Beautiful facility. I have been riding for over 39 years and this is by far one of the nicest and most well kept facility my horse has lived at. I have a grey horse and he tends to find his poop and pee piles to sleep in, but the barn here is so meticulously cleaned that my horse is always white! Austin and Raul and the other barn hands make sure the stalls are immaculate. The tack room is nicer than most of my house. The bathroom is always clean and there's a fridge and changing area in the tack room as well. The feed rooms are set up in a way that each horse has its own bin and the staff is amazing at ensuring the grain is given as ordered. There are 2 turnout areas, a smaller one up by the barn and the larger ones down below. The indoor is LARGE with GGT footing and beautiful mirrors. The outdoor is large as well with excellent footing. BOTH ARENAS are dragged daily!!!!!! It's like fresh tracks every day! There are carts in the tack room so you can wheel your stuff to the cross ties on either end of the barn and the wash racks are set up really elegantly. The staff that runs the tour rides at the winery barn are also so sweet and polite! And they are always smiling! If your horse is not afraid of bunnies, like mine, you can ride the vineyard trails as well. Honestly, I think my horse feels like he's back in Europe! So glad to have this beautiful well maintained barn in Napa. And the board price is SUPER reasonable and there is NO nickel and diming for additional services like turnout, blanketing, etc. I can't speak to the previous negative reviews but if I could move into one of the stalls myself, I would. read more

See all

We have been at Alko Equestrian Center for 4 months now, and I cannot say enough good things about the facility and the management. First of all, the care your horse gets here is outstanding. The staff are both responsive and respectful, and they go out of their way to make sure all care requests are addressed immediately. I have ridden in barns all over the world, and Alko is one of the best. The footing is pristine, and both the indoor and outdoor arenas are constantly maintained. The most important tell is the horses are peaceful and happy. That is always the measure of a well-run barn. The riding club members are all pleasant and supportive of each other's equestrian goals, which is another rarity at a boarding barn. It is more fun to come ride when you know that the people are friendly and happy to see you. It is like a lovely social hour when any of us happen to ride together. The barn also recently hosted a "social," where we had the chance to mingle with each other and the management. This property is also the location of Shadybrook Estate Winery and Napa Valley Trail Rides. Shadybrook is a gem among our valley vineyards and was recently voted "Best Boutique Winery." I recently had friends visiting who I took for the tasting and charcuterie, and they commented that the tasting at Shadybrook was the highlight of their Napa Valley trip. Napa Valley Trail Rides offers trail rides to winery guests. The trail horses are also very well cared for, and it is definitely a unique experience you won't find anywhere else in the valley. I highly recommend this facility, whether you are looking to board your horse, or come for any of their other activities. read more

