I’m considering a move to Spokane. Tell me everything I need to know about boarding, land prices, hay prices, trainers, shows, facebook groups, associations, etc.
Thanks!
Admittedly, I don’t know too much, but I’m considering moving to Seattle, and I’ve been reading up on all things WA.
I’ve heard wonderful things about Spokane Sport Horse Farm + all of their event/dressage offerings. They had adult riders camp a week after their spring HT, and it looked like it was a great time by all!
Tulip Springs host clinics and opens their XC field for schooling. 2.5 hours away from Spokane.
Stanton Farms in ID is 2 hours away, and it looks like they used to host events? I’d be curious to hear if anything is going on at the property. Looks stunning!
Here are some WA/PNW/West-centric groups that I’ve found helpful:
The best!
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There’s a thriving eventing community in the Spokane area. In addition to what tres-grey says, Rebecca Farm is not that far off in western Montana, board is cheaper in Eastern WA as is hay. Tulip Springs in Kennewick is a great place for schooling and generally opens in February, depending on weather conditions. A relatively new recognized event is in Billings, MT at Arrowhead. I don’t believe Stanton Farm is hosting any events this year.
As far as trainers, there are a few. Sarah Lawrence is in Spokane and is wonderful. In fact, I own a horse (the one in my profile) she used to own. Pulled him out of a kill pen, put some training on him and now he’s mine.
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I lived in Spokane for 11 years and left 18 months ago, at least partly because of the challenge of eventing while in Spokane. If you are from the east coast, it will be a huge shock to the system. Pretty much all events run over 3 days. There are 2 recognized events in Spokane (first and last of the season) at the same facility. The rest are going to be 5-7 hours (one way) away.
Stanton no longer hosts events, nor does Tulip Springs, but Tulip Springs allows schooling and hosts clinics and is approx. 2 hours away. There are a couple of venues in ID (Shingle Mills which is ~1 hour and Deary which is ~2 hours away) that host schooling events. In addition to the two recognized events, the local eventing venue (Spokane Sport Horse Farm) also hosts various schooling events, recognized dressage shows, and a variety of clinics.
There is a shortage of eventing trainers/coaches so XC schooling is often done in clinics with visiting instructors from the west side of the state. There are good dressage and show jumping trainers, but you are likely to have to haul to each one, or board where one is and haul to the other.
There are a good selection of boarding facilities, many with indoor arenas (necessary in winter). Prices are reasonable compared to the Seattle area. Turnout is not super common
There are currently very few schooling dressage or hunter/jumper shows (I think Gena Loper, just over the border in ID holds two of each per year).
Feel free to PM for more detailed info if interested.
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