I will be relocating to Santa Monica next fall and am working on finding a jumper friendly barn with a reasonable commute from Santa Monica to board my two horses at. Thanks in advanced!
Lived in LA 6 years. Hansen Dam is decent, but leans more hunterish with a fair amount of those trainers leaning heavy into hunters. For jumpers… George Bittar’s place (https://bittarstable.com/). His daughters ride incredibly well.
The drive from SM to barns in the Valley / beyond can be hellacious 1- 2 hours way direction. Lots of barns shut down in Calabasas/ Malibu because of the continuous fires. I wouldn’t board in Malibu /Topanga as every year there are multiple evacuation events for livestock.
Feel free to PM me for more details!
Far West Farms is in Calabasas, Balmoral has a location in West LA and also one in Malibu. If you can handle the drive to the Moorpark area you will have way more options. I spent a month in Venice last year and rode in Topanga, the drive was delightful but that jumper program is no longer active. And the fire situation in Topanga is scary.
At Hansen Dam I like Georges Bittar, Elizabeth Evans/Mischief Farm, and Amy Hess. At LAEC, I hear good things about Kim Baxter and I know people who like Mark Farndale a lot. If you’re okay going to the Hansen Dam area, Archie Cox is in Sylmar.
Lots of the “hunters/jumpers/equitation” trainers out here actually have very few or no jumpers in the barn, so definitely ask how much of their clientele is jumper-based and decide if you’re okay being one of a handful of jumper riders or if you want a jumpers-only program.
If you’re not super tied to being in Santa Monica, I’m on the east side in Los Feliz and barn commutes are very easy, with lots of options - I’m 10 min from The Paddock, 15 min from LAEC/Burbank, 20 min to the Sterckx program in Pasadena, 30 min to Hansen Dam area. Just food for thought. Feel free to PM me, too!
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My barn, First Field Farm, is in Cerritos which is a decent to horrible drive from Santa Monica depending on time of day. There are people who show only jumpers and some that dabble in them. Shows range from no show to county level to Thermal/Oaks.
I worked in Santa Monica for years so feel free to contact me about commuting or barns.
Thank you for all of your advice and input! I will PM you when the transition gets closer. Have a great rest of your year!
There are quite a few west side residents who ride at San Pascual Stables in South Pasadena. It’s just north of downtown LA. The head trainers are European and run a very successful jumper program. Lots of clinics and they do a fair amount of the shows.
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Yes, highly recommend the Sterckx program at San Pascual Stables. If I had a random windfall, I’d be there in a second.
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It looks like we are going to end up in Marina del Ray so First Field Farm seems like it wouldn’t be to outrageous of a drive?? Can you tell me a little about the stall situation, box stalls only, pens with cover, turnout available? Do they just feed cubes or do you have the option for hay? Any other insight would be great! Thank you!
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Anybody have any experience with Seahorse riding club? Seahorse vs First Field Farm?
Depending on the time of day, that will probably take anywhere from 30-60 minutes unless something really bad happens.
It (FFF) is located within a larger boarding facility. I think the barn owners want the training horses to be in box stalls. Don’t ask me why—my understanding is that you make more money off horses living in paddocks or corrals. The pens are decent-sized by local standards, 12’ (may be a bit bigger) by 36’ or more. They have shelters. Some of them get pretty messy when it rains, but there are people that bed the whole thing deeply enough that it isn’t a problem. There does seem to be a pen shortage. There is a waiting list but I’m not sure how it works.
There is a turnout set aside for the horses in stalls and then several others scattered around the property. Training includes five services a week—some combination of trainer rides and lessons. FFF will turn out (or lunge, or hand walk) on the other days, except Sunday. The only thing that happens on Sundays are riding school lessons and some lessons for training clients who can’t get there enough during the week. You can do your own turnouts, either before or after you ride, on Sundays, or whenever. The official policy for the turnouts shared with the whole facility is 15 minutes. I generally sit with the horse and am careful to ask anyone that walks by with a horse if they want the turnout. During the day during the week you can often keep them out for an hour or more.
Standard feed is alfalfa hay twice a day. I think it’s supposed to be a flake but it seems to be two per feeding. If you don’t want your horse to have alfalfa you can put what you do want them to eat in a bin in front of the stall. You can do this yourself, including messing with the hay, or you can have FFF do it. Likewise, you can feed lunch, supplements, etc. yourself, pay FFF to feed what you supply, or have FFF handle the whole thing with what they have available.
FFF has a dedicated ring with lights. You can also ride in the other arenas.
The advantage of the a la carte system is that you can pick what you want to do versus what you want to pay FFF to do. The fees for putting out feed are quite reasonable and they charge market rate for the feed.
The facility is not fancy if that is something that matters to you.
Super helpful! Thank you!
Any other boarding suggestions in that general 30-60 minute commute zone?? Good training does matter to me, fancy does not. I am on a budget as things cost a lot more down there than I’m accustomed to up in Idaho. I am very hands on and usually feed my horses their own supplements and ride/ train daily.
I can PM you some options if you like (used to live in South Bay – Manhattan, Redondo, and Hermosa over 6.5 years)
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I would greatly appreciate that! Thank you!
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I have heard great things about Seahorse from friends.
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Be prepared for a rude awakening regarding that commute. Will you be working? If not, that would make your driving time flexible to avoid the worst traffic. If you are working, make sure you can get to the barn when others will be there.
One gal I know moved her horse to Flintridge where the arenas are lit, but turns out no one else rode at night. Not a soul.
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I’ll be working after 2:00 p.m. daily so hoping that having the morning hours free will work in my favor.
Perfect!
PM’d 
