My 12 year old daughter has done horse camps and riding lessons. They take really good care of their horses. Everybody there is super nice. It is very worth the drive. read more

See all

My children, ages 11 and 8, started lessons at Cougar Mountain Stables two years ago and they love the horses, instructors and barn. The staff truly cares about fostering confidant riders who can manage horses from a young age. The program includes a strong foundation in horsemanship and requires riders to master before advancing to the next level. The summer camp is amazing and the counselors are very supportive. My kids look forward to the camp each year. The camp includes a range of activities to keep campers busy and an optional overnight camp out day where kids can feed the horses, enjoy evening activities and dinner is prepared over the camp fire. Cougar Mountain Stables also offers adult riding lessons and trail rides for students. read more

My daughter has thrived in Rebecca's horsemanship program for nearly five years. Rebecca fosters a holistic environment where students learn everything from horse care and body language to essential veterinary skills. My daughter, once a complete novice, can now confidently handle and care for horses. Rebecca cultivates independent riders who understand and connect with these animals on a deep level. The program prioritizes safety, personalized instruction, and a supportive community. We're grateful for Rebecca's dedication and highly recommend her program. read more

Cougar Mountain Stables - Horseback Riding Near Me - Renton, Washington

I board at the Red Barn, which is part of Cougar Mountain Stables. Rebecca and Ryan run both barns and a nonprofit horse rescue and are truly kind, caring and helpful. They're clear about rules (which really keeps the barn drama away!) and care a lot about the safety of the horses. Red Barn has separate mare and gelding herds, and also has a huge lit outdoor arena + a round pen as well as areas to tie and groom. It's a great setup! read more

See all

IMHO, the rescue horse does not appear to have been properly vetted for general health. In addition, they advertise on Dreamhorse as a, "sale", then after you've taken the horse to heart, it turns out to be an expensive rescue adoption, with an extremely lengthy and ridiculous contract, e.g. No refunds, unannounced home visits, mandatory monthly photos, mandatory veterinary visits...and the rescue owner personally retains ownership of the horse forever. The rescue horse I got seemed wonderful at first, and even after having been in Red Barn's care for several years, began to seem (within a short time here) in poor condition overall. And immediately upon arrival required extensive farrier and veterinary care. This horse also turned out to be an extremely hard keeper after having been advertised as otherwise, leading me to wonder about a possible underlying systemic/metabolic $$$problem that might have shown up on a simple blood draw. Sadly, I sent the horse back, and feel regret. But from my lifetime of experience after having the horse for a very short period of time, I foresaw a long-term financial/emotional burden seeming to be passed on to me from the rescue. read more

I stumbled across Cougar Mountain Stables while I was trying to find a place to board the mustang I planned to adopt. I was nervous to tell potential barns as many places are not interested in accommodating a mustang for whatever reason. Rebecca, the barn owner/manager here, didn't bat an eye when I told her I was planning to adopt a mustang and told me she had helped train several tribal reservation mustangs. From the moment my gelding arrived at the stables, Rebecca and her staff did everything to make the transition smooth and to help acclimate him to the barn and domestic life. They were super knowledgeable and willing to provide advice and guidance when asked. I was able to start taking lessons with Rebecca and we have gotten my gelding started under saddle. I could not have done it without Rebecca's guidance. I assumed I would have to send him away to a trainer to get him started under saddle. Everyone at the barn is friendly, helpful, and obviously love the horses. I'll be leaving Seattle soon and the only thing I will miss is the barn and the people I have met there. read more

We bought a 2yr old gelding from the Red Barn in Renton.  We paid for full care but the Red Barn manager refused to honor the contract.  I was even sent a fax by the Red Barn that even though we were paying for full care our Horse was not going to be fed in his stall like the contract we were paying for stated "full care included bringing the horse in at night fed in stall then fed in his stall in the morning then turned out. Our horse was under weight when we purchased him but was rapidly losing weight I brought this to the attention of the owner/mngr also we were paying to have our stall cleaned once daily twice if needed Even though we were paying for full care we had to buy food and bedding and clean his stall.  We moved him as soon as possible. The morning we moved our horse out of the Red Barn all the stalls had horses clean bedding but not one of them had been fed and this was 9:30am. I would not keep a horse at the Red Barn for free.  They are in a flood zone and the horses are left out to stand in water and mud, manure and that's where they are forced to eat read more

