Update: Stable Hunting

  As many of you know already, I've been looking for a stable to ride at for a while now. I've been searching for many months looking for a stable that offers hunter/jumper lessons while still being a serious and professional barn. Living in Ontario, Canada, you would think this would be an easy task since the hunter/jumper discipline seems to be the most popular. However most of them (at least around where I live) are aimed towards beginners which means they aren't offering me what I am looking for.

  Then in December, I found 3 potential stables...

  I was so happy to have found 3 stables to choose from. Sure I might need to drive a little over an hour to get to them, but if that's what I need to do to start riding again that's fine by me. I started looking into all three stables and tried to figure out which one would be the best for me. The one that really caught my eye had a beautiful facility (ideal for pictures to post here) and it had a small team.

  We drove out to visit the stable to see just how far away it was and to see what it actually looked like. We also planned on walking through the barn to see if we could talk to any of the staff. When we got there, the stable facility looked just as beautiful as the pictures. All of the paddock fences had rounded corners and the layout of the paddocks, riding area and stable were well planned out. You could tell a lot of thought was put into this place to accommodate the horse and rider. The strange thing was, it seemed like no one was there. There weren't any horses out in the paddocks and there weren't any parked cars. Because of that, we decided that maybe this was a barn that flew south to Florida in the winter. So we turned around and drove away.

  When January came around and work had slowed down after the holidays, I emailed that same barn to see if I could arrange a tour instead of just showing up. I emailed that message the first week of January and I have yet to receive a reply.

  Now with Feburary here, I'm going to try contacting them again and see. Maybe they'll answer their phone. I'm also thinking of contacting the other two stables anyway and see what they have to offer me. I want to find a stable that can challenge me as a rider and that does not move south during the winter, which is quickly becoming almost impossible to find.

  On top of all of this, there is a high chance I will be moving in June or July. This makes me wonder if I should just hold out until the summer or start riding now. I'm not too sure what I am going to do.

  If you have any opinions or suggestions, let me know. I'd love to hear what you think of all of this.

  Until next time, happy riding!