I scheduled a trail ride on short notice for just me, and Tam and Sarah were very accommodating…read more They got me in next day, easy as that, and listened when I told them my riding experience. "Experienced rider" is a term that gets tossed around a lot when it comes to trail rides, and in general I think people say they're experienced in order to get an "exciting" ride, possibly with cantering or galloping, or to be given a lot of autonomy on the trail. The thing is, lots of cantering or galloping, letting riders do whatever they want rarely sets up a good ride, either for horses or riders, and as a former trail guide I'm all too aware of dealing with those expectations vs. what a trail guide can actually safely and reasonably do. So to the "experienced riders" who aren't actually experienced with being a rider on a paid trail ride, your experience may or may not be relevant to your ride and to your trail horse. The guides don't know you, the horse doesn't know you, and you might not know trail riding well; like all horse events it's its own particular beast. So, for me, I said I'd been a guide but I don't do much riding these days and besides that, I'm old and lazy and don't want a hippy hoppy happy bouncy horse, I want a nice horse with half a brain that does as they're told and has some common sense. The horse they gave me was Serena, a lovely Percheron/Canadian warmblood whom they've used for beginners on trail all the way up to experienced riders. She was a perfect pick for me and the reason I've gone to all the detail I have here is to once again point out that the key element to having fun on a trail ride is having the right horse, a good guide, a fun trail and things going along according to your expectations. Accordingly, I had a lovely horse who quickly realized I more or less knew what I was doing, and adjusted her game to match my skill. She was fun, willing, had her own personality but when it mattered, did precisely what I asked. It took me a while to get used to her gaits but after a while on trail I learned to get her collected into both a trot and canter that weren't too bone jarring. (A little more muscle tone on my part might have helped too, AHEM.) Meanwhile, Sarah's a wonderful guide. She had me ride Serena around the ring to assess my actual versus reported skill, and once she was satisfied I'd be all right, off we went. The trails around Breakaway are *stunning*. Given my experience and enjoyment Sarah had me exploring some pretty dense forest with her, which was some fun challenging riding and incredible scenery including vast meadows, silvery-hued marshes, the mountains in the distance and finally my absolute favorite moment, what Sarah calls "The Cathedral," a stand of maples planted in long rows whose branches form vaulting pointed arches of green over dark naves of loam. The ride was long and satisfying, with varying scenery, good conversation, some nice challenges like trailblazing and a bit of trotting and cantering. Sarah was at all times alert to me, what I was doing, Serena's behavior and the safety and well-being of all four of us, horses and riders. This is the epitome of an excellent guide. The rates are very reasonable for the rich experience you get. An hour was fifty dollars and I tipped heavily, which is customary for such a great experience, solo, tailored exactly to my skill and what I wanted out of the ride. Breakaway is not a "fancy" stable; it's a working stable. There are geese, sheep, ducks, dogs, ponies, mules and horses there, all of whom are well behaved and well cared for. All the horses I got to hang out with and pet (I really had to go introduce myself to their glorious Fresian!) were calm, inquisitive ranging on downright affectionate, which is always an indication of how well socialized and cared for they are. In short, if you'd like a fun, scenic trail ride with horses and guides who know their stuff, this is the stable to call. Just be honest about your experience and what you want out of the ride, and you're sure to have a great time.

the guide was so awful and rude. she seemed young and i wanted to almost tell her how she could…read morebecome a better leader but she was so cruel to not only us but the other rides and even the horses, it would've fallen on deaf ears. don't recommend, im writing this almost three weeks after it happened because it still bothers me how awful she was

I've waited a long time to write this review about Crane Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, Inc. I'm…read morenot impressed with anything that they're doing. Not one thing. I know too much of their personal and professional lack of integrity and taking from the community that was freely given to them. It's a disheartening story really. Nevertheless that's not my story. I had a problem with a landlord in Westport, New York who swindled me and was threatening to take my 6 horses from me to pay for unfounded damages. However, I digress...the real story is that Crane Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, Inc., is not what they appear to be. If you want to be demeaned and criticized when in a jam and being rescued this is the place to go...But I don't like being blamed, verbally abused, and demeaned by the co-founder based on his disease of alcoholism. Let's face it I found this horse rescue so hard to work with I wouldn't tell anyone to go there with their horses or take horses to them unless you want sub standard customer service and to be harassed by Eddy, the co-founder. Well, it's been my experience after years in the horse industry when you rescue horses things change on a farm, i.e. the dynamics of the farm change. I brought 4 out of my 6 horses to the farm for about 3 days. Yes, I paid for my horses to be rescued (refunded in the end), but Eddy kicked me out after 24 hours of being at the farm. No real reason -- just didn't want to be "put-out" by rescuing my horses. This is after he decided two of my other horses wouldn't get to go to Crane Mountain, without discussing the issue with me and after insisting that I drug my horses to load them into the trailer. I was instantly betrayed and I was furious with these decisions without my consent....after all I was the owner of the horses paying for their transportation $150.00 less than 25 miles of travel for 6 horses, and paying for them to board at Crane Mountain. Anyway, after 24 hours of my four horses being at their farm in March I was confronted by Eddy, the co-founder, who yelled at me for over 20 minutes about how my horses created mayhem at his farm. He insulted my horses, my feeding program, my ability to handle stallions, babies, and all horses in general. I've been working with horses most of my life and my horses are all well mannered including my stallion, which he couldn't handle. Nevertheless, I endured for about 20 minutes and then retaliated. He was drunk, stone cold drunk and I told him that and few other things too. News flash Eddy....it's a rescue and horses come and go don't they? The story is longer and more in-dept, but you get the drift. I was dealing with an angry opportunistic, drunk that had to cut me to shreds to justify him throwing my horses and myself out of the rescue situation in less than 24 hours of being on the property. His farm was disrupted by rescuing four of the nicest horses every... (1, 31 year old gelding, 1, 16 year old mare, 1, 21 year old gelding, and 1, 1 year old). My stallion and a mare never made it to the farm. This rescue was more of a self centered drunken drama created by Eddy. I moved 3 days later to the Westport Fairgrounds where I lived homeless with my six horses, 3 cats, and 4 dogs for 6 weeks in the back of my truck. It was safer than keeping my horses with him and Nancy his wife who is a smart woman, but a grand waste of time. She's a sad case of an abused wife not willing to leave an abusive man -- what are you waiting for -- for him to change? In a nut shell Crane Mountain Valley Horse Rescue is NOT worth the drama of being rescued. You and the horses pay for the emotional dysfunction of the co-founder. Frankly, it was a disgusting experience.

My experience with Crane Mountain Horse Rescue is nothing but positive with the reward of being…read moreable to adopt a smart, sweet and handsome horse that I love to the moon and back 8 years ago. I admire Eddie and Nancy's devotion to animals, their perseverance, their accountability, their moral compass and their admiration and devotion to each other. That is what makes this rescue work! I am forever grateful to them both. Love. Love. Love.... It is sad to read someone in an unenviable situation having to find shelter for themself and their animals resorting to derogatory and defamatory language handling their frustrations. I am sure there is another side to the story. A true shame someone would post such nonsense about people who do so much good.

We had the best lesson with Hattie and Jenn, my daughter smiled the entire time and left feeling…read moreconfident. I could not be happier with Bits and Pieces. The horses are happy, Jenn is lovely, it's a safe and friendly learning environment for little people.