My husband and I will be in Boston for the year and thus I didn’t move my horses across the country so I am looking for any opportunities to ride or take lessons in the Boston area. I am an intermediate rider with 10+ years of riding experience.
Which part of Boston are you coming from? It makes a big difference in terms of a reasonable drive. Welcome! DH and I came for three years … 15 years ago, lol. I guess Boston is our Gilligan’s Island (a three hour tour, a three hour tour), because we are pretty settled here now.
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Agree with Bip. So much depends on where you are living/working, and traffic is always going to be an issue… it is epic! Lessons can be hard to come by, but if you’re a confident intermediate rider, finding a part-lease will not be too difficult. The eventing “scene” seems to be strongest west and southwest of Boston, though there is also some on the North Shore. There are also several foxhunts (drag hunts) if you think you might want to try that. Myopia is on the North Shore, Old North Bridge and Nashoba Valley hunts are to the west, and Wentworth is in southern New Hampshire.
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Like others said, it really depends what side you are coming from. I love Boston, but the commute is awful in/around Boston, particularly during rush hour. Be prepared to spend lots of time in your car even when only going a few miles down the road! :lol:
If you can be more specific on location, I can offer a bit more insight. I am slightly east of Boston, and ride out by Groton/Littleton/Westford.
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As others have said. It depends on where you are living/working. There are opportunities in all directions, but traffic plays a large role in your choice. I LOVE the area (though I am about an hour south), there is nothing like New England IMHO.
For me: I live in Andover, 25 miles north of Boston, work in Boston, and my horse is in Ipswich on the North Shore – just up the road from the legendary Groton House Farm. I have the advantages of working 30 hours per week with a flexible schedule (no work from home though, sigh), and my employer giving a 50% discount on my public transit pass.
On days I don’t go to the barn, I take the commuter rail to the subway – about 1 1/2 hours from home to work. If I do go to the barn, it’s in the morning. I drive there (~45 minutes), and when done drive as far as Sullivan Square Orange line stop in Somerville (30 to 45 minutes), and then take the subway to work (30 minutes minimum.) So yes I spend a LOT of time commuting, whether in my car or on public transit. I go to the barn 4 or 5 times a week, 3 or 4 in the winter. I don’t think I could do this if I was working full time, or had kids.
Beowulf, I think I know what you mean, but this made me chuckle. East of Boston is seawater and some islands!
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I think you can go 45 minutes in any direction from Boston and find significant horse culture, but rush hour can double that. I work in Cambridge and mostly ride in southern NH at this point, but used to split my time between there and Hamilton; the Hamilton/Boxford/etc area still has a lot of eventing and an amazing amount of green space for hacking out.
As far as getting out to horses, I-93 to the north and I-90 to the west seem to handle traffic a little better and don’t get as awful during rush hour as I-93 south of Boston; US-1 to the north is somewhere in the middle but is the fastest path to the north shore (Hamilton etc.) horselands.
