Hi! My husband just accepted a position at Walter Reed. I have two hunter/jumpers. I’ve ben riding for most of my life. I’m looking for great barn suggestions. Also, I have a bachelor’s degree and loads of animal experience. So, if anyone knows of any job openings, I’d love to chat
Lots of great options. Ease of commute will be dictated by where you live. Traffic in DC is a real thing. Do you compete? Is that important? If so, start with Rolling Acres.
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I used to. We have limited,options here. Id love to start again
Where will you be living? Montgomery County has some options outside the beltway, but if living in Northern VA, you will have other options out 66. There are plenty of good barns within an hour or so drive of Walter Reed, some closer. I live in MD and have done the drive out to VA to train and also the MD drive. Feel free to PM me!
Where are you are going to be living and what time of the day do you plan on riding? Those factors make a huge difference on which direction to head for barns in the DC area. There are a lot of great options in both MD and VA, but which make the most sense can also vary a lot depending on where you’re coming from and when.
Or you could do what I always did and make the important decision first. Find the right barn and then find a place to live. Gotta keep those priorities straight.
What level of h/j are you looking for–local shows, rated, traveling to FL for the winter? Do you want a trainer with a h/j program, or somewhere a little more mixed discipline where you can just board and do lessons as you wish?
Walter Reed is in Bethesda–are you planning on living in MD? Your commute to a barn and your husband’s commute to work would both probably be easier that way, but there are plenty of folks who live in VA and work/board in MD. How far are you willing to drive? Commute time is terrible here, so even though something doesn’t look far away, it can be a mess of a drive at peak times.
I think living in NoVA and commuting to Walter Reed would suck.
I would think it would be best to live in Montgomery County, ideally along the red line north of Walter Reed (so that when Metro starts working again (if Metro starts working again), the husband can metro into work. Meanwhile the OP will not find it too hard to drive to programs in upper Montgomery County or Howard County.
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You could live in Virginia and have your husband commute across the river to Walter Reed. You could also ask him to repeatedly stab himself in the eye with a sharp stick. He would likely find the latter more enjoyable.
Please don’t underestimate how much your DC area commute affects your daily life, and the lives of everyone else in the household. If your hours are more flexible than his, it may make sense to live close to his job and drive farther out for your regular barn fix. Look between 270 and 97 in Olney, Brookeville, Sunshine, Damascus. Rolling Acres has a good reputation, but I have no firsthand knowledge to offer.
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We will most likely be in MD as husband has to stay close for job. Ive been riding for 17 years. Id love to take lessons but they dont have to be everyday. Id love to show again as well. I wouldnt mind being at a barn with mixed disciplines. However, I’m leaning towards staying more at a hunter/jumper focused barn
I know folks who make all kinds of compromises to split the distances between the two jobs in the household, or to get kids in to a better school situation. That said, absolutely, if he’s the only one coming in with set employment, get a place closer to his work in MD. Also, as a native Marylander, its the superior choice 
While I don’t have personal experience, friends have boarded/trained at Rolling Acres–it’s definitely an A show barn, so if you’re looking for that type of program, it might be a good fit for you. I’ll admit my knowledge is better on Eventing barns on that side of DC. You can look through The Equiery, the local horse publication, for info on different boarding facilities by county–you’d want to look at Montgomery, as well as Howard counties.
What are you looking at budget-wise? Depending on where you’re coming from, board prices can be a bit of sticker shock.
I usef to live in California at a barn that was about 1200 a month for board. What do you consider a shock? Are equine jobs also on the equiery?
When I was stationed in DC, there were stables at Fort Meade. Have you checked there? They usually have a waitlist, but it would be worthwhile getting on the list right away.
They closed the stables at Ft. Meade quite a few years ago. The buildings were torn down completely.
Bummer 
Oh well. I never boarded there because the waitlist was too long. It doesn’t surprise me, though. The development pressure over the last 20 years has been so intense in that area. I boarded in Potomac, on a private farm. I also boarded near Great Falls, VA, also on a private farm. I did mostly self care at both places and it was much easier. I couldn’t afford the board at the big barns even then, lol.
Being in the military did give me access to Fort Myer, which was neat. I got to know the caisson horses and one of the officers that was in charge of the unit. I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to take the horses for trail rides in Great Falls sometimes for a little downtime.
If you’ve dealt with SoCal prices, you’ll be fine. But there are often folks moving from places with lower costs of living expecting to find full care board for like $300. I think most places are in the $700+ range for full care board at this point, depending on amenities. I think most places have indoors–it’s almost impossible here to ride through the winter without one. I’ve done it for the right training situation, but wouldn’t want to do it again, especially as this winter has been rough weather-wise.
If you decide to live in MoCo, boarding out toward Poolesville would be another option. I moved to a different part of the DC area a couple years ago, but off the top of my head, Lohman Stables, Centurion, Corgi Glen, Big Easy/Canterbury, Poplar Hill, and Jet Stone are all h/j programs out that way. (Those will range from AA circuit/goes south for the winter to regional As to mostly local shows… pick your jam.)
