hi everyone - my husband and i will be moving to the Boston suburbs in 6 - 9 months from New York. i am an amateur dressage rider and own a 10 year old oldenburg mare. i’m looking for advice on dressage trainers/boarding facilities in the greater boston suburbs.
thanks!
Do you know which side of Boston? If you’re on the North Shore, your best bet may be to look in southern NH if cost is of any concern to you.
Yes, where in Boston would be very helpful. Boston proper? Cambridge? Somerville? Somewhere south of Boston? West of the city?
Commuting will be a nightmare, though in 6-9 months the tourist season will be over and things will quiet down. Even so, what can normally take a half hour to 45 minutes could take hours on a Friday especially.
I lived in Boston for 8 years and yes, traffic can be a big issue!
I can highly recommend Cindi Wylie, but she’s up in Georgetown and that may be a bit of a hike if you are right in Boston or not in a northern suburb. Has taken a lot of horses to GP including TB’s and Morgan X’s. Very nice person to boot. If you are at all interested, PM me for more details.
Do you know which suburb yet? Or which general area? There are plenty of dressage barns, but where you’ll be living/working will determine which make sense. Traffic in and out of and between suburbs can be pretty bad at rush hour, making some commutes that might look OK on a map, unreasonable in practice.
hi everyone - thanks so much for your replies. we will likely end up either on the south shore (hingham/cohasset) or west of boston in suburbs like needham, dover, newton, etc. i went and looked at cutler dressage in medfield this past week and met heather blitz who is the resident trainer since march 2013. would love to train with her but i suspect she’ll be off to europe by next year. i don’t know of much on the south shore…i went and visited longmeadow dressage in scituate and wasn’t thrilled with the facility. other than those two spots, i don’t know of anything else. my primary concern is finding the right trainer for my hot and sensitive oldenburg mare. she is not naturally loose in the back and i really need someone who is committed to classical training and skilled working with horses like mine. thanks again!
Longmeadow is actually pretty nice so if that does not float your boat then you need to go west or north of Boston. There is nothing south better than Longmeadow.
Even farther south of Longmeadow is Beland Stables in Lakeville. Gorgeous 80 acre facility, 2 barns, indoor, several outdoors, 2 recognized shows and 6 schooling shows every year. What didn’t you like about Longmeadow?
A little west of Boston is Shan Lawton in Concord at Riverfront Farm.
Can you really get any better than Heather, though? Even if your horse is in training with her for less than a year, it’ll still be good for her (and more than likely someone very capable would be left in her presence should she go to Europe). The Bills are in Stoughton, at Dry River/Water/Whatever Farm, and have excellent reputations in New England.
Take a look at the NEDA Flextime coach listings. They’re all in the New England area, many are near Boston, and if you see someone who looks appealing, you can reach out.
If you don’t think Heather Blits will have the time…Danielle Gavriluk is fantastic http://www.saltmarshfarmdressage.com/training.htm. There is also Kathy Connely in Concord http://www.connelly-hoefs.com/index.html and also Jane Hannigan.
Also… Danielle does not go to Florida in the winter - and I believe Jane also often stays up north.
Feel free to PM me. I’ved lived in Mass most of my life and own a now 13 yo Oldenburg mare who I bought as a 6yo :).
I would sell my soul to ride with Heather, even for a short time. I may try to get down that way later this year to spend some time with her while she’s so accessible.
Beland Stables is a beautiful facility, very classic New England; they host lovely shows.
Beland is nice but not really “south shore”. She said she is going to be in Hingham or Cohasset. That’s about an hour or more away.
If you like Cutler then talk with Heather about who her back up is if she goes to FL or Europe.
I grew up in that area and still have a lot of relatives in the area. Is Friar’s Gate still there? In Pembroke. Karl Mikolka started his American career there and George Williams worked with him there. Surely, with the long tradition someone took it over? If all else fails get in touch with Briggs Stable in Hanover (they used to be hunter/jumper and I know they are still there) and I’m sure they can point you to a dressage trainer.
You will love the area!
hi BigBayHanoMare - my initial impression of longmeadow was the two houses at the front of the property had stuff strewn about their lawns…just gave me an overall sense that there is not much pride in ownership. the stalls at longmeadow are small and not airy. i like my mare to be able to have a window to look out of her stall and there’s no stalls with that option. i didn’t get to meet the trainer rita brown, but spent time with the barn manager. a young woman who was nice but i thought a bit unprofessional. nothing was glaringly wrong with the place, but nothing was particularly appealing to me either.
[QUOTE=BigBayHanoMare;7013085]
Even farther south of Longmeadow is Beland Stables in Lakeville. Gorgeous 80 acre facility, 2 barns, indoor, several outdoors, 2 recognized shows and 6 schooling shows every year. What didn’t you like about Longmeadow?
A little west of Boston is Shan Lawton in Concord at Riverfront Farm.
Can you really get any better than Heather, though? Even if your horse is in training with her for less than a year, it’ll still be good for her (and more than likely someone very capable would be left in her presence should she go to Europe). The Bills are in Stoughton, at Dry River/Water/Whatever Farm, and have excellent reputations in New England.[/QUOTE]
At Longmeadow the house on the left had to replace the septic and the house on the right is being renovated…trust me, they do take great care, the just suffered a lot of damage over the winter which is why you see some of the mess in the tree areas. I wintered there because my indoor is only 60x120 and I needed more room.
Friars Gate is now a hunter jumper barn!!!
hi Bogey2 - thanks for the information on longmeadow. i appreciate your input.
[QUOTE=Bogey2;7013649]
At Longmeadow the house on the left had to replace the septic and the house on the right is being renovated…trust me, they do take great care, the just suffered a lot of damage over the winter which is why you see some of the mess in the tree areas. I wintered there because my indoor is only 60x120 and I needed more room.
Friars Gate is now a hunter jumper barn!!![/QUOTE]
I believe Helen Cast is in the area as well… My horse is at Cindi’s up in Georgetown, probably too far away, but a definite recommendation. My mare isn’t hot or sensitive, but I’ve seen her work with others who are and she was wonderful.
I think there is another thread of a similar topic with more recommendations!
My top three are for the south shore are: Patty Montana at Kyrie Brook. Beautifull facility. I have really enjoyed lessons with her. Danielle Gavriluk at Salt Marsh Farm. Wonderful trainer beautiful salt marsh location but indoor is on the smaller side. Love taking lessons with Bill Warren but he goes south for the winter. Facility is nice.
NEDA Flextime is an affordable program that allows you to take lessons with local trainers at a fraction of their typical lesson cost.
Beland Farm is a beautiful facility with recently renovated stalls, grass turnout. Two outdoor rings fenced, one indoor and land to hack out on. They have both schooling and rated shows and a busy lesson program.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
