Saddle Up: Your Guide to Equestrian Dating Adventures
Looking to ride off into the sunset with your special someone? Then, get yourself into the equestrian singles dating pool! From dating apps to online communities to in-person (or should we say in-horse) events, there are plenty of ways for you to gallop your way into the relationship of your dreams.
Let’s take a look at the best ways to meet other riders who are ready for love.
Are equestrian dating apps worth it?
There are a lot of dating apps that cater directly to horse-lovers, cowboys, farmers, and other rural or agricultural folks. But, are they really worth the subscription fees and time investment?
In the vast majority of cases, our honest answer is no.
When you look at their reviews on the app store or online, the most common complaints are that these sites are often filled with scammers or simply don’t have an active enough user base needed to make consistent matches. Users are also frustrated by the fact that many features are behind a paywall, requiring them to pay a subscription fee to try to find a match.
Does this mean that you’ll never find love on sites like EquestrianDating, FarmersOnly, or Plenty of Horses? Of course not! But, you may need to spend more time (and money) on these sites, and be willing to travel farther distances, in order to make quality matches.
How about finding horse-lovers on traditional dating apps?
There’s an idea that the big-name dating apps, like Tinder or Bumble, are exclusively for city folk who may only own a pair of cowboy boots for fun. But, there is one thing going for these well-known platforms: traffic. With larger user bases, you’ll be more likely to cross paths with someone who shares your interests. It’s all a matter of tailoring your profile to attract the horse-lover you’ve been dreaming of.
Here are a few tips that can boost your chances of finding a fellow rider:
- Include your interests clearly in your profile picture. You’ll want to make it glaringly obvious that a ranch lifestyle is important to you by posting pictures of you riding. This will mean that matches that reach out to you are self-selecting; people who aren’t into horses are not likely to swipe right on you!
- Use keywords in your bio to attract matches with similar interests. Including specific buzzwords in your bio, like “horseback riding” or “country lifestyle”, will allow the algorithm to send like-minded people your way. It will also make it clear to potential matches what you’re looking for in a partner.
- Change your location to include rural areas. Expanding your search radius will allow you to interact with people outside of your small town. To be sure, this will mean that you might have to travel to find your special someone, but you could also find someone with their own horse trailer who’s willing to come to you!
Horse lovers in the sugaring community
You might not have considered it before, but the sugaring community has a lot to offer horse lovers! After all, maybe you’ve always dreamed of dating someone who owns a ranch and a whole stable full of horses. Chances are, that person is in a position to be a sugar daddy and would be willing to help you live out your fantasy of spending your free time in the country.
There are a few ways that you can boost your chances of success at meeting a fellow horse-lover on a sugar dating site like Secret Benefits:
Put some thought into what an ideal sugar relationship would look like to you
No one should jump into sugar dating before carefully considering what they would be willing to offer and accept within a relationship. For instance, you’ll want to decide whether you’d be open to a monogamous versus open relationship, long-term or date-by-date basis, and emotional versus platonic, etc.
The more you learn about the kinds of sugar relationships that are out there, the easier it will be to create one that works for you.
Tailor your sugar dating profile to reflect your interests
Just like you would for a traditional dating app, make sure that your sugar dating profile shows off your love of all things equine! Post pictures of yourself on horseback, include a horse-themed tagline, and talk about wanting a fellow riding partner in your bio.
Always meet in a public place
Once you start chatting with your sugar daddy cowboy, make sure that you take some safety precautions when meeting up in person. It’s always a good idea to schedule a video call before you meet in real life so that you can be sure you know who you’re talking to and that there’s some chemistry between you.
Consider including horseback riding in your sugar relationship
Maybe you don’t need your sugar daddy to be a horse-lover, but would rather they fund your equestrian activities! You can negotiate for your sugar relationship to cover the cost of horseback riding lessons, stable fees for your horse, competition entrance fees, and more. Don’t be surprised if your sugar daddy wants to come support you and see your skills in action!
