This summer I started, after a 10+ year hiatus, at Rock Creek Park Horse Center. It isn't a competition stable, but I'm very happy with my private & group lessons. They teach balanced seat and hunter/jumper, mainly. In the evenings there are a lot of like-minded middle-aged women! 20 minutes from my N Arlington home.

I rode for years at Clay Hill Stables. For a long time it was the barn for the University of Maryland, but now they've pulled out. That means fewer college girls, and the barn focuses more on the younger kids. There are also some long-time adults who ride there.

When I moved out of Arlington, I couldn't do the drive anymore. But from Crystal City, I thought it was pretty doable.

I was a barn rat through high school, but then tapered off in college and stopped when real life intervened. (Something, by the way, my 14-year-old self swore I'd never do. Sigh.)

I'd appreciate the names of barns/instructors who would be a good fit for a middle-aged lady looking to get back in the saddle. In my former life I rode balanced seat and did low-level eventing, but I'm not necessarily looking for a show barn this time around. Proximity to Arlington is a must.