In the 4 months we took classes there, 17 classes, they cancelled on us 4 times, within 2 hours of the class starting. The site says its 300 a month, but its 75 a lesson. False advertising on months with 5 weeks. When I first pulled into the address, I thought I was at the wrong place. This place is literally just at somebodies run down house. I mean really run down; the gutters are falling off the house. Class for the first 2 months started 10-15 mins late. They will spend 45 mins grooming the horse. Picking up their poop. Feeding the horse. Only the last 15 mins, if they were lucky, did they ride the horse. The parking lot is tiny. Remember its someone's house. So, it's a real mess to start with. All muddy full of puddles. But that's not the real problem. The problem is that its COVID, and for safety concerns, they don't want the parents outside the cars. Ok, I get it. So the parents, myself included, parked their vehicles in a manor where we could see the arena. Great! Problem solved! The problem was though that the owner of the house, who I assume is the owner of CMS and husband of the instructor obviously didn't like the idea of people parking in his drive way. Which is crazy to me. For the past month, this guy would park his car, sideways, in front of all the spots where you could pull in and see your kids. So the parents, myself included, just backed our cars right up to him. I mean, the guy was not going anywhere the 1 hours we where there. And he could have easily parked in the spots that did not look into the arena. Instead, he would come out and mutter something under his breath. And each week the cones got more and more. Finally, a big sign and multiple cones made it impossible to park there. So I tired to talk to the instructor, and labor the fact that it was important to me to be able to watch my daughter in class. I went up to the gate arena, 20 mins before class started. She saw me, but she never came over. Ok, fine, you have a class going on, safety first! No problem. Then after the class ends, she is still ignoring me. I even told the assistant instructor I wished to speak with her. A few mins later she finally comes over. "What's the deal with parking?" I said. "We've had just too many complaints about parking, so you can't park there." "I really want to watch my daughter, and drive 45 mins here through rush hour, to sit for an hour, then drive back in the rain. Its super important to me to be able to watch my daughter. The bottom line is if I can't this is my notice." "That's fine, please put it in writing" she said. WHAT! You didn't even want to work with me on this? Just "bye" So I went to my car and wrote this email. "Hello. Please consider this as official notice that Jade will no longer be attending CMS after February. Super disappointed you guys can't figure it out something as simple as parking. To add. You guys have been a real disappointment. The instructor didn't even ever introduce herself. They send 90% of the time grooming the horse. 5 months in. Plus this place is literally falling apart. Disgusting staples. " No I realize the last line is a bit harsh, but I was pretty frustrated at this point, and super disappointed for my daughter. But what happened next was even a shock to me. Out of nowhere, comes storming up this massless instructor. I roll down my window in my car. "Nice email. You can come get your daughter right now if you want." She yelled at me. "Fine, if I get a refund, I'd be happy to take her." I said. Then I had to pull my daughter out of the class. It was heartbreaking for her. Later I got this. "Hello, This email is a notice of Jade's disenrollemnt from our program as of 2/2. We will make an exception and wave our policy regarding two weeks notice when dropping a class. Your account will reflect a refund for today's class amount and no other charges for the month. We have policies and current usage protocol in place regarding our parking due to the significant problems it has caused for our attendees and students. We prioritize student safety here at Cougar Mountain Stables, and in the past we have had students put in unnecessary danger due to parking lot misuse and mishaps such as headlights and car alarms. We have enjoyed having Jade in our program, and wish her the best in her equestrian career. Happy trails Kalan Cougar Mountain Stables " The part about parking safety is a bold face lie. The only complaints she got were from her husband. If they cared about safety, he would not have been driving his car so fast in his own lot. I remember one time; we were parked in "his spot" and he was supper pissed. He drove like 20 miles an hour past the stable gates into a place where they store hay. I was on a waiting list to get into this dump. So I assume they must have enough people knocking on their door for business that they just don't care. Don't be one of them. read more

I've emailed, filled out the registration forms online, and everything. It has been 3 months since I've been trying to schedule a riding lesson here and I have not received one reply or phone call back. I'm giving this place 1 star for their lack of response. I was excited about this place because I thought they seemed to have good reviews (for the most part). However, it seems as though they are too busy to keep up with the business aspect of getting back to people. I'm giving them a 1 star because I don't want other people to waste their time or get their hopes up about this place. Very disappointing. I read another review that was posted at the end of March which detailed a similar experience that I've been having with this place and felt compelled to let viewers know it's true, these people will not get back to you. read more

