I wish I could leave zero stars. The man was so incredibly rude. We did not know if we were at the correct location and we didn't want to trespass on private property. We asked the man who was sitting on his porch if these were the stables and he didn't even attempt to get up from his chair. Obviously we didn't know the area. He yelled from his chair and said, "If you want to get out of your car and talk to me you can. We're not drive up service!" So needless to say we just left and didn't attempt to try and get a tour from this man. I should've known judging by other reviews and judging by their answering machine service. His entire demeanor was very rude and almost like he hates people. Maybe he just hates people that get there anytime close to 2pm? We had arrived at 1:45pm, I guess that was still too late for him. I'm still trying to understand if we did something wrong or if we were the ones being rude. I would not recommend this place if it's your first time. Seems like this man will suck the fun and life out of your first time experience. read more

Been there twice once on Christmas day and yes, the old man might not be the friendliest person on this earth, but he is the real deal straight up cowboy, and the hands are too. this might not be the place for you if you want someone to sugar coat things for you or paint a pretty picture for you. I will continue to take my family back to get the full experience of a horseback ride in the mountain on a snowy Christmas day! now granted we are a horse family and have horses of our own back in Texas, but we don't have the mountain like old man Runnels has. Thank you, Mr. Runnels and will go back for that Elk hunt we talked about. God bless and hope to see you soon! read more

This is a true horse ride in the mountains. It is a nice easy mountain ride. Summertime they have all day rides and other flavors. We went in the winter and the snow was everywhere. It was great. We wanted to ride in a real mountain snow filled scape with water flowing creek's. This was it. Their horses are so sweet. The wrangler was talkative but also allowed us to invite conversation. She was very knowledgable and helpful. If you are looking for a ride in an arena this is not for you. If you want to see some great sites, are a bit more experienced then this is more for you. Now it's not go your own way. It's still a led ride as they know the terrain. We had a ball. Great views. Recommend. read more

This business needs a serious upgrade. No website, the Facebook is not updated daily or often and the odd phone number you call where other have gotten the same message is extremely off putting. Regardless, we tried to give this place a chance and drove over 2 hrs trying to find this place. There is a sign about 8-9 miles before you reach the stables that can be changed from open to closed daily which was marked "open" on the day we decided to go. We drove up on very unkept narrow dirt roads filled with potholes. Arriving at the stables there was immediately no where to park, and any place you'd think you could had no parking signs. The main building had a sign that said it was open, which also said they had the right to refuse service to anyone and no refunds would be issued. We looked around for maybe 20 min before an older woman walked out of a home on the hill to tel us they "weren't roping today" and walked away from us and basically shooed us away. I would not recommend this drive nor these owners. Anyone so dismissive of customers and so willing to lose business is not one I want to engage with. read more

Definitely don't go, save yourself a lot of time and money!!! The old man running the place a 1st class jerk! His customer service is the worst I've ever experienced. I didn't get a chance to interact with all of the hands and guides but they seemed nice. Sadly the crew working only for "tips" were adversely financially impacted because of his bad attitude...I did feel sorry for them however! Not willing to put up with his behavior, I took my family and left. We spent lots of valuable vacation time going completely out of our way to pay for a fun family trail ride experience. There was no way I was going to spend a single dollar with a stable that wasn't grateful for our tourism dollars! They obviously don't care that the patrons have to go way out of their way to reach their ridiculous location and poorly maintained stables. read more

The hour-long ride itself was nice because it was in the mountains, but it was kind of slow and a little boring after a while. My young daughter wasn't allowed to ride on my lap, but she rode with the female trailboss. However, she was leading the line and I was last, so I didn't even get to talk to her. The male trailboss is a no nonsense old cowboy of very little, yet stern, words. Kind of a party pooper. The prices have gone up and are comparable to other stables in the area. Our experience was alright, but I might look around for a little more customer-friendly stable. read more

I wanted to go to stables where my 4-year-old and 2-year-old could ride double with my husband and myself. The other two horseback riding places in Ruidoso expressly prohibit that, so I was going to try Bonito. They don't have a website, and half of the phone number listings for them online have the 505 area code, but it's actually 575 now. I called at noon one day to ask if my kids could ride, and it went to a voicemail message that said they are open 10am-3pm, it's $30 per person per hour, and there is no cell phone service so if we need to speak to someone, call after 6pm. Okay. I tried to call after 6pm and still nobody answered. My husband and I decided to drive us and the kids out there the next day just to see. The stables are along a dirt road with a 15mph speed limit so even though it was 6 miles from our cabin, it took us 30 minutes to get there. Once there, we were greeted by an older gentleman and he told us the kids could ride with us. $30 for each of us adults and $10 for each kid. He said wait a few minutes and they'll get the horses ready. He went to sit on a porch and another one of the horsemen got two horses saddled for us. Ten minutes later, he came and told us they were ready. No public restrooms or indoor plumbing at all, only a port-a-potty. So after we did that and signed our waiver, they helped us on our horses. One good thing is that we were the only family down there at the time, so we got a private ride with our guide. Our guide was a female who wasn't overly friendly, but basically just lead us on the path and make sure we were still behind her every 100 feet or so. The valley we rode through is very beautiful. We crossed the creek several times, and on a very windy day, we were quite sheltered by the mountains and trees. When we got back, there were a couple more employees there, and they helped all of us off our horses. There was still no other customers there. We did not tip our tour guide or anyone else because quite simply, we didn't know we were supposed to. I figure normally there would be a sign somewhere that says "guides operate on tips" or whatever, but there was not. So sorry, lady that was our guide. I'm not even sure what anybody's name was over there. Bottom line, my kids had a good time. They got to ride horses. But since this was the only option for what we wanted to do, I think I'll just wait until they're old enough to ride their own horses and go to a different place. read more

