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West Coast eventer looking to go East!

Hey all!!
I currently live over in Area VI but am looking to move east in about a year to fully pursue eventing as I’m sick of the snow and the smoke and not to mention driving 6+ hrs for ANY event has made it almost impossible to advance and be successful🤦‍♀️
Hoping for advice on the best state to live in year round that is centrally located to a lot of events & trainers? Any advice for someone coming from a much different eventing atmosphere?
Thanks in advance trying to curb some nerves about making such a huge leap in life :blush:

What is your budget? Are you thinking of buying a home, or renting/boarding?

Right now, I’d pick SC or NC. Plenty to do in the off-season, and your dollar goes so much further.

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Definitely recommend Aiken, SC or Southern Pines/ Aberdeen, NC.

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Highly recommend moving to Southern Pines NC area! Lots of great trainers-Bobby Costello, Will Faudree, Mike Plumb, Andrew McConnan, & Caitlin Romeo just to name a few, There is the Carolina Horse Park which hosts both rated and schooling shows .They do offer schooling but it’s only on certain days. A couple of local barns host schooling shows along with cross country schooling. There is the Moss Foundation a 4000 acre preserve which has cross country jumps.

Stableview and Aiken are a couple of hours away along with the Virginia Horse Center.

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Carry on a bit further east and arrive in the UK, eventing central.

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Thanks everyone!
I was looking at NC up northeast of Raleigh but all comes down to where my job will be located :slight_smile:
Was hoping that was gonna be a good place to make a home base out of !! Sure can’t wait to gallop on some green grass!!

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I’ve found that southwest NC has a lot more options than the area northeast of Raleigh, depending on how far out you go up there. Raleigh itself has plenty of trainers and resources though, so if you’re willing to do a little driving (and deal with a decent amount of road construction or traffic ) you’ll still have plenty.

A little biased… I live in Aiken. It’s awesome!!

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I’ve taught some clinics in CO and I’m so impressed by the level of dedication you west coasters have. I lived in NC for 4 years while at school, and it was pretty tough finding good trainers and competitions unless you were in Southern Pines (I was not).

I have to suggest Northern VA, MD, or southern PA. I’m in central-ish MD and can do an entire season (Morvan - Full Moon) without traveling more than 2 hours. Additionally, lots of top trainers in the area.

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Gotta agree with @DGEventing. If you can afford the Maryland/NoVA/SE PA region, the access to events and trainers is excellent. You could plan a whole season, up through Intermediate, without needing a hotel room or paying for overnight stabling.

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Forgot that Doug Payne is finishing up his farm which is in Hillsborough {?} and Holly Hudspeth is in that area too not sure exactly where.

I think she is looking an area that doesn’t have snow… :smiley:

Holly is at Equiventure in Rougemont. I thought Doug Payne was closer to Raleigh. Are you sure about Hillsborough?

According to his Instagram it’s in Rougemont.

If you’re looking for a city for job purposes, I’d recommend checking out Atlanta as well. From city center, you have:

Chattahoochee Hills — 45 mins
Poplar Place — 1.5 hours
Pine Top/Aiken — 2–2.5 hours
Tryon — 3 hours
Ocala — 5 hours
Kentucky Horse Park — 6 hours

I feel your pain. I’m from Atlanta, but I’ve spent the past 6 years in California, and I’ve griped my fair share about distance to events, lack of school show/event opportunities, lack of turnout, and a la carte boarding misbranded as “full board.” I’ve spent the past 9 months back in Atlanta thanks to a remote policy at work, and the eventing scene is every bit as good as what I remember. There are literally 34 recognized events in a 2.5 hour radius from Atlanta, and probably twice as much if you add in everyone’s schooling calendars. It does quiet down a bit July–September, but theres still roughly 2 or so recognized events a month if you choose to brave the heat.