Looking for barns in Boston, Charleston SC, and Atlanta

[blonderider]

I am going on college road trips to these locations within the next few weeks/ months. I am planning on bringing my horse to college so I figured if I could get a sense of the type of barns in the areas while I am there.

Since I will be in college full time, I am looking for a barn that has a training program and most likely full care. My horse is the type to get bored easily, so a program that is creative and challenging on the flat and over fences is important.

Hopefully I will be able to go out to the barn everyday, but I know that is not reality being in college. Having great care, so I do not have to be worried about him, is extremely important.

I don’t necessarily care if the barn is an A show barn or if the barn goes to wef. It’s just important if the barn does go to wef that there is staff and a competent trainer at home.

If the commute from the cities could be kept to about or under an hour that would be great but I am will to go further for a terrific barn!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

[MagicTreehouse]

In Atlanta, it depends on what schools you’re looking at. I can offer more help if I have an idea of where you’re looking!

[blonderider]

I am looking at Emory and Georgia Tech in Atlanta. I think they are somewhat near each other.

[mroades]

I live in Charleston, I assume you are looking at CofC? There are several good barns here, but not a lot in the way of full service the way most people think of it. Send me an email and I can give you a starting list.

[juststartingout]

Same idea in Boston – what schools - in city or out

[Ponyplusaninch]

[QUOTE=blonderider;8275073]
I am looking at Emory and Georgia Tech in Atlanta. I think they are somewhat near each other.[/QUOTE]

You will easily be looking at an hour/hour and a half commute for lessons coming from that part of Atlanta, unless you can find a way to schedule classes so you can ride in the mornings or just be a weekend warrior. This is just something you’ll need to accept if you choose to ride in college in Atlanta. I also can’t speak enough about taking a semester–or even two–before throwing the horse in the mix. I didn’t have much of a choice with not having a horse for the first two semesters of college, but it gave me a chance to try a lot of different activities, socializing, sorority life, etc., before coming to the decision that yes, I do in fact absolutely want to ride and will wake up at 6AM almost every morning to get out to the barn for morning lessons in the dead of winter before coming back for a full day of classes.

I can’t speak highly enough about Jack Flowers. He’s moving from Hillmar to Terry Brown’s place–who is another person I’d recommend, if your horse is a hunter. I also like Anne Sherbourne a lot as a rider and trainer.

There are a number in the area whom I’d stay away from. You can PM me if you want those names…

[blonderider]

I am looking at Boston University and Northeastern in the city. I am also looking at Boston College a little outside the city.

[blonderider]

Pony+an inch thank you for the advice. Many of my friends already in college and graduated have given me the same, so it is something I am taking in to consideration. I am someone who currently rides at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, I just wasn’t sure that would be possible with traffic in a different city! Knowing that it is possible gives me hope that I make college riding work.

The trainers you recommended are exactly what I am looking for. Thank you.

Also what I probably should have mentioned in my first post, my horse is a equitation horse, but since I will be aging out I think I will be doing hunters on him.

[Ponyplusaninch]

[QUOTE=blonderider;8276439]
Pony+an inch thank you for the advice. Many of my friends already in college and graduated have given me the same, so it is something I am taking in to consideration. I am someone who currently rides at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, I just wasn’t sure that would be possible with traffic in a different city! Knowing that it is possible gives me hope that I make college riding work.

The trainers you recommended are exactly what I am looking for. Thank you.

Also what I probably should have mentioned in my first post, my horse is a equitation horse, but since I will be aging out I think I will be doing hunters on him.[/QUOTE]

In Atlanta, definitely! That’s the best hour you can hope to be on the highway in Atlanta. Not to mention, you’ll beat the heat in the summer/spring months. I’d say that if you were headed to the Alpharetta area from Emory (which is where there are ample barns to chose from). The traffic is most problematic if you’re driving 7AM-10AM and 3:30PM-8PM. It’s a narrow gap, I’m aware. When I took a couple gap years before starting my masters, I had to be really clever about when I rode. Thankfully college, in a way, gives you a lot more flexibility than when you’re a junior rider.

Now, a note: not a lot of barns have covered or indoor rings in the Atl area. I know Hillmar has an indoor; I know Showcase Ltd has a covered; Patchwork Farms (Janet Salem) has an indoor); I have no idea what condition New Vintage Farm is in at present. Just something to keep in mind because when winter hits the South, if the ground freezes over or snow hits, typically all businesses (including barns) aren’t well-equipped to handle it. You just have to wait until it passes.

[MagicTreehouse]

Emory’s IHSA team rides out of my barn. Even if you don’t choose to pursue IHSA, it would be fairly easy for you to find a carpool to the barn. It’s about a 45 minute drive in average weekday afternoon traffic as far as I know from Emory, and would be shorter from Tech.

