NEW BARN *Fields and Fences*

They have a website!

I've only been once- yesterday. Mapquest got me there fine in about 45 minutes but coming back was a whole other story. I tried to reverse the directions but got lost because there were switch offs and ramps. I'll be much better prepared next week.

As for the place, it's nice. It's set up like a show stable with two indoor arenas, (one being slightly smaller for warming up when they host shows. The main arena has a seperated "on deck" area. There are just as many if not more heated viewing areas than the old place. My lessons even went down by $5!

The only cons are that you don't get to tack and groom your own horse. A groom does it for you. I believe in order to ride well you need to have a good understanding of the horse's behavior, and you can't get that if you always have someone else groom and tack your horses. Luckily I've had a good 6 years of doing it for myself and even for others. They have about 20 really nice lesson horses to choose from, though, so I should advance quicker now that I've dealt with a dificult horse. I really believe though that the dificult ones teach you the most and make you the boldest. I love Solo with all his little quirks and things, but I'm ready to try new horses. I haven't ridden any other horse but Solo for over a year except once last November 2006 and I was so used to Solo that he was hard to ride.

Also, my trainer told me that the most expensive part of a horse show is the traveling and Fields and Fences hosts at least two shows a year, so hopefully I can save enough to go. I think I can get by on those half chaps that look like tall boots so that I don't have to buy a whole new pair of tall boots, which start around $200 and are dificult to get the right fit, and take a long time to break in. I already have the fancy helmet I got for my birthday/christmas last year, and my mom ordered me a Tailored Sportsman shirt from a discount site for $20 and the price tag said $109.99! I still need a hunt coat but I know of discount places too, and I don't really need a nice one because I'll only be using it once or twice. I may even be able to borrow another rider's if they're about the same size as me. I've heard good things about RJ Classics, plus I see them in all different sizes and colors on equestriancollections.com and tackroominc.com for as low as $100. I almost bought a forest green Elite jacket through craigslist, I even called but then I didn't need it decause I couldn't afford the show.
I can always take whatever I get to the tailor so that it's not overly uncomfortable to ride in and that usually costs no more than $30.