He built the stone walls around the arenas himself! Elvenstar and Foxfield always had a place for every kid too, no matter their financial means. I worked there a million years ago and it was full of kids all the time riding bareback, playing terrible music, doing chores and generally having fun and being barn rats. All ages and backgrounds. They drove me bonkers 
I hope places like that survive.
Respectfully, I’d like to correct this misinformation. My daughter rode with Karen and didn’t even own a horse. We were on a tight budget and leased and, trust me, there was no kinder, supportive, generous, inventive trainer. Karen is/was a workhorse. She never stops. The pressures of running her type of operation are huge and it’s high time she stops, smells the roses, and continues to impact the quality of junior equitation through her great eye for quality, teaching and judging. She is far tougher on herself than anyone else and it’s time for her to be kind to herself, too.
[QUOTE=Soaponarope;8397459]
I don’t think she is referring to the price of hay. It is just hearsay but I remember my DD’s former trainer mentioning to me once a few years ago that she doesn’t take students unless they have a formidable string of show horses, a deep pool from which to draw the best performances. Perhaps that is no longer as doable as it once was even for the super rich? Just a thought, I have no idea if it is part of the piocture.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=MIKES MCS;8397331]
This got me too thinking maybe … some of these big name Trainers can move to the mid - west where they could run Beautiful barns for a lot less … Just saying …[/QUOTE]
Meh, I don’t know that that’s really true. Yes everything is more expensive, but people are willing to pay more. I’m from Karen’s area but moved to Midwest and was SHOCKED by the horse culture here.
A 20 acre facility in California is a full blown Equestrian Center with multiple trainers and 100+ horses. Here, I swear people expect 20 acres for their horse and 5 closest friends. If you inherited an old cow barn, you’re fine, but if not, you’re still spending a ton in mortgage and property taxes because of the shear acreage you need. Similarly, those $20 bales are often 100+ pounds and more consistent in quality than here. I don’t think wages (especially for barn staff/grooms) drop that much more out here. And while summers suck in CA, winters are hard on the property and infrastructure and (skilled labor aside) improvement costs don’t change significantly. Even the fanciest barns in California don’t need indoor arenas/insulation/heating, etc.
In California, overhead is high. But in the Midwest, people expect board and lessons to be nearly free.
I’m sure there are pockets (outside Chicago comes to mind) where people are willing to pay realistic prices. But here, people expect high quality care and facilities at the price Joe, converted cow farmer with no mortgage who grows his own low quality hay, charges.
Wait, is Foxfield closing too?!
[QUOTE=adhock;8398772]
Respectfully, I’d like to correct this misinformation. My daughter rode with Karen and didn’t even own a horse. We were on a tight budget and leased and, trust me, there was no kinder, supportive, generous, inventive trainer. Karen is/was a workhorse. She never stops. The pressures of running her type of operation are huge and it’s high time she stops, smells the roses, and continues to impact the quality of junior equitation through her great eye for quality, teaching and judging. She is far tougher on herself than anyone else and it’s time for her to be kind to herself, too.[/QUOTE]
Well said… couldn’t agree more.
[QUOTE=grandprixer;8398948]
Wait, is Foxfield closing too?![/QUOTE]
Noooooo, and neither is Elvenstar! But those are two pieces of prime property (Foxfield especially) in otherwise high ticket residential areas. Good for KH for stepping back and doing what she loves. She certainly has built a great legacy for herself. I rode for years with a trainer who shared a barn with Karen and I learned so much from just being a railbird during her lessons.
My trainer in LA County owns her own piece of property and it’s such a dream to be at a barn, while not the fanciest, that can be run the way the trainer wishes. We have a lucky and wonderful setup. Our barn could easily have been sold off for housing over the years and I’m so thankful that it has survived.