10/31/19 we took four to the stables for a horseback ride. When we got there we were not greeted as you might expect. It took some work on our part to get the couple to come to us. At first it almost seemed that we were a nuisance and not a welcomed guest. However, after our persistence e were greeted. Sandra led our hour long ride. The rate was very fair, $30 per hour. All in all it was worth the initial meeting being a bit cold. read more

Horrible and horrendous customer service! Go here if you want to waste money and time with rude, arrogant, and unfriendly owner. You call at the listed number and the message goes, "....we don't have a phone....we are open from... to 3 Pm 7 days a week...." Message is already odd to start with because if there is no phone then why is this phone number listed which rings few times and then goes to voice mail and it also mention to call after 6 Pm if there is any question! Anyway, message pretty much says to show up any day until 3 Pm which unfortunately what we did only to suffer badly at the end. We arrived at the location around 2 Pm on Monday after 2 hours of driving only to find nobody. Funny thing was the erase board outside the shack with "Open" written on it. We waited for almost an hour but nobody showed up and we left with nothing. Now I do understand things can happen but how hard it is to write "Closed" or some kind of information on that erase board so that visitor don't waste their time? Today, Wednesday, I decided to give another try and did arrive at the location around 2 Pm again after 2 hours of driving. Upon reaching the shack I got excited when I saw lady working with the horse. Lady saw me and I just stood there for her to come out but she didn't until I holler at her. She came out reluctantly and after hearing what we were there for told me that it was too late. I told her that are they not supposed to open until 3 Pm? She replied with an attitude to talk to the main guy about that. I also told her about my useless trip last week to which she just ignored and walked away. After 5 mins or so, owner lazily came out and asked me rudely on why I came so late and not in the morning. I told him that I was busy in the morning and he immediately replied rudely, "Well we are busy now!" I told him about the last useless trip and also that their voice message clearly states that they are open until 3 Pm. He replied rudely that 3 Pm is when they completely stops. Shouldn't their voice message then supposed to reflect the correct information and should say something like that the last tour will be at 2 Pm? I politely asked the owner twice if there is anyway he can accommodate since I was coming from far, it was the second time, and also that their message clearly says that they are open until 3 Pm. "No" was the reply from the rude, unfriendly and arrogant owner. I just walked away to not make any more scene in front of my family and to not come here or recommend to someone else ever! read more

Great time riding horses today! This isn't a tourist like place where they will kiss your ass, it's a ranch that does horse rides. Nothing fancy but they do what they say. We went out today, 4 adults and 2 children on an hour long ride that was through a private lot and then into the forest and it was one of the most beautiful trails I've ever ridden. Our guide was quiet and let us enjoy the beauty all around. It was just our family, not a massive group like you get at some other places in town. Really off the grid, no cell services, we couldn't call out there and book it, just showed up, they had available horses so off we went. read more

Bonito Stables - Horseback Riding Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

We had a great family ride with Bonita Stables today. The staff were friendly and accommodating. They allowed our 4 year old twins to ride with us (parents) or offered to have them ride with a wrangler. Our 7 year old was able to ride by himself for a first time riding and the horse was extremely mild and followed the trail ride without him doing anything. $30 cash only/person. 1 hour ride, great scenery. The address is wrong on yelp. You need to follow directions to Bonita Lake and then follow road signs.... about 30 min from town. You feel like you're traveling into no where but it's great! No phones. No internet. They have a Port-A-Potty on site. We talked with Keisha most of the ride and appreciated all the information about the area. Highly recommend. Make sure you come before 2pm per other reviewers ... we got there around 1:30 and were riding with 2pm group. read more

Besides a 45 min. drive from Ruidoso and having to wait nearly 2 hours, the ride was great! It would be even better if they accepted reservations and payment ahead of time to limit any customer frustrations. read more

Good solid horses that are well cared for. Lovely ride thru the wilderness. It's first come riding so be prepared to wait if necessary and bring water! Folks running it are pretty cut and dry no nonsense but for $25 plus tip it's a heck of a deal!! read more

It was nice to ride the horses through the snow. Best prices by far. They only accept cash so bring enough to tip the guide too. The guide was really nice. The guide, my girlfriend and I were the only ones on the ride. I rode in the back while my girlfriend played 20 questions with the guide and she was extremely friendly and patient. Beautiful drive there and beautiful trails. I would recommend this place to anyone. read more

. The trails are nice and the price is not bad at all. $25 per person for an hour when we went. I would love to come back when the trails are cleared out. read more