Where in the world should a amatuer go?

[add_leg]

Indy is 100% doable on your budget - I know because I do it more or less! I LOVE Indy and will sing its praises.
We have a few great local trainers, but we also have clinics year round (Sharon White, Tim Bourke, the Laws, to name a few), trainers from KY who come up and teach once a month or more, HTs at the Hoosier Horse Park, plus a schooling series on the northside. If you want more competitions, people go to KY, OH, MI all the time. I ride year round with an indoor, minus the few truly awful days. As a city, I love it too. All the good amenities, great airport (is it weird to be obsessed with your city’s airport?), traffic isn’t bad at all, and if I, a longtime southerner, can live here weather-wise, truly anyone can. We have an awesome local group of eventers and it’s a huge reason Indy has become home for me. Also @SeeSpotEvent has the most beautiful badass spotty ponies you get to drool over.

Definitely more on the northside, although I think there are still some options on west and south side. For reference, I live in a far north suburb (20 miles almost exactly north of downtown) and it takes me 35 minutes to get to work downtown during rush hour, when we do that whole ‘go to work’ thing. I’m 15-ish from my barn. Most people my age range (mid 20s) don’t live in the 'burbs like I do, but I prioritized house value, barn proximity and safe neighborhood and this is where I ended up and it doesn’t bother me at all. If you want to live right in Broad Ripple (fun, lots of bars, walkable), budget would be stretched, ditto downtown.

For reference, I’ve lived in Alabama (…um), Atlanta (traffic is miserable, summers suck, expensive), Greenville, SC (getting pricier, traffic on 85 made me want to cry and die simultaneously, worse airport, I found board and lessons to be WAY out of my price range), RDU ($$, traffic, general dislike of the city) and Albuquerque, New Mexico (uh, don’t move there if you ever want to event again).

[Divine_Comedy]

I gotta say, I absolutely love PA but I don’t recommend it on a budget for both rent and board for an amateur specifically looking to event, especially year round. Unless you are looking to compete at P and above, then its the only place you CAN do it as an amateur!

I’ve lived in KY (Lexington), Dallas, Maryland (as a WS), NoVa (Middleburg) and now SE PA (Malvern/KSQ). I was competing Advanced when I moved to SE PA and I’ve currently got a horse going 2* and looking to move up to Intermediate when he’s ready.

I don’t think SE PA is going to stay in your budget for both board and rent if you’re trying to stay closer in to the mecca of eventing trainers. Further out as people said will put you quite far from your desired commute in to Philadelphia (which IS an incredible city) as well as much further away from the top trainers, who really do tend to congregate near Kennett Square and West Grove.

While you could almost certainly find less known trainers or up and coming youngsters who base themselves further out in an effort to get more of a client base with less competition, I think it could be more of a merry-go-round of trainers who are trying to make a name for themselves and end up relocating a lot. That could be frustrating for you in terms of finding consistent horse care and training. I’m not saying it’s impossible to find someone who is a ‘lifer’ in a further out region, but it’s definitely something you’ll have to look harder for.

The one financial thing Area II has as a major, major advantage over pretty much anywhere except maybe Ocala is the ability to do one days, which save you probably at 50%+ on entries, plus saves vacation days if that is something you need to ration. I’ve had friends move here from other areas where you have to trailer 3+ hours to every event and stable and do hotel and their eyes bug out of their head when they realize that all you do is pay for the entry to most events.

Living in Lexington KY would let you do the same to KHP events (multiple days usually and I do believe they charge a per day trailer in fee though), but your rent and board combined would be lower and I think all your commute times that you want would be satisfied.

Another area that maybe hasn’t been mentioned is Frederick, MD. While you won’t have a big city within 30 minutes, you do have DC and Baltimore within an hour. That area of MD has a BUNCH of trainers who are geniuses at creating a fun barn family atmosphere, there’s Loch Moy right there which does a ton of stuff throughout the winter on all-weather surfaces. You’re within shouting distance of Seneca and Waredaca as well and Morven Park is just a 30 minute hop across the river. Although I don’t know the cost of rents in that area, I think board is definitely less than what you’d pay in Chester Count (SE PA) or NoVa (Middleburg area, anyways). Just another area to look into.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

DC—I was suggesting parts of SE PA since they said they work for Amazon…so many of those bigger centers are already well out of Philly…like in Newark Delaware or Lancaster. (I would pick DE). Both which you can live in affordable areas to board and live and not have a bad commute. If going all the way into Philly…forget it. Commute sucks. IME…Commute is bad in Frederick too but I think it really depends where and when…and honestly…I’ve sat in horrible traffic going into Columbia SC…I think in a lot of places it really depends on the time of day.

[JER]

I’ve lived at some point in some of the places mentioned here. Did not like Aiken or Southern Pines as a place to live - I’m just singling those out as horsey hotspots and I also didn’t like the DC metro area at all.

Lexington KY is hands down the best place to keep horses and compete and have a life. It’s a very easy place to live and also a very easy place to leave as there are three airports close by. It’s also a great place if you’re an outdoors person as well as a horse person.

Indianapolis is actually pretty good too for horse stuff although it’s not a place I’d want to live.

[TBEventer439]

Curious why you’re unhappy in Charlotte? Asking because I moved down here from NJ as a teenager and HATED it here at first, but I love living in Charlotte now (been in the area close to 20 years). I actually think it’s a fantastic place to live as an eventer. While Charlotte itself is not exactly an eventing epicenter, we have TONS of show venues in the general region that are easily driveable. I have a fantastic trainer and group of eventer friends in Charlotte, and we compete regularly in Aiken, Southern Pines, and Tryon. Virginia, Pine Top, and even FL/TN have shows that are within driving distance as well. Plus some nice local places to school nearby. I’m actually in the market for a new horse now and have been down to Aiken and out to Tryon for the day to look. Lots of nice horses for sale in this area, IMHO.

