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Lessons Upstate NY2007-11-24 21:18:21

I'm looking to start riding and need the best possible instructor. I heard riding around my neck of the woods is difficult without getting a good instructor. Where should I go? What should I do? I really want to learn...

Answers:

It's been many years since I have been to Up State NY. I don't know where you are so I don't know if this stable is close enough for you. I remember "Top of the Line" it is an English Facility in Suffern New York. I always heard good things about them. I moved from that area 20 years ago. My cousin tells me that they are still in existence.

I remember Duke's Four Quarter Ranch..a western facility. I don't know if they board and give lessons anymore but I know they have trail rides with some good trails. The two stables are practically across the road from one another. There are several stables in that area.

Greenwood Lake in NJ is still close to that area and has some nice stables. In fact I remember the entire area as having nice stables. I wish I could remember the big hunter jumper barn just north west..i think of Greenwood Lake. I remember the facility being one of the nicest I had ever seen but the name escapes me.

Call around to some big area saddle shops I am sure you will get some good recommendations.

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Look in your phone book and call or go to the local tack shop and either look on their bulletin board or hang out and talk to people as they come in and ask them for their recommendation. Or you can ask the feed guy for the location of some of the nicer barns that have the type of riding that you want to do and watch some of their lessons and see if you like the trainers teaching style.

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They have a lot of horse shows at the Empire State Fair Grounds. That would be a good place to look. You can always find the trainers running around frantically. Look for their students and see how they do. The fairgrounds are located in Syracuse. Most of the up state barns attend these shows so you are sure to find a local barn from your area.

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Where are you? Saratoga and Lake Placid host a number of very big horse shows... Its worth looking at their rosters to see what barns the contestants are from and where those barns are located. Also I believe the Madden's have a facility Upstate. I live in NYC until this Spring so I mostly know Westchester barns but I played arena polo in college at this stable called Gardnertown Polo Club in Newburgh which was fabulous. The husband is a polo player, the wife is a hunter and both are very sweet. They have quite a number of horses in three or four barns and two full sized indoors that are very lovely. They host quite a few hunter/jumper shows as well.

Someone else suggested the phone book. Old fashioned but very fun as you get to poke around a bunch of different stables and meet a lot of different people.