Good XC Schooling in SC?

[Sudi's Girl]

I'm in the Charleston area of SC and would like to find a good place to take my greenie for schooling. He's not done much (we've been up around Full Gallop a couple times) so I'm looking for simple, inviting and encouraging and hopefully not a ton of $ :).
Anyone have any good places they like to go??

[HandsomeBayFarm]

www.stonoriverstable.com. The Reids have a great course for greenies. A nice one-day in the fall and spring.

www.gibbesfarm.com. That is St Mathews area. Kinda close.

Otherwise, we go to Aiken. Jumping Branch, Full Gallop and Hitchcock woods.

[RunForIt]

I'd head to Lellie Ward's Paradise Farm - lovely footing, super jumps, and then there's...LELLIE! :D :cool: Aside from being the owner, Lellie is absolutely awesome with green babies, as well as green riders. Her farm is set up so that both get a safe, sane, smart start. Her water complex is really inviting and can be entered from several points. There's a baby bank, steps up... personally, I'd ask Lell to help me if I were you. You'll learn tons, so will your green pony, and you'll come away grinning.

[GBTeventing]

I'll second the Gibbes Farm. It is about 1 1/2 hrs from Charleston, easy trip though, and they have BN through Advanced ($35 XC, free to hack and school stadium). We go quite frequently. Stono is great for the real green ones ($15). The course has tad-training, but the "training" is an average novice. I don't know how much of it is real safe to school right now because one of the owners is having health trouble...why they didn't run their spring HT. Full Gallop is great, Jumping Branch has a good offering for greenies, Paradise Farm has a couple small things but most BN-P.
PM me if you want more specific info...

[eyesontheground]

Try Doodle Hill (also in St. Matthews). The owner is Mary Hughes. They used to have a super fun little schooling show in December. Their course was super friendly and they used to host lots of pony club stuff.

ETA - This was a thousand years ago so maybe Mary Hughes isn't even around anymore and the farm may belong to someone else. Still worth a little investigation because they have lots of fun places to ride.

[GBTeventing]

Mary Hughes is still around....she was my former instructor's instructor as a kid:) I don't know if Doodle Hill is still operating but there is also Hickory Top in that area...may be the same place?? Hickory Top is also very user friendly and good for the low level schooling. They run a one-day in the spring and fall (tad-nov).

[LessonLearned]

Good lord! There are other eventers in Charleston?!?!? Who knew? :winkgrin:

As far as schooling goes. . .The Gibbes. . .The Gibbes. . .The Gibbes! What a cool place. My trainer and I were talking about taking our horses out there every other week this summer to play and hack around.

I don' t know that I would go to Stono River.

Aiken, of course, is not too far and the opportunities are endless! I am actually leaving tomorrow afternoon for a schooling weekend up there! :yes:

[Badger]

I'm going to fourth the recommendation for Gibbes Farm. The place is absolutely incredible. It's an eventer's field of dreams.

[Duramax]

Jumping Branch is amazing for greenies- some very doable and good positive questions. www.jbfarm.com

If you go to Paradise be sure that you get someone to confirm that there is water in the water jump and you'd probably want to school right after a horse trial. I went last summer and nothing had been mowed since the Feb. ht and there was no water in the water jump as was promised. :(

[FarrierPrincess]

I second Jumping Branch as a great place for babies. She has a Greenie-friendly ditch and water complex.

As far as I know Doodle Hill is still operating as I have some clients that ride over there.

Even just hacking and jumping some of the logs in Hitchcock Woods in Aiken is a great place to take a youngster. They also have much larger "Aiken" style fences there, and it is a great place to get out of the heat.


Dianne

[tx3dayeventer]

Speaking of Gibbes Farm. Is Georgia still riding? I thought she had a Prelim or Int. horse.

[CarolinaGirl]

Another eventer in Charleston!? Another vote for The Gibbes Farm from me. That said we were up there about two weeks and the water jumps were not filled. And as far as water goes they don't really have any baby banks into the water... atleast not in the big water complex. I hadn't been up there in ages so it was my first time seeing the smaller/newer water, but again there was no water in it. If you're wanting to make a weekend type trip out of it though I would hit up Aiken. Lots of places to school fairly close to each other.

[glfprncs]

Just an FYI...the water level at the dam just north of Augusta is reportedly 5' lower than it was last summer. I recently heard on the news that we may jump from a Level 2 (can water at night) to a Level 4 drought status this month, which would mean absolutely zero watering of anything. Please keep in mind when farm owners don't fill their water jumps for your schooling pleasure, that perhaps it isn't because they don't care about you, but that there may be water restrictions or if the farm uses a well, they are worried about utilizing so much water. I realize that you all need water to school water jumps, but Georgia and South Carolina has been in a serious drought situation for several years.

[WildOne]

All of the one's listed above are great. Jumping Branch is always fun and inviting for the greenies. I love going to Hitchcock wookds, it is a great xc experience for them. You can also go to Sporting Days... Definetly go to the Gibbes, not the biggest fan of PF, many of the jumps are the same.

[Sudi's Girl]

Yep! Although we're few and far between. :-) Unfortunately, all of us at our barn have major greenies, so we're not currently eventing so much as schooling and getting our feet..er..hooves wet :-)

Thanks for all the input! I can't believe we have SO many choices! :D

[Fallbrook]

Another eventer in Charleston!? Another vote for The Gibbes Farm from me. That said we were up there about two weeks and the water jumps were not filled. And as far as water goes they don't really have any baby banks into the water... atleast not in the big water complex. I hadn't been up there in ages so it was my first time seeing the smaller/newer water, but again there was no water in it. If you're wanting to make a weekend type trip out of it though I would hit up Aiken. Lots of places to school fairly close to each other.

The Gibbes 2nd water is at the end of this video - very young/green horse friendly http://web.mac.com/ratchfords/iWeb/Fallbrook%20Farm/Arod%20-%20Bonnie%20Mosser%20-%20SC.html