Colorado Springs/Fort Carson?

[tullio]

So during today's phone conversation, DH told me it is looking like the Army would like to send us to Fort Carson for about 2 years. This is a new development - thought we were headed back home (well, the east coast anyway) but I guess not quite yet. Oh well.

So while I am switching gears and looking up housing and job market info, I would love to hear from any of you about the horse scene in the area. And any other general outdoor-life information. I'm afraid I've been spoiled by the non-winters of Central Texas already. ;)

I am currently horseless. A hunter by upbringing but becoming an eventer here since it's more readily available. Looking to have my own horse(s) again in the near future but since we're still moving around, a lease situation or lesson barn would be great. Right now I have some friends with more horses than time and we all ride, do chores, travel, lesson, and show together!

Any information on barns, circuits, etc in the area would be great. Thank you all!

[dab]

I've spent some time in Co Springs on business -- Haven't really checked out the horsey scene there -- I did find out (while on a tour of the Olympic Training Center) that the US Olympic Pentathletes train at a barn in Co Springs -- Of course, I can't remember the name of the barn --

[Beasmom]

There's a very active H/J, dressage & CT community in Colorado. Check out Rocky Mountain Dressage Society, Colorado Hunter/Jumper Association and Mountain States Eventing Association websites. In the Springs, you're close to the mountains, lots of charming mountain towns, skiing, hiking, and within easy driving range of interesting historical and archaeological sites.

Winters here aren't that bad, usually. "It's a DRY cold"! Welcome to the Rockies!

[tullio]

thanks guys... always nice to have some info to kick start my research on a new place!

Beas - a dry cold, huh? ;) That will be a new experience. We have not much cold to speak of here, and back home it was definitely a soggy, rainy, snowy cold. Learn something new every day. :D

[Guilherme]

Found this:

http://mwr.carson.army.mil/bus/tcra/tcra.html

It doesn't say if they offer boarding or things that you specifically cite. Likely it's more Western than English oriented. The USCA thought about Ft. Carson as a site for the NCC but decided against it as the facilities were not adequate. They also looked at the USAF Academy (which does have a stables). Logistics there were a problem.

Ft. Carson does have a mounted color guard.

Good luck in your transition! :)

G.

[MajMeadowMorgans]

As far as I remember (from my research when we were PCSing), Ft. Carson does offer boarding at Turkey Creek. I may even have specifics on it in my PCS research folders, but I am sure it's out of date ;)

Give them a call, they may have a waiting list you'll need to get on.

[Beverley]

There is a hunt club at Fort Carson, the Fort Carson hounds, I can put you in touch with the Masters if you like- wife of Master/huntsman also does a lot of eventing so would I'm sure be able to give you lots of info on the area.

[lalahartma1]

I called Turkey Creek this past year: no boarding.

[ThreeHorseNight]

Hi tullio -- I used to live right near the fort (although that was 20 years ago, and the area has grown tremendously) and now I live about 40 minutes north. I am not familiar with the barns and horse scene right around the fort, as I never boarded down at that end of town.

If you look at a map of the springs, you'll see an area called the Black Forest, to the northeast of the springs. Although that area has also grown enormously, there are still many boarding barns up there, and also up near Monument (which is north of the springs). It depends on how far you want to drive to a barn. It used to be a very easy drive from the south end of town (where Fort Carson is) to the north end of town, but there's a lot more traffic now than there used to be.

It can be hard to find barns around here; I think most people find them by word of mouth and by driving around, as there's no real directory of boarding barns, and very few of them advertise in the newsletters for the local organizations. You might want to post on the hu/j and eventing forums asking for lesson barn recommendations. A good lesson barn should be able to lead you into a lease situation.

A lot of people love Colorado, for some people, it's not their cup of tea! Many of the military people who were stationed here choose to retire here. What you think of the winter weather depends on where you've lived before. Compared to New England, or Michigan, or someplace like that, the winter is mild. Although we do get snow, it usually doesn't pile up and stay all winter like it does in New England. And we usually get many sunny days where although the temp is 35 or 40, you're out without a coat because the sun is so strong. Now, it can be freakin' cold at night, because there is a big temperature difference between daytime and night. And yes, we can have a bad winter where it snows a lot. But when I lived at the south end of town, by the fort, it was generally milder down there than it is where I live now (up on the Palmer Divide, which is right near Monument).