I have been working with Cougar Mountain Stables almost 5 years now. It's wonderful to see that each horse gets individual care and they go above and beyond what some horse owners even do. Seeing events, groups and summer camps make it such a family atmosphere. read more

I absolutely love this place, I have been riding here for about 4 years and have learned so much not only about riding but about horsemanship, barn care, vet care and so much more. Rebecca is a WONDERFUL and very insightful instructor who I love! The care and passion she puts into her horses, rescues and boarders is phenomenal. She always puts the horses care and well being first and you don't see that in a lot of trainers these days. She has a plethora of knowledge and is always eager to learn more/new techniques and try out different styles and approaches in training. I cannot recommend this place enough! read more

This place used to be May Valley Stables, which was a truly fun place to board, though in the end, failed miserably. It was recently taken over by a young couple who, like the previous owners, know nothing about running a business. They have gladly chased away those horse owners who made this a fun place to be, then raised the fees without improving service. They claim to supply salt and fresh water, yet I have had to supply my own for nearly a year. The water is actually yellow and stinks of sulphur. If you bathe your horse in it, your horse will smell like that. Stalls are cleaned 1x a day, not two, and yes, riding trails are nearby but you have to ride on May Valley Road to get to them. Already I have witnessed fence wires down and two horses caught in the wire. their stallion has been loose twice and is rather aggressive toward other horses. The wash rack is outdoors, on mud and the tack room is a community tack room that is not heated. My saddles are always moldy when I leave them there. There is also no kitchenette in the "viewing lounge." They are asking $475 for a stall with a run, and $425 for a stall with no run. There are some pasture boarders but they will soon be kicked out because the pasture space is needed for turnout. Right now the place is buried in mud and has been for several months so turn-out is either in a mud pasture or in the arena while they clean stalls. It's worth $250 to $300 at best. These kids claim they are qualified to manage horses who are ill but less than a month after their arrival, a perfectly healthy horse foundered, and instead of assisting with a solution, they evicted the horse and owner with less than a week's notice. Two months later, a horse abcessed and had to be stalled. That horse was also evicted. The only reason my horse is still there is because they have not yet raised my fees. I definitely don't think I would want my kids around these people. I can't wait to get my horses out of there. Oh, and the pictures on their website are from some other location. It's totally false advertising. read more

I was so incredibly disappointed in this place. I ride horses and I want to give my niece the same exposure two summers ago. I emailed in April and I emailed again 5 weeks later. I called several times in between and never received a reply from any method. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and so I thought they may be too busy to reply. I drove my niece down to the location so I can speak to someone, and so she can see the place. I introduced myself to a woman there. I later found out her name is Rebecca. Rebecca glanced over, didn't say anything, and just walked away as if we were bothering her. Her rudeness made me feel so intimidated that I waited for about 20 minutes before I walked up to her again. I just cut to the chase this time and told her I wanted to sign my niece up for riding lessons. She told me not now and to email her. I told her I emailed her twice and didn't get a reply. She gave me a short glare and walked away. The worst part was that my niece caught on to the rudeness, and I had to think of an explanation so she didn't feel rejected. read more

