I couldn't be happier with HHF! Tricia is fantastic. She knows what she is doing! Her trainers…read moreand staff are all wonderful. Sara, in the office, is incredible at her job...accommodating, professional, organized, she doesn't miss a beat! My daughter has been taking lessons here for 3 years and she gets exactly what she needs! All the instructors are great! Lexcie, Devon, Hannah and Kelly....It is such a friendly, family atmosphere! I am grateful to have found HHF! I truly believe they have changed my daughter's life!!

This place is so toxic. I have been riding here for at least 5 years, I bought a horse off of…read moretricia, been coached by emily basically the whole time i've been here, and I have literally earned no respect. I think that the main cause of this drama is the show team. I think that the trainers here are so rude and not respectful. I've been told that "when I see you jump, I wish I priced that pony higher" First of all, what is that even supposed to mean??!! She said it to me to be a jab at my riding abilities. I've been told that my body is not meant for the sport, that I am a terrible rider, and so on. I am compared to people and in front of the whole class, I've been told that I ride like a dick. I think that if the trainer likes you and you're a 'favorite' you're all set to go! But if you're like me and the trainer absolutely hates you with her guts? Ya it's not the place. I am so sick and tired of going home from this place feeling like i'm not a good rider or I don't deserve my pony. It's just such a rude, not respectful, and honestly not that nice of a place to ride! They don't jump above 3ft, but like you're even going to jump above 2'6" here. I just felt like the whole time I was at this barn, i'm not going to get anywhere. I wasn't getting any positive feedback, only screaming at me for what I'm doing wrong and not being told how to fix it. This place just didn't do me good and did not give me good feedback. This place is just not it for me and I bet after the first few weeks after coming here, you will get where I am coming from.

This place is amazing and it shows in every way! The owners are incredible people who are very…read morepassionate about their business, the community and the horses (both theirs and boarded). They have a great partnership with folks who want to take riding lessons. I was an adult student there and couldn't have been happier! If I had a horse, these are the only people I would trust to board it. Extremely professional, knowledgeable, and just plain awesome folks. I really felt like I had lucked out when I rode there -- other places were less welcoming, uninterested in an adult student and the arena felt like it was a high school clique again. You will never experience that here!! Check out their website for the number for lessons. Or just jump in and lease a horse!! Some of my best days were spent coming home from here, smelling like leather and the horse. And don't forget to love on the dogs when you're there.

I have been to Sons of the Wind twice at their Loxahatchee, FL location. Once last year and again…read morethis year. I had such a great time last year that I returned this year and brought 3 friends along. .. Unfortunately, this year's trip was not as positive as last years. On the positive side, the facility is beautiful, and the horses are wonderful. Where things fell apart a bit this year was in the lessons. There are three instructors, Vitor (the main instructor), Maggie, and Vincent. Vincent taught one of the group lessons (3 of us) and did a wonderful job. Clear and concise instruction, well balanced, and very informative. I took lunge lessons with Maggie and they were also excellent - exhausting but well worth it. Vitor struggled a bit more with time management - especially in the group lessons. In at least 3 of the lessons, he focused 80% of the time on one of the riders while the other riders just walked around. Then they got a few minutes at the end. In another lesson, he took a student off their lesson horse to show them how to do something on that horse and then spent at least 20 minutes schooling that horse (still not getting it do really do what he was asking) before getting off and having that student get back on to just walk around the rest of the lesson (the poor horse was completely fried by then). When he is focused on you and gives instruction, it is generally very good. That said, what really got to me was the response when I voiced my frustration with basically 30% of my lessons being pretty much a non-lesson. At the end of my last lesson, my frustration was pretty clear. When Maggie asked what was wrong, I expressed my frustration with the 3 lessons that were basically me auditing while sitting on the back of horse, the response I got was "I am sorry you feel that way" followed by "You don't need to come back". That just blew me away - instead of taking the feedback and saying "so sorry that happened, thank you for letting us know and we will work on that" - I basically get told to go find someplace else to go. That lack of concern and empathy for the people who have come here was disappointing to say the least. While they did reimburse me for the three lessons, that wasn't the point and not what I requested. This did nothing for the other individuals who were impacted by this. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I cannot recommend them anymore.

I have nothing but the absolute best to say about Vitor Silva, everyone that works for him, and the…read morefacilities at Sons of the Wind (SotW). Riding with Vitor has been a transformative experience for me, not just because riding one of his Lusitano schoolmasters is like nothing I had experienced before, but because I was finally able to begin to take what I'd learned by watching for so long and do something with it. He presents information in a way that is easy to understand, is patient, and I feel completely comfortable asking about anything I do not understand. And when you ride one of the SotW schoolmasters, it is evident how much time has been spent with each horse so that they too have something to teach us and as a result, you are able to get the most out of your ride. The facilities at SotW are simply wonderful and although I could spend several paragraphs elaborating, I'll instead recommend checking out their website where all of the facility details are available in detail. I also want to highlight the SotW staff who are uncompromising when it comes to providing exceptional care to the animals as well as the maintenance of the facilities. Their overall attention to detail and their ability to work as a team is second to none. I have been a boarder here and I have the utmost confidence in the care being provided by SotW. You hear many stories in the horse world and I am glad to be somewhere that is filled with dedicated professionals who do not cut corners and who take great pride in everything that they do. I wholeheartedly recommend SotW and urge you, whether you are interested in learning about classical dressage or in need of training for your horse, to contact them for more information.

