Hello,
I am looking for an eventing focused barn within 30 minutes of Portland, ME.
I would need boarding as well as lesson horses that are capable of BN/Novice since I have a young horse
I can’t think of any places with lessons horses to event on…a couple of instructors seem to be great at finding leases though. There’s Lauren Atherton who teaches primarily at Race Me in Westbrook, but she also travels a bit. You might also look into Trio Farm, but I don’t know that they have lesson horses.
[QUOTE=TBxC;8958085]
I would need boarding as well as lesson horses that are capable of BN/Novice since I have a young horse[/QUOTE]
Are you just looking for horses capable of Novice, or do you actually want to event at Novice on school horses? I think the former is probably findable (down closer to my end of things I’d talk to Coyote Spring Farm in Lee NH, but they’re more like an hour away from you), but if you want to compete at Novice I think you’re looking at a lease.
You could reach out to Caitlin Donahue of Athena Equestrian at Windward Farm in Topsham. Google Maps says it is 34 minutes (north along the coast) from Portland, so depending on what side of Portland you are on, it may work.
She is a pony school graduate, eventer and takes impeccable care of the horses. She may have lesson horses, but I cannot say for sure. If not, she will know someone.
[QUOTE=Displaced Yankee;8959882]
You could reach out to Caitlin Donahue of Athena Equestrian at Windward Farm in Topsham. Google Maps says it is 34 minutes (north along the coast) from Portland, so depending on what side of Portland you are on, it may work.
She is a pony school graduate, eventer and takes impeccable care of the horses. She may have lesson horses, but I cannot say for sure. If not, she will know someone.[/QUOTE]
I was thinking of Caitlin, too, but didn’t know how far she was from Portland.
Thanks for the responses! I don’t necessarily need to be actually competing on said lesson horses. More or less have horses available at my level so I can continue to ride and learn while mine grows up. Not opposed to catch rides or inexperienced horses. However, I am switching from the Hunter/eq world so some of the components of eventing are newer to me.
How old is your young horse? If it’s not being ridden yet I’d consider something more like a rough board situation separate from where you’re lessoning.
[QUOTE=Displaced Yankee;8959882]
You could reach out to Caitlin Donahue of Athena Equestrian at Windward Farm in Topsham. Google Maps says it is 34 minutes (north along the coast) from Portland, so depending on what side of Portland you are on, it may work.
She is a pony school graduate, eventer and takes impeccable care of the horses. She may have lesson horses, but I cannot say for sure. If not, she will know someone.[/QUOTE]
Caitlin has lesson horses, but I do not believe any of the ones she has right now would be suitable for novice level competition. There really aren’t any eventing focused lesson programs in the area with school horses. Even Caitlin is more pony club focused than eventing around Area 1. The school horses exist mostly in the h/j programs and some dressage programs. Dark Horse in Saco may have a few lesson horses, but Julie doesn’t currently have an in house trainer.
Slightly unrelated, but I have Babette Lenna up to Brunswick to teach at a private facility with XC schooling about once a month during the summer and fall months. She is excellent, particularly with green horses and riders new to eventing.PM me with your contact information if you would be interested in knowing when she’s up in Maine!
[QUOTE=mg;8961925]
Caitlin has lesson horses, but I do not believe any of the ones she has right now would be suitable for novice level competition. There really aren’t any eventing focused lesson programs in the area with school horses. Even Caitlin is more pony club focused than eventing around Area 1. The school horses exist mostly in the h/j programs and some dressage programs. Dark Horse in Saco may have a few lesson horses, but Julie doesn’t currently have an in house trainer.
Slightly unrelated, but I have Babette Lenna up to Brunswick to teach at a private facility with XC schooling about once a month during the summer and fall months. She is excellent, particularly with green horses and riders new to eventing.PM me with your contact information if you would be interested in knowing when she’s up in Maine![/QUOTE]
Last time I reached out to Caitlin, most of her lesson horses are leased/unavailable, but that was this summer.
I board at DHEC, which is great boarding wise, but as MG said, no trainer, and no real lesson horses, since there’s no lesson program. We normally have Daryl Kinney up a few times a year, and Jane Tremlett comes out as well for Dressage lessons.
You could always try Breezy Meadows in Saco, they have a few instructors- dressage, h/j and eventing. Carissa Mallet at Gorham Equestrian Center might work as well. I think she’s primarily dressage, but I know a few eventer friends who have boarded there. You could try Amy Green at Evergreen Farm in Pownal, but her lesson horses are primarily Intro/Elementary. There is also Safe Haven Farm in Durham Maine.
RaceMe in Westbrook has a lot of Lauren Atherton’s students, but they normally have a waitlist for boarding.
I think Lauren Atherton might fit your bill, she does have students who don’t have horses, and is always looking for lease situations for them - she might not have lesson horses but I bet she would have a way to work in shared horses/rides. She’s part of the same network as me so I hear/see of her looking for leases for her students frequently. She’s fairly well regarded by my old PC instructor, who also taught LA while she was growing up.
She leased a horse of mine for a bit, it was a ‘shared’ lease arrangement where two of her students shared him. He’d always been a solid, predictable BN/N horse for me but I guess he turned into a real hothead a few months into the lease. He didn’t jive with her program and ended up being too strong for some of her younger riders, and they returned him – but they took good care of him in the interim.
If you’re still looking we’re a new boarding facility in woolwich (50 mins from Portland up the coast)(old farm, breeding Morgans) we are all sport disciplines but my mane focus is eventing. I’m working on the farms and my website. Can give you more info if interested