My husband and I also have an active social life outside of horses, and I love living close to a safe, clean city and having access to good restaurants / music / culture etc. Love that the mountains and the beach are relatively close as well.

Very best of luck to you wherever you end up, but perhaps reconsider Charlotte!

[Divine_Comedy]

@bornfreenowexpensive, totally agree that ultimately OP will have to sacrifice something on their wishlist because making it all happen within 30 minutes of a big metropolitan area is really not doable. The fulfillment centers themselves she’ll just need to check their locations in the suggested areas to see what commute times to living and the barn would be and then also decide if it is too far away from visiting the city.

[mychestnutvalentine]

I am located in Northern IL, western suburbs. Eventing is disappearing. However, there are several barns for board that are $500-$800.
Rent wise, I pay under 1k.
I wouldn’t buy here. Taxes are crazy.

[JustTheTicket]

You’re going to have a reallllllly hard time finding a place to rent in a decent sized city for $800, unless you’re ok with lots of roommates or you’re ok with living in a questionable place. I used to live in Indy, and I was paying at least $1000 in rent, and in Chicago you’ll be living in a cardboard box for $800/ month.

Chicago and Indy both have winters that can be tough (especially Chicago), so don’t count on year round riding if you don’t have access to an indoor.

[Pennywell_Bay]

Being from East Coast- Indy is def more in your price range, especially the south side of Indy. Someone said the North Side- yeah- that’s funny. It’s like the Main Line in PA- not for average wage earner with a horse.

[MegBackInSaddle]

I just want to say, as someone married to the (Canadian) military, I adore all of the thoughtful and thorough assessments of locations! We haven’t yet ever spun the globe and figured out where we might want to live on purpose, but you can bet your asses I’ll be asking on COTH when we get there. Only we’ll need airports (small, private aviation), too, and for now, the US is a distant second to Canada (I’m dual, and he’s Canadian).

Love this forum. For every idiot and troll, there are at least 27 people giving thoughtful feedback from an incredible diversity of experience. Carry on, COTHers. This is one place where I feel like it’s possible to be pretty “normal” (whatever that means; functional adult member of society?) and a horseperson.

[add_leg]

@Pennywell Bay

Being from East Coast- Indy is def more in your price range, especially the south side of Indy. Someone said the North Side- yeah- that’s funny. It’s like the Main Line in PA- not for average wage earner with a horse.

Maybe not Carmel or Zionsville, but 86th-96th/Nora, Westfield, Noblesville, Fishers are all affordable (I live in one of them, am on a similar budget as OP and have a horse). Certainly they each have pricier neighborhoods, but they have as many or more affordable ones too.

[ksbadger]

I wouldn’t rule out Central Florida in Northern Lake or Marion Counties. It definitely has year round shows & riding and basic board is around $600 away from the BNR yards. Don’t forget that such is the weather & climate, you do not need a barn with an indoor so costs are lower. Many local shows reward their volunteers with vouchers so it’s relatively easy to subsidize if not eliminate your schooling costs. We own our own home but a quick check shows reasonable accommodation for $1000 and Florida has no State Income Tax. IIRC Amazon has several major depots in the area.

[GraceLikeRain]

@Bridgespo

ya I figured Florida wouldn’t be totally feasible. I’ll look into Alpharetta though. Greenville is a nice area, that budget wise I can make work— not sure if I can find the trainers though.

It is a small facility that’s a diamond in the rough.

Just one perspective: Having lived in both I wouldn’t recommend either for eventing.

Alpharetta certainly has eventing community but it really is mostly H/J. If you have a truck and trailer, it definitely is more feasible to access cross country but a lot of the larger barns are getting squeezed out. The traffic in Atlanta makes Charlotte look like nothing so I’d really research what a commute would look like from house to work to farm at 5 PM. A fair number of people that I know commute a hour one way without traffic to get to a true eventing barn.

The “Greenville” fulfillment center is actually just north of the city of Spartanburg. If you live in Greenville and commute to Spartanburg you take 85, which is a 35-60 minute drive depending on the time of day. For eventing community there are a handful of options in Traveler’s Rest but the bulk are in Campobello and much further north. The triangle from Greenville to Spartanburg to Landrum on a daily basis could easily be 3 hours on the road. Living in Boiling Springs could be very viable but it may be a really abrupt transition from the culture and amenities of Charlotte.

A lot of the eventing barns I’ve identified over the past four years are east towards Mill Spring and Green Creek. As a point of reference, the Tryon Equestrian Center (which is actually Mill Spring) is over a hour from Greenville without traffic and 40 minutes from Spartanburg. The Upstate SC/Tryon horse community really is phenomenal for those who can afford their 7-figure private farm and independently employed people who can live up in horse country and not worry about commuting. I would guess the median age at events and clinics is mid 50s+. There arent a ton of horse people in their 20s and 30s unless they are very independently wealthy or work in the horse industry. For those of us working a standard job and want to live somewhat close to resources, commuting to horse country is committing to a lot of time on the road.

[KateDB]

Not sure what type of Amazon facility you would move to but there is an Amazon facility in Clear Brook Va. There are plenty of event trainers, including Sharon White, Tim Bourke and others nearby and since you are further west, costs are definitely lower. You probably couldn’t afford to board at the upper level event barns, but there are lots of mid-level event barns.