should definitely contact Joanna S. My trainer has sold her 3 horses, all homebreds and speaks very highly of her. She would not have sold them to her if she wasn’t sure they would be taken care of. She is SUPER picky. Joanna has an up and coming program and takes great care of the animals.

[kbrethauer]

[QUOTE=Thoroughbred1201;8370030]
Yep. I agree. And unfortunately they are held up as the gold standard in Oregon. Plenty of good, ethical people around that have been mentioned, though.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Suzanne!!! Miss seeing you around! It really makes me sad that it’s business as usual there… Not cool considering the shenanigans that went on. Pretty immoral if you ask me.