Where to retire to with access to great dressage trainers and barns

[Dressage8812]

We are ready to look for a place to move to that offers a few options for quality boarding and training. I am working on I1 and above and would be looking for trainers that can teach up to GP. I am also looking for boarding barns that offer high quality care and prefer a smaller set up. I know this is very difficult to find but I want to at least search for it.

We‘d prefer the country side more than a big city as long as there is some access to a city within a reasonable driving distance. One other rather important factor is the weather. I hate humidity and anyplace that gets really hot or cold. Out of the two, cold is almost preferable over immense heat.

i know I am looking for a needle in a haystack, it thought it will not hurt to ask and welcome suggestions.

[pony_baloney]

Hunterdon County, NJ. Many great dressage trainers and barns in the area. Weather, well, you get a bit of everything. NYC is just over an hour away, Philly maybe a bit less.

[dudleyc]

Dutchess county New York

[piedmontfields]

How big is the budget and how big should the nearby city be? That will determine a lot…

[Dressage59]

Alpharetta GA (just outside Atlanta), @Juliecochrandressage. Julie is awesome and very well versed in training horses and taking riders up to the higher levels.

[fancy.pants]

I don’t know anywhere on the east coast (where the majority of dressage trainers are) that doesn’t get really humid in the summer. Maybe New England, but then its really cold in the winter. What do you think about California? You might have to find your great trainer (although I would never move for a specific trainer) and deal with less than ideal weather, or go for great weather, and not have the best training.

[polkadotedpony]

In Northern California, Grass Valley/Sierra foothills could be a good option especially if you board closer to Sacramento which I think has quite a number of trainers. A little further south in Santa Rosa area is super dense with upper level trainers but much more expensive. Summers are dry heat mostly 80s-90s with the occasional day over 100 so if by “too hot” you mean Arizona or Florida it’s not bad at all. I think the places you describe exist but tend to be very expensive places to live and you don’t mention anything about finances.

[joiedevie99]

Ditto the not moving for one trainer. The turn-over is high - people moving to Wellington year-round, people heading for Europe, people taking assistant trainer jobs across the country, people being pushed further afield by urban sprawl/prices, etc.

I’m in a dressage-dense area compared to many, and I’ve had 6 (of my own trainers or assistants) relocate in the last 10 years.

[mvp]

@Dressage59

Alpharetta GA (just outside Atlanta), @Juliecochrandressage. Julie is awesome and very well versed in training horses and taking riders up to the higher levels.

Glad you like your pro and I think Alpharetta might be a pretty horsey place, but I would not move somewhere for one pro. I just like my investments to be more diversified.

[Lucassb]

@mvp

Glad you like your pro and I think Alpharetta might be a pretty horsey place, but I would not move somewhere for one pro. I just like my investments to be more diversified.

Also, as much as I love this area, it would not be somewhere I would recommend for someone who is averse to humidity. Just saying

[AZ_TD]

San Diego area, great weather and many trainers. Very expensive.

[Dutchmare433]

@fancy.pants

I don’t know anywhere on the east coast (where the majority of dressage trainers are) that doesn’t get really humid in the summer. Maybe New England, but then its really cold in the winter. What do you think about California? You might have to find your great trainer (although I would never move for a specific trainer) and deal with less than ideal weather, or go for great weather, and not have the best training.

It gets pretty miserably humid here in New England too—it’s maybe not as bad as further south which has higher heat and humidity?

[Fellbutbackup]

@AZ TD

San Diego area, great weather and many trainers. Very expensive.

This. Beautiful area with diversity. Very expensive, but not next to the rest of CA.

[AZ_TD]

@Fellbutbackup

This. Beautiful area with diversity. Very expensive, but not next to the rest of CA.

Yes, I spent 6 weeks north of Ssn Diego at a private barn near Escondido, loved it. Here is a sample of a place near by that I would love to ride at but there are many other really nice places. https://www.peridotequestrian.com

[Margaret_Freeman]

I lived in the North East for two decades. I am now in Tryon, NC. It is a great retirement area, both in terms of activities and financially. It is actually less humid here in the summer than it often was in New England – one big difference is that there are covered arenas everywhere, and they are much cooler for riding than an indoor or outdoors on sand. Having said that, Tryon is in the Blue Ridge foothills, which makes a big difference; it gets hotter and more humid in a hurry when you go south and east from here.

[TB2trk]

San Diego or Flagstaff, AZ

[Roni4444]

@piedmontfields

How big is the budget and how big should the nearby city be? That will determine a lot…

I can pay around $1500 per month boarding and about 45 minutes to an hour would work.

[sonestra]

Yeah, I used to live in Alpharetta, and the humidity actually hurt my lungs. The humidity in New Ensnd doesn’t compare to southern swamp weather.

[the_sandiest_shoes]

Yeah, NorCal if you’re not directly in the Bay Area is pretty good for training without being as insanely expensive as more inside the Bay. It gets hot in the summers, but it’s the type of climate where usually early mornings or evenings are much less hot.

The fires are making me wonder about living here long-term though.

[AZ_TD]

@TB2trk

San Diego or Flagstaff, AZ

Not much dressage in Flagstaff!