Avoid this company at all costs. Our experience was unsafe, chaotic, and completely unprofessional…read more
We booked a family horseback riding excursion, and it was a disaster from beginning to end.
From the moment we arrived, there were immediate red flags. The facility and horses did not appear to be well cared for. Several horses were tied along a wall standing in their own waste, and a number of them appeared thin and poorly maintained. I had serious reservations about putting my family on these horses, especially since our group included everyone from small children to grandparents.
One horse in particular immediately concerned me. As the "horse trainer" attempted to bring it toward our group, the horse resisted, fought back, and began bucking. This was the horse they intended to put my wife and 6-year-old son on together.
I specifically asked the trainer, multiple times, whether he was absolutely sure this horse was safe. It was obvious the horse was agitated and did not want to cooperate. Each time, we were assured it was safe. Their explanation was that the horse had reacted that way because they had "woken it up."
Against my better judgment, we trusted them.
Half of our family had already started down the trail ahead of us. Another thing that concerned me was seeing children who appeared to be approximately 6-12 years old assisting with or leading horses. The entire operation felt far less professional than what had been represented to us.
We weren't even 20 yards down the trail when the horse carrying my wife and 6-year-old son began fighting, bucking, and eventually reared up, throwing both of them off its back.
My son was sitting behind my wife, and when they fell, my wife landed directly on top of him with the full force of her body. For several terrifying moments, my wife and I genuinely feared that our son had suffered a serious neck or spinal injury.
The situation was absolute chaos.
I immediately checked my wife and son. Thankfully, they appeared to have avoided a catastrophic injury, although both were shaken up and suffered scrapes and bruising. What was especially disturbing was that the trainers I had repeatedly questioned about this exact horse quickly disappeared from the situation afterward.
The other half of our family, who had already started down the trail, began making their way back as soon as I called and told them what had happened.
One representative from the company repeatedly told us he was sorry, but there seemed to be no organized response to what had just happened. No one took control of the situation. No one meaningfully assessed whether my wife or son needed medical attention. Our entire family was emotional and scared, not knowing yet whether either of them had suffered a more serious injury.
When we returned to the main office in Ensenada, we made it very clear that we expected a full refund.
Shockingly, they pushed back.
They offered to refund the portion of our family that had fallen behind but attempted to justify charging the family members who had already started down the trail. To be very clear, that group was only on the trail for approximately 10 minutes before turning around because my wife and 6-year-old son had just been thrown from a horse. They did not receive the excursion we paid for.
The fact that this company would even debate whether to refund our entire family after an incident like this was incredibly disappointing and unprofessional.
At the end of the day, this company portrays itself as a professional, well-run horseback riding operation. That was not remotely what we experienced.
I wish I had trusted my instincts when we first arrived and walked away. The condition and behavior of the horses concerned me immediately, and I specifically raised concerns about the exact horse that eventually threw my wife and son.
We were repeatedly assured that it was safe.
It wasn't.
Thankfully, my wife and son walked away without what appears to be a catastrophic injury. Another family may not be so fortunate.
I would not recommend this company, particularly to families traveling with young children. AVOID!!!!!
