Horses are not taken care of. Most of the volunteers that help on the farm are kids or people that…read morehave no idea what they are doing. I moved my horse from there 2 years ago. One night the evening feeder actually put my horse out in the pasture in freezing rain while she was shivering. I wasn't notified until the horse had been returned to the pasture after eating in the barn. The barn manager controls what the horses eat and how much. My horse was underweight when I moved her and is now at a healthy weight since she's being given the right kind and amount of feed.

We moved my wife's horse to De novo a couple of months ago and it was definitely the right…read moredecision. They have been friendly and have not had any issues. The riding lessons have been helpful and low stress. They really care about the horses and take very good care of them. I would definitely recommend them for boarding and lessons.

The staff are so professional, and one of them named August was especially kind. Last month a Knine…read moreRescue puppy adoption was at Woodland, so I parked up the hill to see puppies. Id brought apples n carrots for the horses, and tried walking down to the stables...until my darn arthritis flared up. August saw me, & gave me a quick ride to my car so I could park it at the stables! She really made my day! The horses are well-kept and the property looks wonderful!! Still a really nice stable, plus a tack room, etc. Highly recommend

This business is awesome. They have events for kids and adults to join in to. They are very…read morewelcoming. You will make great new friends. All the instructors are very kind. All the barn staff will help you with whatever you need.

When you drive up to Summerfield Farm, the barn looks like it belongs on a Hollywood movie set. And…read morethe care the horses receive is equally impressive. I've had my horse there about seven months now and couldn't be happier. The horses graze in huge pastures and the barn is so clean you could eat off the floor 90 percent of the time. Lol They have beautiful indoor and outdoor arenas which are kept immaculate as well. Owner Ann Marie makes sure the place shines. For those interested in lessons and showing, their horses are top of the line. And it's relatively convenient as far as horse barns go in the DC area. I live in SE DC and it literally takes me 25 minutes, an easy commute. So if you are looking for a good barn, I highly recommend Summerfield Farm.

I love RCP Horse Center because you can just stroll around the stables and visit the horses. I…read morebring my kids here almost weekly to see what's new. The trail right by the horse barn is also a blast, leading down to Rock Creek. Along the way you can stop to visit the Capitol Stones, stones that were removed from the US Capitol during a major renovation in the 1950's (holy cow, we're not that far from being 100 years removed from that!) The horse stable offers rides, a great idea for a date or just a relaxing weekend. The rides are highly instructional and very fun. They have great holiday rides featuring Santa Claus and ponies wearing costumes. These holiday rides are wonderful for kids! If you are lucky you can see our US Park Police riding around the trails as well. The stables house two types of horses. One type is owned by people, and the others are publicly owned and range from ponies to larger horses who I think are retired race horses. Our current favorite horse is Andrew because, despite drooling a lot, is super friendly. You can't pet most of the horses much to the dismay of my kids. Almost every horse stall has a sign that warns that the animal bites. This is an absolute blast to visit and I look forward to coming here all the time. However I must comment that the people who work here, the authority figures, are generally a bit ornery and I try to avoid them. They fuss at me every single time I'm here, for making too much noise, getting too close to something, walking in the wrong spot. Just be mentally prepared to say, "Thanks, won't happen again!" It gets old real fast, but I still love the stables. It's worth commenting that I think these people believe they have our best interests at heart, but that their fussy pants attitude is so common is just frustrating and is reflected in the (universally) teenage girls who ride here, who are extremely quiet and seem scared to make a wrong move. Yes horses are extremely dangerous animals, but wow the fussing is out of control. I know this is the longest part of my review and it really bothers me, but I try to look past it and suggest you do as well. Anyways, I have to also mention that there's a big barn where they ride around and do dressage. I've watched a few dressage shows--or parts of them, I should say--and they are like silent dances in a circle with one person directing the riders what to do next. There is almost no crowd for these performances, just family of the riders.

They have not offered trail rides since the pandemic, yet appear as they do. Great facility but…read moreinaccurate information.

My daughters come here for riding lessons. The stables are clean, horses are beautiful and well…read moremaintained! Staff is great! Black Owned Stable!!!!!!!!! Woman owned Stable!!!! Championship Horses! What are you waiting for?????

Beware! The "knowledgeable" and "professional" instructor sold an inexperienced rider a broken…read moresaddle and refused to issue a refund when the break was quickly confirmed by two professional saddle repair experts.

I couldn't have asked for anything more. Fran and her staff were so wonderful with the kids. The…read morekids were able to feed the ponies, walk them, brush them and even decorate them with stickers. I would 100% recommend Fran over and over. The animals were wonderful with the kids and obviously very loved.

We visited Kathy at Raye of Light for a "Paint your Pet" class and I cannot say enough wonderful…read morethings about it! Kathy was an incredible teacher. She was very personable, VERY knowledgeable and extremely patient. She has mastered the balance of giving us enough space to channel our own creativity while still offering valuable pointers and guidance. My end product turned out better than I could've ever imagined! I am already planning my next visit.

