Richmond VA Boarding?

[lightningevent]

I’m currently considering moving to Richmond to be closer to family, but I wanted to do my research about area barns before moving any farther in the process.

I own one OTTB gelding, and while my goal has long been eventing, we’ve recently been doing so well at local jumper shows that I’ve been considering switching disciplines, so I thought that the Off Course forum would be the best choice to post in. I have a trailer and am very comfortable shipping out to lessons, so I would definitely consider boarding at a facility without an in-house trainer.

There’ve been a few threads about this subject, but none have been recent, so I wanted to make a new one rather than bumping an older thread. Any recommendations?

[Legallygray86]

Feels like there is a good bit of overlap between the eventing barns and those that do the local jumper circuit, so you should be able to find somewhere that lets you do both, especially if you are mobile and can take yourself to lessons and shows. In that case it would come down more to geography and what kind of program you are or are not looking for (which goes right along with how much $$ you would like to spend).

I would love to board at Oakdale in Powhatan if it was closer to where I live - has ALL the facilities, and isn’t absurdly expensive. Hillbrook in Glen Allen also started hosting part of the local HT/CT circuit that Oakdale runs, and has a good mix of adult amateurs that run the spectrum. Still Meadows has always been over my price point but Sulu is much respected around here - that would tilt more towards H/J, Sulu also co-runs the local jumper series at Deep Run. Pine Crest is right next to Deep Run, so just hack over to the jumper shows, but not sure if that would feel like a good fit for an independent adult ammy, though they have a nice lesson program for both kids and adults in addition to boarders. And there’s always Laine Ashker down at Keystone in Chesterfield if you want that kind of serious program. There are plenty of other places, as well as a lot of private barns that could work for you but you’d have to dig to find them, but those would be my starting point to look into.