After the great blog hop about how locations differ from A Soft Spot for Stars, I got to thinking about what horse sports are popular in different areas throughout the US. (And the world if anyone outside the US wants to chime in!).
I thought it would be neat to create an illustrated map about what horse sports are generally most popular in different regions. Like, is Dressage most popular in California? What pockets of the country are hotbeds of hunters? Where do eventers tend to congregate? And I can imagine that lots of Western disciplines are popular in the Southwest. Kentucky is obviously just all the horse sports. All of them.
So, while I can make some vague, non-scientific assumptions from my own experience, I figured I had a bunch of regional experts out there who could chime in! I’m interested in knowing what state you’re in and what the most popular disciplines are. I plan to create a map to post here at a later date based on the info.
Centered in the Saddle 
It’s hard to know when you ride English in Texas, but my guess would be reining and cutting or roping would be the most popular horse sports here, although we have most of them to some degree. Outside of Houston or Dallas in the fancy suburbs/semi-rural areas would be the place to be for h/j stuff.
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Foxhunting/show hunting along with eventing seem to be the two big disciplines in Northern VA- but as you get to the southern part of the state things change a bit. I’ll let on of the other VA bloggers chime in on that one 😉
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Fun idea! Here in coastal Savannah, GA we are definitely overrun by hunter jumper! I am eventing junkie and found *one* somewhat local dressage trainer to train with but overall I am a rare minority. There are also a lot of horse owners who have a few backyard horses and pleasure trail ride western. But, go a little north to Aiken, SC and you have a mecca of ALL english disciplines plus a healthy foxhunting culture, so even us eventers have an outlet.
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I’m in Ky now but until recently was in NY/NJ area. I would definitely say that area is dominated by Hunter/Jumper barns.
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Here in Oklahoma, rodeo rules! The western disciplines are all very popular out here. There are lots of people who show breed circuit stuff like western pleasure, many reiners, lots of cutting horses, and a TON of rodeo riders. (Barrel racing, pole bending, roping [calf, steer, and team], goat tying, and the bronc events.) There’s a growing western dressage crowd, too.
For the english disciplines, I’d say we’re split 50/50 between hunter/jumpers and dressage.
Can’t wait to see your map!
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I would say breed circuit — AQHA all-around is probably the most popular in central Ohio.
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Down in San Diego, there is a huge Hunter/Jumper and Dressage contingent. There are a few rodeos as well though, and lots of trail riders. Eventing picks up steam just north of SD, but I am not familiar with that area much so there could be a lot of other disciplines as well.
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I am an eventer in Alpharetta, Georgia. It is hard. EVERYTHING is hunters.
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