I’d also recommend Janet Salem at Patchwork. I second Pony+'s recommendations of Jack Flowers and Terry Brown!

[Fig]

I second Pony+an Inch. Good advice and there are a few to stay away from.

[She_s_Pure_Gold]

Do you plan on having a car in Boston? That is neither cheap nor easy. Or are you going to rely on public transport? Your answer could influence which barns may be feasible for you to get to on a regular basis.

[APirateLooksAtForty]

Atlanta Hunt Club has a covered and is a much easier commute.

[blonderider]

Yes if I have my horse with me I will have a car. I know that it is difficult and expensive to find parking in a city, so some have recommended to spilt part of my commute to the barn by train. Then pay for parking in parking garage by the train station, and drive the rest of the way to the barn. I’m not sure if that would work in every city.

[Sheila]

blonderider, I am both a BU and Northeastern Alum. Northeastern rides at my present Barn -River Wind Farm http://www.riverwindfarm.com/#!and BU rides at Holly Hill Show Stable. Both are about an hour away by car and actually the barns are about 2 miles apart …lol. Northeastern uses Zip Cars to get to their lessons to avoid parking and the cost of a car. Both are Club teams- BU has tryouts, Northeastern is more modeled on placements rides to see how you ride to place you in your lessons etc. I am not sure where BC rides, (I should know but they recently moved) but that is also a Club Team- Just double check on the Housing at BC- many moons ago, they only offered housing 3 of your 4 years.
If you plan on the train and car route, it could be very time consuming and exhausting.
BC isn’t really outside the city- its urban but has its own campus. Northeastern and BU have “open campuses” which are accessible by the public and whose buildings are interspersed throughout its neighborhood in between other housing and stores etc. (if that makes sense)

[hj0519]

Here’s my brain dump of “Boston area” show barns for you to research further. I can’t speak to commutes (though I’m sure most are probably an hour) because I don’t live in the city, but as a student you do have an advantage over working adults because you don’t have to leave to ride at peak commuter times. If you make your class schedule so that you’re done at noon, you’ll be able to scoot out faster than a working adult leaving at 5:30.

Stoneymeade Farm (Joyce Mersereau/Sarah Tyndall)
Winter Street (Arrowhead Farm) (Kristen Bumpus)
River Wind Farm (Carl Catani)
Kingsway Farm (Tom Hern)
Woodridge Farm (Greg Prince/Cookie Desimone)
Volo Farm
Holly Hill Show Stables
Evenstride Farm (Olana Laffey)
Red Acre Farm (the Steeges)
Fair Harbour Farm
Cornerstone Farm (Monica Hunt)
Evermoor (Shane Powell)
Shining Valley (Ron Zohar)

This gets asked a lot on the forums, so if you do a search, you’ll probably be able to find some mor detailed information on some of these, or more possibilities.

[blonderider]

Thank you both for the Boston barn suggestions!

[fourfillies]

Adding Mor Linn in Walpole to the Boston list

[C_estLaVie]

[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;8277373]
Atlanta Hunt Club has a covered and is a much easier commute.[/QUOTE]

Isn’t Atlanta Hunt Club home to the Emory Equestrian Team?
I don’t know who’s on the avoid-list, but I have personally heard good things about Brad Spragg.

[Punkie]

If cost isn’t an issue and you want full care, Winter Street at Arrowhead with Kristen Bumpus would be my number one choice. It’s in Concord, right off of Rt. 2 (a major route in and out of the city). The facilities are top notch and the drive from BU or Northeastern is about 30 minutes without traffic. I lived right on the Fenway for a number of years and boarded at a farm (now private)about 5 minutes from Arrowhead. I was researching at HMS/Boston Children’s at that time and had a fairly flexible schedule, so I’d usually head out around 10, ride as many as I could fit in, hop in the shower, and then turn around and be back in the lab by 1. The times I had to go during rush hour, however, it could take me up to an hour and a half in either direction.

If you’re willing to drive a bit further out (10 or 15 miles more), Newbury Farm in Littleton would also be a great choice. I rode with Cory before he and Jean opened Newbury and I really enjoyed working with him. They run a top notch program and have had success across the board. They are at WEF all winter and I’m not sure who runs their home program, but I’d definitely check them out!

As others have mentioned, Holly Hill is home to the BU Equestrian Team and also a very well-known program that would meet your needs. My best friend has ridden with Phyllis her entire career and works closely with BUET. The only downside to their facility is that turnout is limited, so if you have a horse that requires a lot of T/O, it might not be a perfect fit. It is - as mentioned above - an hour from Boston no matter how you slice it, but if you do choose BU and ride on the team, it would certainly make getting to ride your own horse much easier!

Good luck and enjoy the search!