# Best US State to live in for english riding?



## petitepyromaniac (Oct 12, 2010)

Weird question, I know. But where I live, the english community is TINY. I'd love to live in a state where there are OPTIONS, you know?

Obviously the answers will vary, but what's your opinion?

Thanks!

P.S. I'm particularly interested in dressage and eventing, if that sways your opinion 

P.P.S. Sorry if this post is incredibly boring to those who don't live in the states... Country/city recommendations work too though!!!


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Well, most people in Caly ride english. English in the majority of the areas, my area it is mainly western but every other city I have been to was english. And a few looked down on western people!


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## petitepyromaniac (Oct 12, 2010)

Aw, that's sad. No one should be looked down on! I respect both riding styles. 

Everyone is welcome to post where they would go for western riding, as well as any other kind of riding style! Just make sure to post which style when you post which state!


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## clavoie (Mar 27, 2012)

I am from CT and the majority of barns were mainly english IMO. There are also english shows almost every weekend. I also found most tack shops were more geared towards the english rider.

I have recently moved to NC and when I mention to other riders I have never ridden western they look at me like I am from another planet. I also have a hard time find any english tack here!!! I did recently go to the FORK FARM and got to watch some show jumping and eventing which made me feel at home!

And for the record...I have had the pleasure to to some western riding these past few weeks!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Virginia


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

You will find that most of the Eastern coastal states are heavy English, especially NY, MD, VA and FL


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

What Iride said, plus, NJ, and CT. Pretty much any of the east coast states are going to be primarily English disciplines.


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## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

VA does have a good population of English riders, especially northern VA. I lived in Middleburg/Upperville in Loudoun County and can tell you that unless you help out on a cattle farm, most everyone rides English. But even then, some still ride English for that too. 
Upperville is also home to one of the oldest horse shows in America as well as being a popular place for some big time H/J shows. I’ve spent many a weekend watching the big time folks doing the courses. It is also in close proximity to some of the best steeplechase races around.
Most people think tailgating is a “football” thing…. They got nuthin’ on the weekend tailgate parties among the steeplechase world!

Western NC, particularly the Tryon/Polk County or south of Asheville NC and the adjacent area just into SC are really into Dressage and eventing. I lived there too and traveled all over in NC for shows and found most of that state has really big pockets of what you are looking for along with some terrific riding weather. 

PA- I live on the western side, but not in the big city. Out here no one rides English. I have to drive for hours just to find a tack store that has even one English saddle. 
Aiken GA also has a good English (and driving) population, as does FL. Many of the English stables in New England winter over down in FL.

In my observations, it seems that in the eastern states the English groups are more towards the financially affluent areas and the Western riding groups are more towards the in-betweens.


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## TimberRidgeRanch (Mar 6, 2012)

I would say pretty much any state EAST of VA lol Up here in NH its pretty much Hunter jumpers and such with a few western barns making a come back. CT and PA pretty strong in English riding.

TRR


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Timber, the only thing _east_ of Virginia is the ocean. :wink:


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## Ink (Sep 25, 2009)

I wouldn't say ANY of the eastern states. Tennessee (at least where I am) is primarily western and saddle-seat. You'll get a handful of hunter barns scattered here and there mostly closer to the larger cities, but options for the most part are quite limited. 

Florida is where I've seen the highest concentration of dressage/eventer type barns, especially if you're wanting to compete at the higher levels. I think a lot of the big name trainers winter down there.


