excited for tomorrows visit!

I have given it a lot of thought, and although I'll miss the people and horses at the barn, I can't stay with my trainer anymore and waste my money. There are a few good people at the barn that wish to find another trainer to get the school flowing healthily with students again (as most stay a year or two like me and then leave, unsatisfied with my trainer), but they are still figuring how to replace her without causing a big Hoo Ha.

Anyhow, tomorrow I am going to visit a barn that is 4 times the distance and takes 3 times the time to get there, but I am confident about it. I've gotten good feed back about it and I believe I'll actually be able to gain a lot of experience and form a good solid base in dressage there. They have good facilities and it's a lively barn with cliniques and outings. Exactly what I want. I just hope it's as great as it seems.

I will post pictures of it tomorrow. I just hope it will make a positive enough impression on my father so he thinks it's worth the extra gas. Although I prefer riding less often if need be for proper instruction. He does however understand that I can't and shouldn't waste my money on lessons with her anymore.

Good luck-hope it works out for you.

Thank you! I hope so too. :)

So I went, and silly me I forgot my camera. X( BUt it was beautiful!
This is the website for those who are curious: Écuries St-François Stables Everything is clean and neat and organized and just what I wanted! I'm so happy! The only problem is the distance. It's a 40 min drive, which my dad says he will not do 1 a week every week. So I comprimised with him that only twice a month. I can take public transit the other times. It will be long (2hours), but it's a very simple route and totally worth it!

The trainer who owns the barn is so friendly and sweet, and what I like most, is that she is very humble. She doesn't brag about her experience, although from what I've read she's trained and ridden with Grand Prix riders and judges from the states and Germany. She just admits that she loves to teach and is happy to be able to transmit all her knowledge to her students if she can. She hasn't a teaching certificate, the barn was actually initially built for her own enjoyment and training (as she competes in dressage), and then a bunch of people came to her asking her to train them. At first she said no, not being an instructor and all, but eventually she accepted to help a rider here and there, until she realized she had a passion for teaching, so she turned her private stable into a boarding/training one. I like that a lot, knowing she does this because she enjoys it and wants to teach others what she knows, not just for business purposes.

I was sold the moment I entered the place, but when she said they were going to have someone come and give a clinique on cross country in the summer, because they have a huge patch of land they are turning into a xcountry course, I almost died of happiness. My dream to do xc might just come true after all. :)

Looks nice! Hope it works out for you.

It does look nice. Good luck!

40 minute drive? I drive an hour and a half to get to work every day (on good days) The cost of affordable housing, I suppose.

Ay an hour and a half! That's a lot of driving. ;) Ya 40 min isn't that bad, but my dad is so used to driving 15min that he doesn't seem to keen on the change. Any good barn that has all the things I want is a minimum of 40-45 min, and everything else isn't all that close either, a min of 30-35.