Lets talk about East TN! Johnson City area.

[tidy_rabbit]

I lived in Eastern TN about 12 years ago.
I’m thinking I’ll be living in E. TN again in the not too distant future.

What kind of vet, farrier and other jumper people are around?

I’m a little concerned about finding a good farrier in the area who shoes performance horses, specifically jumpers.

What about vet services?

Other barns in the area that go to big shows? Are there local shows around for the baby horses?

Also how is it finding barn help? I will be needing a groom there. Is there much of a pool of people willing to work at a barn?

Thanks!

[hunterrider23]

Not sure about farrier or vet but I think icon sporthorses is up there and I’ve heard good things about them.

[Kinsella]

Icon is southwest-ish of Knoxville, about an hour and a half from JC, iirc. I can ask a few people that are here in KY for the show tomorrow and get you some names. I’ll PM you the people I would avoid…

[laurelo]

I live in Johnson City now, and I’ll be upfront and tell you that there really isn’t much in the way of big, discipline-specific training barns. However, that being said, there are certainly barns that specialize in one thing or another (I’ve been at a fantastic eventing/dressage barn for 7 years now, and there are a couple of hunter places within about an hour). To my knowledge, the only real jumper barns are out closer to Knoxville. We do have one local hunter trainer that I know well enough to know that she takes her kids to a handful of A shows every year, and there may be others who travel to big shows as well (I’m not all that plugged in to the hunter/jumper world).

Luckily, if your concerns are mostly farrier/vet, then I wouldn’t worry too much We have an amazing farrier around here, Dewayne Kimberlin… he’s the only one I’d trust in the area, but he is reliable and keeps every performance horse (and plenty of redneck horses with poor hoof care) around here sound and happy. Feel free to PM me for his number! I’m actually going to be moving away within the next little bit, and my biggest concern is finding a farrier that I like as much as Dewayne!

We have one local vet practice for large animal… I think there are 6 or 7 vets that work out of it? We all have our preferences, and you’ll get different recommendations based on who you ask and how you like to treat things (Lots of $$$ upfront, but cover your bases vs. start slow and add things on as needed, etc). Again, feel free to PM me to chat about that. There are a couple of vets that can travel down here from the Bristol/Abingdon area… they’re great, but it’s a pricey trip. We are also only about 1 1/2 - 2 hours from UT in Knoxville, so any serious specialty work that you need done could be treated there.

As far as grooms/help… I would suggest Virginia Intermont College grads, but that program is going down FAST- I’d be surprised if the school is even open in a few years. There are still some grads hanging around who would probably love the job, but other than that you will probably be looking at hiring someone to move here (again, college grads come to mind), or having a working student type position if it’s a work load that would be appropriate for a high school or college student. There aren’t tons of people looking to work in the horse industry at a serious level around here.

Like I said before, feel free to PM me and I’d be happy to give you as much information as I can about NE TN!

[Unprovoked92]

Seconding Laurelo’s recommendation of Dewayne Kimberlin for farrier work. He has kept my eventers sound and happy for over 10 years and shoes all my boarders (Laurelo being one of them!) He does a number of performance horses in the area from Dressage to Hunters, Eventers and western disciplines.He is a great farrier and works well with all the local vets.

Vet wise Mountain Empire is the biggest practice. Many good vets, a few equine “specialists” (and a few self proclaimed “cow vets”). Someone is on call all the time. I have my pick for lameness/performance type issues, but emergency wise they are all great. pm me for more info. When I was at Virginia Intermont (2006 grad) I used Abington Equine for a vet…great great vet but too far away for me to be comfortable using in case of emergency. There are a few other practices but I haven’t used them so can’t comment one way or another .

Groom wise I would check with Virginia Intermont…but their financial situation is shakey at best…so not sure how much longer they will be around. Its sad, they turn out well rounded equestrians (I like to put myself in that category). I hope they can get themselves turned around.

Being a bit in the middle of nowhere we are at least close to lots of competition venues. Less than 5 hours to both Lexington Va and Ky. River Glen and Tryon (FENCE) less than 2. Local hunter shows regularly (East Tennessee Hunter Jumper Association and South West Virginia Hunter Jumper Association).

Let me know if you have any other questions. Feel free to PM me.

[tidy_rabbit]

Thank you for the replies! Anyone else out there in east TN?

Also, the winters are fairly short right? I seem to remember it being quite mild down there.

[quicksilverponies]

We used to live there and actually own another beautiful farm in the area - Jonesborough - its a bit closer to Knoxville - absolutely love it there - while it might be somewhat difficult to find great help, it can be done. I used Mountain Empire Vets for years and was very happy with them. Our farm is beautiful there, great views of the mountains, gently rolling hills and four nice seasons. We might be planning to sell some acreage if you are looking around - 10 min. from the interstate. Probably around 30 acres or so. PM me if interested.