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## HagonNag (Jul 17, 2010)

You are going to find both disciplines wherever you go. Rural areas where horses are used for working will have more Western....trail riding, rodeos, cutting and reining. More urban areas where people use horses for fun, relaxation and competition will tend to lean toward English. And the East Coast falls into the Urban/English area. Florida has PalmBeach/Boca Raton where every winter SERIOUS dressage, hunter-jumper and polo comeptitions are held. Florida is really mixed, because you have race horses in Ocala along with English riders and yet they also have a ton of Western riders...they run a lot of cattle in Florida. Western NC has Tryon, a HUGE area for eventers, dressage, etc. SC has Aiken...Lots of serious riders in English HJ, dresssage, AND western along with race training and steeplechasing. 
If you are really serious about moving, I'd look for the location of training facilities in your discipline and then I'd take weather into consideration. In most of NC and SC you can ride year round...and there are hills for training. Florida is HOT and expensive and there's a reason people go there in the winter to train and show and avoid the summer.... New England and the NE have lots of areas...but they also have COLD winters and really high property costs which influence boarding costs. Good Luck in your search.


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## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

Yeah, I meant Aiken SC/Augusta GA area.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

HagonNag said:


> *You are going to find both disciplines wherever you go. Rural areas where horses are used for working will have more Western....trail riding, rodeos, cutting and reining. *More urban areas where people use horses for fun, relaxation and competition will tend to lean toward English. And the East Coast falls into the Urban/English area. Florida has PalmBeach/Boca Raton where every winter SERIOUS dressage, hunter-jumper and polo comeptitions are held. Florida is really mixed, because you have race horses in Ocala along with English riders and yet they also have a ton of Western riders...they run a lot of cattle in Florida. Western NC has Tryon, a HUGE area for eventers, dressage, etc. SC has Aiken...Lots of serious riders in English HJ, dresssage, AND western along with race training and steeplechasing.
> If you are really serious about moving, I'd look for the location of training facilities in your discipline and then I'd take weather into consideration. In most of NC and SC you can ride year round...and there are hills for training. Florida is HOT and expensive and there's a reason people go there in the winter to train and show and avoid the summer.... New England and the NE have lots of areas...but they also have COLD winters and really high property costs which influence boarding costs. Good Luck in your search.


Definitely NOT true in VA and MD. I am very hard pressed to find a barn where I can even ride western within a reasonable (40 minute) distance from my house. HUGEly english. In Loudoun county-deep pockets are pretty much necessary too, I have found. Pretty pricey. (But then it IS the number one richest county, which is probably part of the reason.......)


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Ink said:


> I* wouldn't say ANY of the eastern states*. Tennessee (at least where I am) is primarily western and saddle-seat. You'll get a handful of hunter barns scattered here and there mostly closer to the larger cities, but options for the most part are quite limited.
> 
> Florida is where I've seen the highest concentration of dressage/eventer type barns, especially if you're wanting to compete at the higher levels. I think a lot of the big name trainers winter down there.


Wrong. I live in NY and VA, used to live in MD. All pretty heavily english. VA and MD more than NY. 

FLorida has many big name trainers of many disciplines, sort of like Arizona. Weather attracts them.


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## dirtroadangel (Jan 24, 2012)

franknbeans said:


> Wrong. I live in NY and VA, used to live in MD. All pretty heavily english. VA and MD more than NY.
> 
> FLorida has many big name trainers of many disciplines, sort of like Arizona. Weather attracts them.


I agree Fl. you can find anything.
Where I live is cattle countty not so much dressage in those areas. 
We just need more gaited horse trainers.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

10 years ago I would never have mentioned AR, but MAN things are progressing!
Especially in NW AR. I have several family friends who event and do dressage, one friends daughter is actually competing to go into the olympics. I think it's due to all the great OT TB's available and the influx of culture due to people moving here from all around the world.
My trainer in particular just put in a HUGE XC course and trains dressage at the UofA. I (20 years ago) was pretty odd riding the trails english around here! I ordered all my tack back then but now we have a couple really nice english tack shops. 
So in AR you get several options PLUS the amazing trails.


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## Ink (Sep 25, 2009)

franknbeans said:


> Wrong. I live in NY and VA, used to live in MD. All pretty heavily english. VA and MD more than NY.
> 
> FLorida has many big name trainers of many disciplines, sort of like Arizona. Weather attracts them.