A friend and I signed on for a class in alcohol ink, not really knowing quite what to expect. But…read moreworking with the materials turned out to be fascinating and quite fun! Kathy is an excellent teacher, putting everyone at ease and reassuring those of us with limited creative impulses. The class size is small--only six students--so Kathy is able to provide lots of one-on-one guidance after her detailed introduction to the materials. I had some hesitation going in and my resulting product looks more like a sea urchin than a wave but I will definitely return for future classes.

High Standards Equestrian Center (formerly Hideaway Horse Center) provides summer camp sessions…read morethrough the Maryland Park and Planning Summer Camp Program for children ages 6-16. The camps are one week sessions (held June-August) for a maximum of six weeks. For Prince George's County residents the cost is $325 per week - non residents pay $390 per week. The summer camp program is advertised as a "horseback riding camp" but the children are only given 15 minutes of actual riding time in the mornings and if time permits, the same in the afternoon. For the cost per camper, I would expect more riding time. The children observe vet and dentist visits once a week and are able to paint the horses and play Jeopardy but again, for the cost of the camp, the stable should provide more hands on riding lesson time. With the lack of riding time that is provided, the Park and Planning Summer Guide should advertise the High Standards Equestrian Center's summer camp program as a, "petting zoo," at best. Another concern that I have is that the campers do the exact same thing every session. There is no advancement for campers that stay longer than one week. In essence, if children stay in the program for the entire 6 weeks, they are repeating the same things that they learned in week one every week - regardless of knowledge gained. The program never changes its weekly routine and doesn't provide advancement opportunities for campers that have mastered what was learned in week one. Lastly, but most important, the stable volunteers don't have the patience and training that is required to be summer camp counselors that represent the Maryland Park and Planning summer camp program. There were several occasions that a stable volunteer/employee used profanity when addressing my child (and at least two other children that I am aware of.) When the stable owner was made aware of the volunteer's verbal tirades, her response was, "Oh, he must be getting tired." That was an extremely unacceptable and unprofessional response. I would expect more from the establishments owner. I don't care how, "tired" your staff is - using profanity is never acceptable when working with young children in a summer camp setting. If the High Standards Equestrian Center volunteers/employees don't have the experience and training to be able to handle the responsibilities that go along with being summer camp counselors that represent the Maryland Park and Planning Summer Camp Program, the stable shouldn't be allowed to have camp sessions at their establishment. I am very disappointed with this particular summer camp program and the staff/volunteers at the High Standards Equestrian Center. I am giving them a below average rating and would not recommend this program to anyone that has expectations of a good, quality horseback riding summer camp program. However, this review does not, in any way, reflect the Maryland Park and Planning Summer Camp Program as a whole, it is specifically and solely directed to the services (or lack thereof) and treatment that my child received directly from the High Standards Equestrian Center staff and volunteers while attending the 2017 summer camp session in Brandywine, Maryland. *Please see the reviews that they received while under the name Hideaway Horse Center. The claims of animal abuse and statements of horses being removed from the stable by the county's animal control office are quite disturbing.

I've been keeping a look out for a new barn for my daughter and I to join since moving to Maryland…read morefrom Virginia. This barn isn't that far from where I currently am and the facility appears very well done. I enjoy riding Western and primarily trail riding, whereas my daughter has enjoyed the show jumping and youth team divisions. This barn looked like it would be a perfect match having both trails and English instructors. However, I'd heard rumors from some horse people in the area about boarding here and then quickly moving on to other boarding barns after getting to know management. Others mentioned riding with April and never seeing progress despite tons of effort being put in. I tried to be indifferent as to what I'd heard but honestly, this barn is not the place for us. Management puts on a good show at first but the barn is very clicky and there's way too much drama and gossip that goes around the barn and its crew. Definitely not the type of crowd that I want my daughter to be around, having someone smile to your face and then immediately talk about you behind your back. Then you find out that while trails are confirmed to exist, it's very rare management will take you out to show them unless you happen to be their BFF. You're on your own with that one, which seems to me like a safety hazard. Overall, it seems to me that you're either in or out with this crowd, meaning that if you're not a teacher's pet, you're a threat. I prefer to have more character in a barn if I am to join one. As an aside, I also wasn't impressed with the main pastures that have the horses as there's no shelter anywhere except for the barn. The gelding field has some trees and isn't as bad when the entire field is opened up, but the mare field is practically a field of dirt under the sun with next to no shade. We were looking here in the fall, so I can't imagine what it must be like in the summer. And as for the 'border paddocks,' a single horse is isolated in a small, narrow paddock on a daily basis. Last I checked, horses are social creatures. I would not board my horse here if I got another one, nor would I recommend this barn for either boarding nor riding with. I will continue my search elsewhere. UPDATE in response to Miss Salta's response: Thank you for taking the time to respond to me as I do appreciate that. However I do not appreciate when people try to put words in my mouth or try to twist around what I've said. I'm not quite sure why you're trying to blame some other people from the past for an experience that I've had with your current facility.