Summers get hot but not humid, and we don't have the plethora of insects that you find in other parts of the country. It can be incredibly dry here, as it was this past spring and summer. (Even when it rains in the spring or summer, it rains for an hour or two; we almost never get a full day of rain.)

If you wanted to event at the lower levels, you could do a full season of eventing competing along the front range from Colorado Springs up to Fort Collins. Most of the events are pretty much along there. My friends competing in the lower levels in the hu/j world have put in a long season of showing without driving more than a few hours away.

If you have any questions about the springs, feel free to PM me and I'll try help. It is a great area for outdoor stuff -- hiking, skiing, riding, biking, etc.

[Halfbroke]

I'm not sure if this applies to you since Ft. Carson is Army, but the Air Force Academy has a (so I hear) gorgeous multimillion dollar facility that I think is exclusively open to military (maybe just Air Force?? although the rules might have changed since 10 years ago when I was first looking for boarding). You might check it out. I know they spent a couple million 5 or 6 years ago and I havent seen the facility since then, but I can only imagine its nice!

Its on the other side of town of Ft. Carson (Ft. Carson is south east and AFA is about as northwest as you can get).

Since Ft. Carson is east, you will be close to a fair amount of boarding/training barns since that is the only place you can get some acreage. There arn't (to my knowledge) a lot of event trainers in the CS area although the more north you go (Castle Rock, Monument, Larkspur, Parker) there are more event/jumping trainers.

I live in the CS area so if you'd like a few names of barns that are open to boarding, please PM me.


As far as weather.. although it does snow, we also have an incredible amount of sunny days a year.. something crazy like 340 sunny days, so it usually snows one day and then that same day the sun comes out and all of the snow is gone by the next day. Out on the eastern plains (ft. carson) the weather is actually pretty temperate.. usually a few degrees warmer then the actual city of CS, but its just A LOT windier! All in all its a great place to live, I ride year round, even through the coldest parts of winter (which actually tend to be in March and April.. that is our real snow/blizzard season). Most barns have at least a small indoor to ride in and there is lots of open space!

Like someone else mentioned, there are a fair amount of prelim and under events to chose from in the summer, and a pretty active dressage scene too. I know there are at least 3 or 4 diff. hunt clubs along the front range, so not neccesarily in the springs but at least within an hour or so driving distance.

[tullio]

Thank you all for the great information. I do plan to post on the h/j and eventing boards when we get closer to actually moving, but right now the general info you have all given is wonderful!

Usually when we get ready to move we look into availability of jobs, housing, and hobbies before settling on an area in which to live. We'll probably visit the area at least once after DH comes home, before we move. By that point I will have learned where places are in relation to each other :) and all that good stuff. All the info from you guys is SO helpful in figuring that out - and having things to look forward to! :) So THANKS!

I'll be looking at maps and sorting through comments and all that good stuff over the next few days. Thanks again for all the information. COTH rocks!

[BasqueMom]

Used to live halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs...loved the weather. After
four years in Chicago with weeks of no sun and riding indoors only for many months in
the winter, Colorado was a treat. Rode outdoors often in the winter during the day.
When the sun goes down in the winter, the temps can drop fast. Occasionally a winter
with more snow than you knew what to do with but it was usually gone in a few days.

It is a dryer cold than the midwest or places east as the heat in the summer is a dryer
heat. Might just wear a turtleneck and vest during the day when out and about but
always kept a coat in the car. Been in Texas 7 years and hate the weather here. The
heat is stifling and the cold cuts through to the bone. 40 degrees here feels like -10 degrees there.

Can't help with boarding in that area as I boarded between Elizabeth and Parker or in
Parker. Was amazed at the amount of English riding available--guess I thought that
far out West, an English saddle would be a novelty.

My horses were far happier there and home horse car was far easier than here.

[lalahartma1]

For the non-horsey stuff, check city-data forums:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/colorado-springs/