Trainer in South (pref. West) FL?

[Derby_Darlinggg]

I am making the move to South Florida next month and am wondering if someone can give me some names of reputable trainers in or around the area.

I will be in the greater Naples area (West coast) but would be willing to travel up to an hour or two for a trainer and barn that suits me best.

I am a amateur that competes in hunters only for now, own a young but fancy horse, and (in the process of purchasing!) my own facility with an arena.

I love having that barn family dynamic at shows.

I like to show at bigger local venues and an A show every other month or so. I would love a trainer that travels to places like Tryon and Middleburg for a week and makes a week or two appearance at WEF in the winter.

I have tried to look up some local area barns but there does not seem to be any that have the show schedule/training agenda I am looking for-- either local level, with say one A show a year if that or (east coast trainers) that are on the road at A shows around the country every weekend.

Is there any in-between down there?? With WEF so close I thought I would have an easier time finding the right trainer/barn than this… Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[findeight]

Can you go as far as Tampa? I think there’s a few mid sized operations between Tampa and Ft Myers, names escape me though…if they are still there.

[mroades]

I just moved to Bradenton, but I think that’s a hike from Naples. I will ask around to see who’s down that way.

[BostonHJ]

Fox Lea Farm hosts a good number of shows about an hour and a half north of Naples and definitely attracts everyone in the immediate area. You could reach out to them to see who their clientele is from Naples - it’s been a long time since I’ve lived there so I can’t think of anyone offhand closer than Brandenton, but if you have names to yes/no, you may get more input.

Anne Pennington is the one name I’m familiar with in the area (Ft Myers). I’m not sure how active she still is in running a show program, but she has her big R and would be someone who could likely steer you in the right direction if it’s not her.

[mroades]

I went to a Fox Lea show and I feel like there were some decent barns from Ft Meyers area.

[Ladyjumprz]

There are several really good barns/trainers in the area you are looking, and a lot of them do exactly what you are looking for – show locally in the winter/spring/fall, then head to Tryon, Kentucky, Lake Placid, etc in the summer. Here is a list of some (I live in Sarasota, ride with Fairwin Farm; we compete at WEF, VET (Fox Lea Farm’s winter circuit), Tryon, Kentucky, Fox Lea Farm, and various finals depending on what our group qualifies for):
In Naples:
Dresden Manor Farm, Kris and Mandy Killam https://www.facebook.com/DresdenManorFarm/
Steve Di Carlo http://hstrial-stevedicarlo.homestead.com/about.html
In Ft Myers:
Anne Pennington http://penningtonfarms.com/
Carol Wilson https://www.facebook.com/carole.wilson.5/about?lst=100002768079425%3A1421260769%3A1503799977
In Sarasota:
Shanon Bejarano Fairwin Farm https://www.fairwinfarm.com/
In Bradenton:
Kris Di Carlo Equestrian https://www.facebook.com/KrisDiCarloEquestrian/?pnref=lhc

You can also check the Fox Lea Farm website for a list of stables in the area www.foxleafarm.com, and if you come to one of the shows, you can see pretty much all of them in action!

[Ladyjumprz]

I live in Sarasota, Florida, and there are LOTS of great trainers/barns in this area that do exactly what you would like!

Here are a few:
In Naples:
Dresden Manor Farms, Kris Killam
Benchmark Equestrian, Steve Di Carlo
In Ft Myers:
Pennington Farms, Anne Pennington
In Sarasota:
Fairwin Farm, Shanon Bejarano
Kris Di Carlo Equestrian

You can also go to the website at Fox Lea Farm, a really nice local show facility in Venice, and they have a list of facilities. And if you attend one of the upcoming Fox Lea “A” shows you can watch them all in action, and meet them all!

I ride with Fairwin in Sarasota…we compete at Fox Lea here locally, including the Venice Equestrian Tour Winter Circuit, the Central Florida Hunter Jumper Association shows in Tampa, and a few weeks of WEF. We also do a couple of weeks of Tryon in the spring, summer and fall, and spend a couple of weeks in Kentucky in the summer. Depending on our crop of kids, Shanon will do several of the finals as well.

Good luck - send me a note if you want to meet in person I’ll look forward to seeing you at the shows!