Horrible place!!!!! Rebecca and Ryan just took over management of the Red Barn which is next to Cougar Mountain Stables and let me tell you there is not the tiniest modicum of customer service or consideration offered to their boarding customers! They just do whatever they want with your horse without discussing it with you, in complete disregard of the previous boarding agreement one may have had prior to their management takeover. They are completely rude and unaccommodating and are clearly not accustomed to working in any direct service industry. I have never been treated so poorly anywhere! They then foist a boarding contract upon you that requires more signatures than a mortgage. Let me tell you- there are absolutely no warm fuzzies here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Cougar Mountain Stables was the first stable that I began my venture into horse-riding at. The pros: - The facilities were clean, and they had multiple arenas, both indoor and out. - Their equipment was new and/or lightly used, and helmet rental was free. - The horses appeared to have access to large spaces to turn out. - There was an online calendar visible to the public where one could see what spaces were available for lessons, and what instructors were teaching them. - They appeared to be concerned with the horses' health and well-being, and had rescued a number of them also. - The lessons were only $45. - The location was convenient; 15 minutes or so away from the Renton Landing. The cons: - Because of my work-schedule, I could not book (or, in reality, was never offered) a recurring spot for a lesson at the same time each week. I would e-mail the instructor anywhere from a week to least 3 or 4 days in advance, but would sometimes not hear back from her until the morning of the potential lesson. I always paid in time - as soon as the spot was confirmed - but was very inconvenienced by this lapse in communication. - Lessons were frequently interrupted by boarders or mothers of students, and the instructor made no effort to curb these conversations, most of the times halting our lesson to answer things like what she wanted for lunch the next day, etc. Because I did not know any better, I assumed that all stables and lessons were conducted as such. Emotionally, I felt disrespected, and like my paid lesson was less important than trivial questions from others, many times from the same person. - I left for vacation once, and though I e-mailed the stable numerous times upon my return, I never heard back from them. This forced me to find another establishment to ride at. To this day, I cannot think of how and when I offended the management. I was always polite, paid lessons on time, and was respectful of the horses and tack. I can only speculate that they for some reason deemed me a "bad fit" to the stable - for - even if lessons were full, a business should reply to multiple e-mails just to let the person know that they no longer have availability. - I never once heard the instructor say my name. Sadly, this underscored not feeling like a part of the community, even though I came to the stable once a week - sometimes even twice - for months. - I am not sure what is traditionally acceptable in terms of horse-discipline, but I clearly remember the instructor hitting the horses (when they did not listen to her commands) more than once. I cannot comment on the boarding, or any of the other services listed besides the lesson program. Perhaps they have changed their policies and practices since I have been there; they may also have been busy with other things, and were not prioritizing new students. Still, my memory of this stable is bitter because of the above-listed cons. Truthfully, I was so excited to be starting to learn how to ride, and when my enthusiasm was not returned, I felt very discouraged. However, there were redeeming qualities to this establishment, and as such, one must use from this review what he/she is in need of knowing. Personally though, it was not what I was looking for in terms of a lesson-environment. read more

I am a long time boarder and really appreciate the managment of Rebecca and Ryan. They have done a great job of improving the barn and making it a welcoming environment. I also think Rebecca is very knowledgable with horses, always willing to help. A ideal place to stable your horse, lease or take lessons. read more

The negative comments here is not what I have experienced at all. Ryan and Rebecca are more than competent barn managers. I feel safe and secure with them in charge. They have definite rules and regulations, all with the safety of the boarders and the care of the horses in mind. Those who do not like to follow the rules at a facility, should just have their horse in their backyard. read more

I was looking for a stable where my 12 year old could take riding lessons. I feel like we struck gold!! The owners and trainers are awesome. Helen is our English riding trainer and she is really great. My daughter has learned some wonderful things from her in a short time. Rebecca and Ryan are really great with everyone I have seen at the stable. My daughter was involved in a horse camp at Cougar Mountain Stables and she had a wonderful time. read more

What does it take to get someone from Cougar Mountain Stables to return a call, email, or a pm on facebook? My grand daughters want to take lessons, (yes many) at Cougar Mountain Stables. They attended a summer horse camp there, but I have since heard that there is new management. Now that we want to further their riding education, do you think I could set up an appointment, lesson, or even get any information??? No return calls, no return emails, and no replies to my continued requests on facebook. Knock knock?? Nope, no one is home. I don't know how they can conduct business this way, but I obviously need to give up and find somewhere more professional to have my grand daughters learn to ride. Customer NO-SERVICE is my rating. read more

Absolutely LOVE CMS! I moved my horse here in Sept. 2012 from a local boarding facility where my horse broke out in hives in Aug. and was not getting better and I was at my wits end trying to find a facility that would best suit my needs and the needs of my horse. I emailed Rebecca and Ryan and expressed my concerns and in hopes they could make room for my horse on such short notice. They emailed me back with in a few hours and said they would love for me to come tour the facility (which I was already familiar with but they had done improvements since I was last there) and I went down the next day and made it final. I moved my horse in that week and her hives started to dissipate, both myself and my horse are happy! CMS is constantly making improvements in the barn, around the barn and around the property! I am especially happy that CMS uses pellet bedding in all the stalls since that was the main culprit for my horses hives. All disciplines and levels are welcome and this is a friendly place, with many of the boarders riding together on weekends and occasional get-togethers with the last one being our Holiday Party/Gift Exchange. I feel that we are not just boarders but we are a family all striving for the same thing, that being Happy Horses! I am completely at ease leaving for a weekend knowing that Rebecca and Ryan will take good care of my horse's needs including a pat on the head or even a hug to let her know she is in good hands. In closing this is my favorite quote: I may live in a house but the barn is my home! Thanks Rebecca and Ryan for making both of us feel right at home here at CMS! read more