[hunterrider23]

Not sure about winter in E. TN, but W. TN had 2 weeks of winter during christmas/january, then back to 40-50 degree whether this year until spring where it immediately shot to 80 and wavered between 200 million degrees and -2 degrees until June where it was consistently hellish outside. Somehow we manage. Never count on consistent weather in TN. In years past we’ve had incredibly long cold winters with 2ft snow, and short winters without a single flurry. Depends on the year, luck, and mother nature’s mood.

[mroades]

I have a good friend who tried to do a farm there, finally had to give up due to lack of all the thinks you mentioned…I can give you her number

[hunterrider23]

[QUOTE=mroades;7108169]
I have a good friend who tried to do a farm there, finally had to give up due to lack of all the thinks you mentioned…I can give you her number[/QUOTE]
East Tennessee truly is most devoid of H/J once you get past Knox. Closer to Knox or Nashville, it’s much better, and probably the best around Memphis, but TN isn’t exactly prime realty. Although, we do have a pretty decent location for traveling to good shows.

[quicksilverponies]

Well, we lived there off and on for over 25 yrs when my husband worked for Eastman Chemical Co. (headquartered in Kingsport). I would go back in a heartbeat -(although I love living in Charleston now!). For the most part, you do have 4 very nice seasons - yes, some years are different as in all locales - but overall the weather is very tolerable. The spring and fall foilage is absolutely gorgeous. You are within a few hours drive to many nice show venues. And you absolutely can get good to excellent vet care, farrier care, etc. I have lived in TN, MS, TX, MA, OH and SC as well as Argentina and Mexico - NE TN is by far the most beautiful and best overall weather locale. Is it a professional horse mecca?? No, but many places that are affordable are not. Real estate is becoming desirable there for the weather as well as for the cost of living. And no state income tax in TN.

[LegalEagle]

I hate to say it, but I think you will be disappointed. Of course there is bad riding and bad training everywhere but I feel like East TN has more than it’s fair share. I’ve done horses in the greater Cincy area and down here and they are worlds apart.

[DMK]

Yeah, tidy… you say Tri-Cities (and you know I know it and think it is spectacularly beautiful) and I want to ask you if you could make Tryon work. Two hours and a LIFETIME away in the h/j world!

It’s also a consideration but it’s hard on horses to live on a slope, so finding the right land can be a challenge. Do-able, but definitely limited opportunities.

[equescool]

http://www.ethja.org/index.html

You can see the show schedule above.

There is also River Glen Equestrian Park:
http://www.river-glen.com/
Northeast of Knoxville.

There is a hunt club (or maybe two, now).

Jonesborough and Greeneville, TN, are beautiful areas.

[Debi_Jaynes]

We have our horse at Icon and are very very happy with all aspects of the barn. The barn is beautiful and the care and training are simply the best. The fees are reasonable and if you are a client that is not close by, you will always get updates on your horse both at home and at shows–sometimes the minute the horse leaves the ring! Don and Craig do an excellent job.
We showed at the River Glen facility this past September and thought it great fun. A nice show with nice nice people–staff to exhibitors!
All in all, a great showing experience!

[tidy_rabbit]

[QUOTE=equescool;7255202]
http://www.ethja.org/index.html

You can see the show schedule above.

There is also River Glen Equestrian Park:
http://www.river-glen.com/
Northeast of Knoxville.

There is a hunt club (or maybe two, now).

Jonesborough and Greeneville, TN, are beautiful areas.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the info! River Glen will only be 1 & 1/2 hours from me, although it doesn’t look like they do much for Jumpers, but hopefully they’ll add more to their schedule. We have a beautiful 100 acre farm located between Greeneville and Johnson City that we are building on. We hope to be relocated by the summer of next year if not sooner.

[tidy_rabbit]

Hi all, are there any facebook groups for horse people in East TN area? I still haven’t relocated but the construction is well underway.

[europa]

Sadly to my knowledge there are no jumper type specialty barns in this area. The only two barns that I know of that go to recognized shows in this area are Journey’s End with Gretchen Tolbert and Fox Hollow.

As far a vets go there is noone with the expertise of Dr Stephen Denton. He is the best veterinarian I have ever found and I consider myself very lucky to have him.

You won’t find any local shows with anything over 3’. That being said KY isn’t too far and alot of people go to VA shows as well.

[tidy_rabbit]

If any of you are on facebook let me know via a PM. I’d like to start building a little bit of a network of horse-friends before I move. It would be nice to have a few people to connect with once I’m down there.

[chestnutmarebeware]

I must have missed this thread earlier, but welcome (soon!) to the area!

I’m in Kingsport, but board my girls in Jonesborough. I transplanted here three years ago to be closer to my dad, and have been hoping there were a few COTHers nearby!