Reddit isn’t a dedicated dating site, but it can help you meet horse-loving people who might also be looking for love!
The trick is to find a subgroup, called a subreddit, that is specific to your interest, such as r/Equestrian, r/Horses, r/Cowboy, or r/Singles. You might also find luck on your regional subreddit dedicated to equestrian or farming events.
One thing to be aware of is that many subreddits have rules of conduct. So, you shouldn’t simply show up and start badgering people to date you. Instead, familiarize yourself with the subgroup’s guidelines and act accordingly. Finding someone on Reddit should be slower and more organic, and you’ll want to focus more on building friendships that could turn into romance.
MeetUp
Like Reddit, MeetUp isn’t a dedicated equestrian singles dating site. But there are groups on the platform dedicated to dating, speed dating, social meetups, and riding events. For instance, the Horseback Riding group on Meetup has over 21,000 members from all over the world. There are also plenty of local events, such as the Barcelona Horse Riding Trek, which has over 1,500 members, or Morris’s Shadow Mountain Stables Trail Ride with over 7,600 members.
Again, similar to Reddit, you’ll want to be aware of how you conduct yourself in these groups, most of which are more social than romantic. Make sure that you attend events with an open mind and focus on building genuine friendships and connections, which may later bloom into something more!
Equestrian Facebook Groups and Facebook Dating
Facebook continues to be popular with rural folks, which makes it a great place to meet horse-lovers. And, there are two different avenues you can take on your quest to find equestrian love: Facebook Groups or Facebook Dating.
Let’s start with Facebook Groups. This option is going to function more like Reddit or Meetup, offering an online gathering place for cowboys, ranchers, competitive horseback riders, and more. It all depends on what kind of group you want to join. The Horse Lovers Community, for instance, has almost 100,000 members and features posts about equestrian-based art, horse memes, job postings for horse stable work, advice, and more.
Another group, called Love Horses and Travel, boasts of over 26,000 members and is dedicated to sharing information about upcoming equestrian excursions all over the world, including Australia, Jordan, Iceland, and more. It’s a great opportunity to do what you love in beautiful places, while meeting like-minded people. You never know, you might just meet The One on one of these horseback riding trips!
Now, how about Facebook Dating? This is one of Meta’s dating platforms housed within Facebook. So if you already have Facebook, making a dating profile is easy and quick. From there, you can follow the recommendations we listed for finding horse-lovers on major dating platforms, and you’ll be ready to start chatting! Compared to many of the mainstream dating apps, Facebook Dating is a good option for people living outside of major cities, as Facebook’s general audience tends to be rural.
More tips for finding your dream horse-lover
If horses are your life, it makes total sense that you would want to share your passion with a horse-loving romantic partner. Here are a few final takeaways that can help you create a more successful equestrian-focused dating life:
- Open your mind to non-horse people who may become interested in riding. Maybe your dream riding partner is someone who has never ridden a horse in their life, until they meet you! Being open-minded enough to date someone who enjoys animals and has an adventurous spirit can mean that you’re not closing yourself off to people who may love horses but haven’t had the chance to learn to ride.
- Think of every horse event as a chance at speed dating. The more horse-related events you can attend, the better your chances will be to meet someone like-minded and single. The key, though, is to make sure that you’re chatting with new people to build your social network. This means being friendly with everyone! You never know which new friend might introduce you to the rancher of your dreams.
- Be patient. The horse world is only a subset of the general population, and it can take some time to build community and start making connections with other horse-lovers. But don’t give up hope! There’s a rider out there who’s also looking for someone like you!
Time to gallop, canter, and trot your way into the equestrian singles dating pool!
No matter if you opt for traditional dating apps, online horse communities, sugar dating, or your local ag groups, the more active you are about dating, the better your chances will be to find your future riding partner. We wish you all the best, not only in the quest for equestrian singles but also in your riding practice!