Advertised on website as "luxury" "premium" & "state-of the-art". You would expect a certain level of hospitality and client service, spending $1k+/mo., at a winery estate. Not a port-a-potty & moldy feed bins. My horse wasn't blanketed 3 different times in the last month I was there, and once with another horse's blanket. There were times she wasn't fed, or fed incorrectly Horses are chronically sick. Vets are advising clients to leave, some Vets won't even come to Alko. Every Trainer leaves, Every Trail Guide quits. Clients are hiring outside investigators to analyze the environment After having sick horses & asking about materials and vineyard sprays, boarders sent samples for analysis from barn, keeping Manager in loop. He did not wait for results, & instead evicted a boarder without warning, or caring what results said Pest/Herbicides are sprayed on the grounds with no heads up. No list of chemicals used has been provided, tho it's been requested Possible mold overgrowth issue due to egregious water usage in aisles. Constant spraying down/power washing. Barn is poorly ventilated. Feed bins in stalls are allowed to grow black mold, and clients have had to remove and clean themselves. Shavings are poor quality, and hay is inconsistent. Opossums. Huge diarrhea outbreak in Fall '22 Owners are not horse people, & do not ride or own any personal horses. They defer to an obstinate manager who sees boarders as adversaries. Owners don't make any effort with boarders Manager has racetrack background and has never worked/ridden at a boarding/schooling barn. Is resistant to feedback, & gets extremely defensive when concerns are brought forward. Will argue and double down on issues, instead of working to compromise. Uses language like "we're not going to let them win", referring to boarders/trainer when in conversation with barn staff. Tells barn staff "don't talk to her" in reference to boarders. -Vaccines not monitored, discovered when a client was evicted that they were not up-to-date for their new barn Conducts maintenance & changes without notifying boarders New boarders, new trainer, & new employee changes are not announced Night manager never introduced, & phone number not given No list of phone numbers posted, and no Fire Evacuation Plan No community-building Ignores scientific studies & believes horses do not need turnout or free run time, and that it is perfectly ok for them to live their entire lives in a stall. This is supposedly a Dressage barn, but he has made no attempt to learn anything about Dressage, or make himself a resource for us. Has scheduled clinics with Dressage "trainers" who none of us have heard of (Instead of asking the actual Dressage Trainer, or the actual Dressage riders in the barn for input) -Environment has SO MUCH NOISE! Wood Chippers, Dump trucks, Delivery trucks, Contractor trucks, Fork-lifts, back-up beepers- it is NON STOP. Constant sound of construction. When one project ends, another begins. Large equipment (bulldozers, backhoes, huge trucks) is constantly moving up and down the lane by the horses' stalls. Jackhammers, Chainsaws, & gas-powered leaf blowers go every day as part of the landscape maintenance of this property. The close proximity to the barn/horses makes it an issue. WINERY GUESTS constantly pester client boarders to come and see/pet the privately owned horses. Sometimes they even come into the barn and wander unescorted, & it's on us to tell them they're not allowed in there. Extremely unsafe as they are clueless. Zero options for actual turnout, tho large paddocks were promised by the Fall 2022 (& are completed, but thus unused). Not to mention, these turnouts are extremely far away from the barn, and there is no oversight. They are adjacent to the very loud production area, where workers are not expected to be quiet or minimize activity for horse welfare Riders have been thrown off when riding in the outdoor arena from reacting to sudden loud noises from this area Zero compromise for allowing horses free-run time in the indoor arena during one of the rainiest winters in recorded history. (Winter '22-23) Free run time is allowed in the OUTDOOR arena only, which is NOT horse-safe. The rails are FAR TOO LOW-horses have scraped their legs on it, AND jumped out. It also becomes useless when it rains. Logically, since there IS NO TURNOUT, one would think free run time in the indoor arena would be a suitable alternative, but NO -Lunging- You are not allowed to lunge in the indoor arena, except during inclement weather-and even then, the manager has arbitrary lunging hours in place to do so. Meaning, if you have a green or recovering horse that needs a lot of lunge time or if you yourself are injured and can't ride, you have to schedule your ENTIRE DAY around the manager's schedule. Nelson waterers on the website with intake monitoring are not the same models as what is in the stall. Water intake has no monitoring. You must ask for a bucket read more

See all

All I can say, is amazing! We just moved our horse to the barn, which is under new management, has new grass paddocks, first rate has been treating care! The new trainer, Destiny, is a consummate professional and a great trainer. Could not be happier. The indoor arena is incredible, the two outdoor arenas are wonderful, and the trail riding is first rate! I come from the north shore of Massachusetts, which is equestrian paradise and this matches up with the best of the best. read more

If you want your horse to get sick, injured, or almost die from colic, you should board here. During the last eight months, construction has been going on, with which has scared the horses and myself; one day I exited the grain room and sparks were flying at my feet. Most recently, management abruptly switched the hay provided, which as anyone who knows horses knows that alone can induce colic, and they did not tell anyone about it until after my horse was sent to spend a week in the UC Davis ICU for emergent colic. When he returned, he had an allergic reaction to the cheaper shavings management had switched to, as did almost every horse in the barn. They failed to take responsibility, and maintain they did nothing wrong. Napa Valley Equine told them they needed to switch, and they received a new shipment of bulk shavings from the same supplier. Makes zero sense to use the same supplier after something like that happens. Not to mention my horse had frequent thrush due to staff not cleaning out his stall three times a day as they claim; I have to clean his stall every time I am there which is multiple times per day. He also injured his leg after tripping in the arena which he has never done, and I ended up on his neck, all caused by the poor footing as another reviewer mentioned. It does not have the proper cushion for their legs and will cause soreness in their joints as well. Management is now trying to make me pay full board when the vet prescribed me to provide my own hay and shavings to improve his condition and keep him stable, which requires out of pocket costs, so all I am getting from them is a 12' x 12' stall space. And good luck trying to talk to the barn manager, he will avoid you and is barely there to start with. STAY AWAY. read more

Definitely cannot recommend. The staff hired to take care of the horses have absolutely no equine experience. We ended up cleaning our own stalls, helping with feeding and were forced to leave with increasing monthly rates. Staff showed up drunk, horses regularly got loose -a fairly epic disaster of a boarding facility. Never mind the footing and the incredibly rude owners. If there was an option for no stars that would be my choice. read more

My wife and I signed up for a trail ride and were treated to a first class experience. The guides were super friendly and knowledgeable, the horses were great and the scenery and low key nature of the ride was fantastic. We felt very safe and cared for. Next time we'll sign up for a longer ride for sure. A nice benefit to Alko Ranch is that the Shadybrook Winery is available for tastings after the ride! Overall an A+ experience. Emmet read more