LOL perhaps I should have said all not any. That's what I meant. Someone else said you could go to any of the eastern states and find mostly English, but that's not the case where I live.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I don't consider TN an east coast state, even though it abuts VA's lower western corner. It's a_ southern_ state, not east coast. :wink:


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## Ink (Sep 25, 2009)

Hmm, my brain didn't process the coast part of that statement. I would consider us an eastern state as I would any state east of the Mississippi river, but definitely not coastal. Sorry lol.


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## HagonNag (Jul 17, 2010)

franknbeans said:


> Definitely NOT true in VA and MD. I am very hard pressed to find a barn where I can even ride western within a reasonable (40 minute) distance from my house. HUGEly english. In Loudoun county-deep pockets are pretty much necessary too, I have found. Pretty pricey. (But then it IS the number one richest county, which is probably part of the reason.......)


My bad. I didn't mention Virginia and Maryland because I just sort of assumed that everyone was already aware that they are hunt country and BIG centers for English riding. (See what happens when you assume?) I never think of them as rural, either, although they do have really rural areas - esp. Western Virginia. Mostly I see those states as pricey suburbs for Washington, Baltimore, Richmond, etc. so it can also be a pretty pricey place to live.

We have done Hunter-Pace at Tryon, NC when they opened it to non-members for the occasion. We competed in the trail division and got a lot of strange looks. I use endurance tack and my husband uses Western. We went with a lot of western friends and were definitely objects of curiosity. They do a LOT of event training there.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Hag, there are plenty of rural areas in VA. It's only the places like Upperville, Middleburg, and the northern VA area where it's extremely pricey.

I live in the area around Lynchburg. The major industries here are beef cattle operations and crop farming. Definitely agricultural, and the housing/land prices reflect that. 

I'm getting ready to sell my 5 acre farmette and get something in the 2 to 3 acre range, and closer to work. The place I have now is mostly in pasture, partially fenced, has 3 stalls, a huge storage area for hay, and a nice stick-built house. I'm asking $120,000 for it. The place where I'm looking to move (3 acres) is $54,000. Granted, it's not fenced and the house is a modular, but it sure as heck isn't anywhere close to the prices they want in the northern areas closer to D.C. 

Plus, don't call southern Virginia 'suburbs of D.C.' Them's fightin' words!


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## HagonNag (Jul 17, 2010)

We have relatives in Lynchburg and it's beautiful there. I think of it as Western Virginia. It certainly isn't the coastal plain!


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Lynchburg is in what's known as south central Virginia, although 'officially' it's just considered part of central Virginia. :wink:


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Many places down in the Blue Ridge area are lovely, and as long (at least as far as I know) as you are not trying to buy one of the estates around Charlottesville, prices are not bad....but then-I am using NY and NOVA as a reference......:-/


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## attackships (Jan 12, 2012)

or if you want west coast you can try california. I've only lived in southern california, so i don't know much about up north. There seems to be quite a variety here. I've been to some very quality english barns in Los angeles and san diego.


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

maybe Kentucky


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

I'm in Connecticut which is very heavy into eventing and dressage, along with rest of New England. If I didn't have a job geographical reason to be in CT, I would think the Maryland or Virginia would be better bets financially. They seem equally heavy into eventing, but have far more land and it all appears to be cheaper. I love CT, but it's soooo expensive.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Puck-as has been said, both of those states have places just as pricey as connecticut. Depends upon where you are.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

English riding is spreading. I was in the military for 24 years and hit states on all coasts; grew up in Connecticut. Wisonsin was a mix of english and western..geared more towards hunters and all around horses. Oregon was western..I didn/t een riude the two years I was there as I couldn't find an english barn...that was in the late 80s. Louisiana ws also sparse (92-99) for english and that was definitely geared for hunters. Virginia is heavy english as is Maryland where I live now. Connecticut of course and New Jersey are also heavy english. Other states, Florida, is a heavy dressage area, GA is coming up more eventing and english due to the olympics being in Conyers that one year.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

