When to Change Barns

Changing barns can be tricky - take it from someone like me, who's switched barns three times since I started riding. Leaving behind your barn friends, instructors, and favorite horses can be incredibly difficult, however sometimes you just gotta do it. 

Thanks, Shia

The reason for this is that horse riding is an incredibly complex sport, and if your current barn doesn't a) have the right horses for you to progress on, b) the right instructors to help you along, or c) the best facilities for you, then it's probably time to move. 
Sometimes it can be about atmosphere - your barn has too much drama, is too competitive, isn't friendly enough, etc. However, in all of my cases, it's been about experience and what a barn can teach me. 
See, when you first start horse riding you'll probably be one of the worst riders at your barn with the least experience. You'll have people to look up to and people you can learn from, and you'll start climbing the ranks until you too become one of the experienced people. Life will be great, for a while. But then, what happens most of the time is you'll run into a bit of a wall. You'll have long periods of frustration where you just don't progress, where your lessons go over things you already know and you feel like you're learning nothing. Because while being one of the best riders at your barn can be great, it also means that eventually you'll hit the limit of what that barn can teach you and it's time to move on.
You may ask, what if I don't want to move? What if, even though I am not progressing as much as I could be, I am having loads of fun at my barn and don't want to leave? And I say, that's fine, but you have to make a decision about what type of rider you want to be. Do you want to be a hobby rider, who rides purely for fun, or do you want to be a more competitive rider, constantly improving and challenging yourself? If you want to be a hobby rider, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Feel free to stay at whichever barn you're most comfortable at and have a blast! But if, like me, you fall into the second group of riders, then at some point you are probably going to have to move barns, and while it can be difficult, it is essential to becoming a better rider. It can be fun to be the most experienced rider in your lessons, but ultimately you will learn more from being worse than everyone else than you will from being better. 
Different barns also have different things to teach you, and in horse riding it's always good to have a wide variety of skills and methods. For example, my last barn was very jumping orientated but not very technical. My current barn is all about learning the nitty gritty bits of riding, and while that is better for me right now, the experience and practice I got from jumping at my old barn has been invaluable. 
So, if you are a competitive rider and think it's time to change barns, don't hesitate. Just do it!

Rachel.