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Member
Posts: 42
| Can you all tell me what it is like having horses in Virginia? I've been traveling through & am in love with this state!
How is it keeping horses here? Weather? Hay? Is there a lot of NBHA barrel races? Everything I need to know about keeping horses out here before I really start looking for a place!
Really love the area around the Chesapeake bay? Haven't had too much time to explore the back roads too much.
Thank you guys! |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
   
| I'm pretty sure Virginia has more horses (all disciplines) per capita than any other state?
Even though most have a preconception that Virginia is light on barrel racing (I know I did, having come from Kansas and Colorado before Virginia), nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the top horses and riders nationwide are out here in this neck of the woods. One thing is true - you might have to drive a bit further for the shows in Virginia compared to the midwest states. Virginia NBHA District 03 (I think that's the one down Chesapeake direction) is one of the best districts.
It is beautiful country. Sans the past two winters, usually mildish. There is heat and humidity in the summer, but not as bad as east of the Rockies and west of the Mississippi on either count.
Virginia grows decent hay. Some really good, some not quite as good. Pennsylvania grows great hay tho - so getting shipments from there isn't too expensive if you can't find a more local good hay. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | I would have to say that competition is stiff in Virginia. With the exception of the VA Horse Center, be ready to run small patterns in tight arenas with no warm up areas or adequate parking, much less stalls if needed. Barrel racing is growing by leaps and bounds here. Facilities just need to catch up. |
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 Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | I tried Virginia. After I tried Oklahoma. That's another story. I'm originally from Jersey. And I'm back in Jersey now. But anyway, I lived in two different places in Virginia, both down south. I know Lonely VA Barrel Racer. I used to see her at the races. Hi Lonely! I'll tell you the pros and cons. Virginia is absolutely beautiful. It is breathtaking. And the weather is perfect. You have the four seasons but they're pretty mild seasons. Not too hot, not too cold. And the land is pretty cheap. I love the old farmhouses! But I hated the hills, the rocks, and the orange dirt. I found it hard for horse-keeping. Hard on their feet; hard to build an arena; it's a mess; and even at the shows, it was hard to find a level area to lope some circles or park your trailer. All the shows were far. I personally don't like to drive. A close show was an hour-and-fifteen minutes away in VA. Today I just got back from a show here in South Jersey and it was 25 minutes away. That's what I'm talking about. I never had a problem getting hay. It was four or five dollars a bale. If they knew I was from up north, it was six dollars a bale so I'd let my husband get it. I have a Jersey accent, lol. I did have a problem finding a good farrier even though I was close to the Martinsville Horseshoeing School. The farrier situation was a nightmare and I believe the bad farriers I had was what caused sidebone in one of my horses.
What are you going to do for work? We thought we were going to kick back down there and sit on our rocking chairs on the front porch and live a less hectic life because it's so much cheaper. But even though we moved there before the economy crashed and even though my husband is a top guy in his field, it was very difficult finding work and we worked ourselves to exhaustion just trying to GET the work. I don't think we sat in our rocking chairs once, lol. We certainly didn't ride like we do up here because the other half the time we spent driving. Even foodshopping was a trip.
Where are you moving from?
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Member
Posts: 42
| Thanks Smokin!! I live in Maine currently. The competition isn't stiff here but that doesn't bither me because I usually just lope my horse through the pattern so I know I wouldn't have a chance of placing there either & that doesn't bother me. Im a waitress at a chain restaurant so my boss said it wont be too hard for me to transfer to there. |
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Location: Virginia | Smokin, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience here! Martinsville is a really tough, depressed area and has been for years. It was so dependent on the textiles industry, which is pretty much dead here in the US.
To the OP: you mentioned the Chesapeake Bay, which is anywhere along our eastern border. Not sure if you mean VA Beach, or the Eastern Shore, or along the mainland east of Richmond or Fredericksburg. All of it is nice and I think you'll find the economy is doing quite well anywhere along the mainland. Lots of barrel racing in VA is centered around Richmond and south. I live in the Shenandoah Valley in the NW corner of the state, and was running in the MD NBHA. If you are in the northern part of the state, then most of the close barrel races are MD instead of VA NBHA, but some top notch barrel racers and shows, and I could be at a show within 2 hours any weekend. Rodeo tends to be a little north, PA-NJ, so if you prefer rodeo you'll probably have to drive a little further. Good luck and I hope you make it here! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | To the OP...........Come on down, the weather is great and bring some lobster and blueberry pie!! |
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Member
Posts: 42
| hotpaints - 2015-04-27 7:38 PM
To the OP...........Come on down, the weather is great and bring some lobster and blueberry pie!!
Hahaha I was only in the south for a few days but I got back to the 45degree weather which I normally love & am freezing my buns off!
The towns I found that I really like are the ones around Roanoke & Chilhowie. |
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 Sweet Bippy
Posts: 2543
Location: West Virginia | Lots of great folks in Virginia. I live in West Virginia, but know that there are a ton of barrel racers and fast horses in those parts. The weather in VA is probably a bit different from ours, but we definetely get to experience all four seasons here.
Edited by OliviaNWitt 2015-04-28 11:18 PM
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | I live in NC and would love to hear about any barrel races near the border. around Martinsville, Danville, South Boston, to South Hill area????
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Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | Aw, Its Payday, there were lots of good things too!
HH, I lived near Roanoke.
HorseHarleys, what about Bedford? |
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Member
Posts: 42
| OliviaNWitt - 2015-04-28 11:16 PM
Lots of great folks in Virginia. I live in West Virginia, but know that there are a ton of barrel racers and fast horses in those parts. The weather in VA is probably a bit different from ours, but we definetely get to experience all four seasons here.
WV was were I had been planning on going to college 5yrs ago, didn't work out but sadly every time I've driven through there its been nighttime ?? so I havent really been able to see WV! |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | Good friends of mine moved from NJ to Boydon Va. Intially they liked it because it was so much cheaper to live there. About 3 years after they moved they couldn't stand it. Didn't care for the work ethic (or lack thereoff) or mentality of the people. They stayed about 10 years before they moved to FL. |
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Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| One thing is certain in Virginia - it is imperative that you research your area of interest for job/work availability. Where Virginia is not rich, it is very poor. The areas with good employment are Northern Virginia (where I am, the Virginia part of the DC Metro), Richmond (capital), Virginia Beach/Norfolk (military or military related), Charlottesville (UVA), and Roanoke to Blacksburg (Virginia Tech). There are some mid-sized towns/cities, but most of them are as depressed job-wise as the rest of the country.
I have a good job as an office manager that pays double what I could make anywhere but another BIG city. I choose to keep the pay and drive an extra hour to shows. Housing would be more than half of up north, so my buying power is greater this way. I know the views are stunning further west and south of me. I see it when I go to my shows. I envy anyone who has a way to live well in those areas. But, I know we would not be able to live as well in those areas so we stay, for now.
Research the job market before you pack up and move! |
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