I did spend some time in GA when the olympics were there. While the horse park in Conyers is nice, it's way too freakin' hot and humid to ride there most of the year. I personally would stay further up the coast for weather alone.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

A friend of mine moved to Conyers from Louisiana. We used to take her horses out on the cross country course (couldn't jump the jumps as it was restricted) as a really long trail ride. As for the heat, it is all relative. I rode in Louisiana for 6 of my 7 years there. Granted, the first summer was nearly impossible for anything, let alone riding, but, by year 3, riding in 100 degree heat with heat indices in the 110s was normal. Granted we were careful but the horses down there are used to those temps. When I transferred up to Virginia I was never warm for the 4 years I was there..it took forever for my northerner blood to thicken up again


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## petitepyromaniac (Oct 12, 2010)

I love you guys 

Thanks for all of these answers! Horse Forum is the best!


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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

petitepyromaniac said:


> Country/city recommendations work too though!!!


England


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## Almond Joy (Dec 4, 2011)

Connecticut, Connecticut, Connecticut. There are english barns EVERYWHERE, and plenty of tack shops and other horse services. There are also so many shows its insane.
Me, riding western, this is not a good location to ride at! Haha. The only barn I've found that teaches Western lessons has over 20 lesson horses, 3 of them doing western.


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## dirtroadangel (Jan 24, 2012)

Almond Joy said:


> Connecticut, Connecticut, Connecticut. There are english barns EVERYWHERE, and plenty of tack shops and other horse services. There are also so many shows its insane.
> Me, riding western, this is not a good location to ride at! Haha. The only barn I've found that teaches Western lessons has over 20 lesson horses, 3 of them doing western.


I do love Ct. having grown up in Waterford overlooking Niantic Bay.. Ohhh that Fall weather...

It's just so expensive....
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

what about Maryland


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## Thyme (Sep 4, 2010)

Skagit County WA has a few english stables with some really pricey ones like 1500.00 a month board for one horse. . . . .

There are also a lot south in WA like Amy Tryon's stable (RIP Amy).


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## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

Well, I live in NY, and from what I've seen it's primarily English but I wouldn't say it's the BEST state for English riding :lol:.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

dirtroadangel said:


> I do love Ct. having grown up in Waterford overlooking Niantic Bay.. Ohhh that Fall weather...
> 
> It's just so expensive....
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I grew up in Bristol, boarded in Farmington not too far from the polo grounds. Learned to ride at Shallowbrook Equestrian Center in Somers.

Still have some family in Bristol and Southington but I haven't been "home" in 9 years now.

Is the show for Child and Family Services; show was called Children's Services Horse Show, still held every year? That was always the largest show in the Spring and normally took place over Mother's Day weekend at the Farmington Polo grounds.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

tlkng1 said:


> I grew up in Bristol, boarded in Farmington not too far from the polo grounds. Learned to ride at Shallowbrook Equestrian Center in Somers.
> 
> Still have some family in Bristol and Southington but I haven't been "home" in 9 years now.
> 
> .


How do you like Maryland compared to CT? I grew up in Stonington. I wish I still lived on that side of the state, but my job has me stuck over in the NY wanna-be side.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

I am, in Glen Burnie MD, just about 10 miles slighlty southeast of Baltimore. Its OK. The climate is a a lot like CT and the area I live in is very similar to what I grew up with in Bristol. Having been in the military for 24 years, I have now lived in MD longer than any other location for the first time since I was 18 ..it is still hard to call any place truly "home."

I have found a barn I really like...most of the time, but have seen a big change in attitudes as well. It seemed that before, when I rode in CT in the early to mid-80s, most of the horse "people" were friendly and companionable, yet asI moved form state to state during transfers_, _I saw and am seeing less of a willingness to enjoy the sport as "one" and people can be political and just plain snippy or look down on others...drives me crazy.


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