I moved to Missouri last March from overseas right before the shutdown. We lived in New Zealand for 10 years, where I did dressage and low level showing and towed my own horse. Before that, I hilltopped with a hunt in NY and long retired from eventing, but loved hunter paces… Since Moving to Missouri, Alton, Missouri in the Ozarks, I have been looking for a horse locally since I arrived here… I don’t have any friends yet, since being a newcomer. I find that the USA is quite different than when I left it. We moved from overseas with a large newfoundland dog and a cat, and looked online to find a house, as we did not have the luxury of already being in the States Plus COVID. I may not have moved here- The reason is that there are very little English riding here, and the roads are like literal roller coasters around here I would think driving a horse trailer here would be hellish… I don’t plan to show my horse (but I will show my trainer’s horses, because she has given me the opportunity) so I am not unhappy here, as I had planned to just ride at home with any horse I bought. We bought a substantial piece of property for that reason and I do have an indoor space for winter/bugs.
I am taking lessons now in West Plains at a nice stable that does English / Western and is my speed, but we (myself and my instructor) are having issues, finding a suitable horse locally to buy. Most are all Western. I am looking for a horse for low level dressage, hunt seat, some low jumps, and riding round my farm. I am senior, so looking for a safe horse to be my best friend. I would love to connect with other riders, I don’t care what disciple they do , that may be on their own like me. I am looking for a smaller horse, and have considered gypsy vanners or haflingers as being a good option also. I am not so keen on driving, being a country bumpkin and almost killed by a tractor trailer years ago in New York, so i am not good on driving on the big highways, but my husband can drive them… Perhaps you want to trail ride but don’t want to go alone, and you have an extra horse, I would go. Plus, living in rural NZ driving on the left side, is not exactly sharpening your driving skill set. Thanks for reading. PS i have only looked at 3 horses so far since i arrived. and one of them was looked at by a 3rd party. If you are local, and looking for a trail riding partner (there are lots of horse trails here) but don’t want to go alone, I would like that very much indeed.
Having chatted with you in your other thread … 
I don’t live in your area so unfortunately can’t point you to specific resources. Others will do that.
I just want to reassure you that you are in the middle of a larger geographic region that is one of the most intensively horse-populated areas in the U.S. There are literally thousands of horses that should well suit what you describe within a reasonable drive.
As said in the other thread, not all horse people are good at making themselves known on the internet and in public spaces. But do web search for trail riding organizations, dressage organizations, and so on. Find the best local organizations, let people know what kind of horse community you are looking for, and keep networking. And, do your best to ask about trainers and get opinions, before selecting one to connect with.
Unfortunately a lot of equestrian groups are not meeting in person due to covid. It’s a little easier to ask questions quietly when people are together, but I’m sure you’ll have the chance to converse electronically or by phone. People are out riding with their organizations at shows and organized trail rides, at least.
Good luck! It may take some patience and persistent networking, but I am sure that by summer you will be well-connected, and enjoying a new horse.
Read & posted on your other thread about having a trainer scope out a horse for you.
That said, do not rule out Western-trained horses for your use.
I live in a majority Western area where the QH is King.
There is one Dressage-centric barn I know of, but my riding horse is kept at home along with my Driving mini & a decorative pony.
But I have a Dressage trainer who travels to my (personal) barn & has trained her own & clients’ horses to GP.
One client’s QH was doing 3rd Level work - starting tempi changes - when I watched trainer ride him in a clinic with a BNT from the West Coast.
That was several years ago, so I imagine he could be at least Intermediare by now.
Any of the school.horses you ride in lessons should be able to go under English tack & adapt to different(ish) aids.
You may be surprised to discover your English horse is going incognito under Western tack.
Ask your trainer about this “experiment”.
My current Dressage horse is an alleged - no papers - TWH.
He was definitely gaited when he came to me. Used exclusively for trailriding & horsecamping for 6yrs.
He now trots, and won his Intro 2 at a schooling show 2yrs ago.
If I can, I’ll attach a short video of a lesson that year.
-pls overlook trainer’s enthusiasm 
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VID_20180920_092026897
I see you are near the border of AR? I would have your trainer reach out to vets/ farriers in the STL area and see if you can find anything suitable for sale. It might be a 3 hour drive but really the highways aren’t too bad most of the time if you miss evening/ morning rush hours.
There are some nice Quarter horses who make wonderful english type mounts and plenty of people breeding them here in MO.
Check out Longmeadow Rescue Ranch. A well funded, exceptionally well run large animal division of the St. Louis Humane Society. Located in Union, MO. Here’s a link to their adoptable horses. As far as i know …All of the horses are started/restarted in English. Some are more experienced horses, some greenies. They have OTTB and ponies and everything inbetween. I’ve adopted 9 equines from them and have nothing but praise for their program and facility.
(I’ve heard that the QH Waco has become an amazing horse) https://longmeadowrescueranch.org/adopt/#MOHS2.A604319
I’m nowhere near Missouri but just enjoyed some browsing on Long Meadows’ website!
You might try looking around St. Louis or Columbia since both those areas have several English barns. I do know a rural trainer in Salem who used to be big in H/J and now restarts local horses. She does a lot of trail riding, but from memory, everything we tried at her barn could do English basics like you describe, and was an all around solid citizen. I’ll see if I still have her number, but I can at least PM a name.
Than you. I found her. She is moving out of the state
Oh, that’s really too bad. She was a great trainer. 
Are you near Steeleville, MO at all? There is a new foxhunt/farmer’s park located there and the women who run the group are excellent english riding horsewomen and very fun and friendly people. They are called Ozark Highland Hounds. They have a pretty active presence on Facebook and in addition to hunts, also host trail rides and other events for members and guests. Might be worth reaching out to them if you are within a few hours of them.
I used to live in Springfield which is a couple of hours from you and Springfield itself is very limited if you are looking for an educated trainer and correctly trained horses. There is a dressage/biomechanics clinic in Springfield in mid-January where you might audit and meet some people what might be helpful. I also recommend contacting Amanda Bailey in Jonesboro, AR also for information. PM for contact info if you like.
I live within a few hours of them. Thanks for the tip! I might just go on foot and watch
Thank you. I just read your note. I did end up buying a low cost trail chocolate palomino cute haflinger x horse and working on retraining her english, and she never did any arena work, so I have my work cut out for me.