100% recommend! A wonderful professional equine atmosphere that truly cares about the horses and…read moretrue horsemanship!

Verrill Stables is a five star horse training facility. My horse Reydar, has been there for a…read morelittle over a month and I have been nothing but pleased with his care and training. All of the staff has been great, all friendly and welcoming but owner's Jess and Josh take the time for each of their clients, Sam and Emily are amazing and great to work with. Team Verrill cares very much about the horses and their owners, it shows daily with their hard work and dedication. The barn and indoor is very well kept, lessons are thorough and always on schedule. All aspects of our training is very organized and well run. I would recommend any level rider to come and train at Verrill Stables. I am happy to be a part of Team Verrill!

Very friendly people there. Wife and I had a great time. She loved the whole experienceread more

Amazing barn amazing people I have been here for a year and a half my daughter and I took lessons…read moreand we leased a horse and now boarding it's beautiful the horses are treated wonderfully everything's above expectations

If I could give the volunteers and fellow boarders 5 stars, I absolutely would. They are the only…read morereason this place functions and they are the ones who truly care about the horses. Unfortunately, the actual business practices and treatment of clients were some of the most unprofessional and unpredictable I have ever experienced. The financial terms of our contract were changed behind our backs and behind the backs of multiple boarders. When we questioned why we were suddenly being charged double and asked about the changes in the contract language, we were told not to question her authority because she's "the business owner" and that we should just pay because we are "wealthy and have fancy cars" (see pic). "60 days" you are asked to pay when leaving turns into 90+ days upon departure- its insane and if you contest it- that's when things turn very nasty. The people giving 5 star reviews will see at some point what this place is and who management is if you contest their fraudulent practices. The lesson company on the property, Valara Equestrian Academy, was also charging our credit card through a completely different company (The Peaceful Equine LLC) that has been administratively dissolved since 2023 (and isn't even filed as a riding/training business) That is ILLEGAL We asked for the legal business name multiple times and it couldn't be produced. I'm not sure how that works with liability insurance but I wish I had looked into this sooner but initially we were naive. We had no idea because the company name processing the charges was different from the one listed on the paperwork and branding. We only discovered it later after going back through records and statements. . We slowly uncovered fraudulent, unethical, and deceptive business practices at every turn. Beyond the financial and business issues, the conditions & care for the horses were less than satisfying and safety was a big concern. Our stalls constantly had manure left in them even after they had supposedly been cleaned the pic was before the horse was even turned back into the stall). And honestly, this was not the workers' fault. Expecting one person to properly clean that many stalls by 2pm was unrealistic. The staff work hard -- management cuts corners at every chance they get for example getting rid of "night check" so the last time the horses have any forage is 2pm UNLESS the boarder provides more hay and is on property to fill and hang hay bags. Plan to spend a lot of additional money from buying shavings that won't hurt your horse, a ton of hay and additional fees to store said hay. Having horses go from 2pm- 6am with no forage is not good care. One of our horses ended up with Ulcers- (this was also not cheap to treat ) due to stress and limited access to adequate forage and the other lost a ton of weight. see pic Top- week we bought him and brought to ST. Middle - Week we left ST (he had been there only 4 months) Bottom- taken today at new barn 4 months later We couldn't be happier with our new barn and the care they get. We also had to spend our own money making both of our stalls safe and habitable because of rotted flooring and sharp boards sticking out from the stall walls. Boarders should not be expected to repair dangerous stalls themselves just so their horses can safely stand inside them. Boarders were expected to pay out of pocket for repairs and safety fixes to their own stalls, despite the facility itself not being properly maintained, because we were repeatedly told "the barn can't afford it." The shavings were also unsafe (see pics), I don't know if I would even call them shavings. On several occasions there were loose wires hanging in the paddocks and in the dirt causing one of our horses legs to get caught. The manipulation and toxic behavior from the trainer -- especially within the group of teenage girls -- was also incredibly unprofessional and honestly pretty disturbing to look back on after leaving. The texts I have uncovered from trainer to my daughter and having her call her at all hours. Very un professional. Their response to another negative review on Google should tell you all you need to know. (See pic). Looking back now, there were red flags everywhere. I genuinely wish we had left far sooner than we did. I have heard from many people/boarders past and present that years ago this was a beautiful family run establishment but unfortunately has gone down hill under more recent management. Dont be fooled by positive reviews. I wish we hadn't been. I wish we paid attention to the mass exodus of boarders leaving when we first arrived.

We went there to kill time before our train arrived and it was so fun! It was our first time and…read morethe employee taught us how to climb. Such a great first experience!

So much fun! And great for newbies like myself. There were…read moreenough spots to climb away from others with varying difficulty. We will be back this week again!

Overall, it was a fun experience out on a lovely day with my best friend! I think that Jan is very…read moreknowledgeable and has a cool program. Ambrosia was so kind and welcoming and good with the horses! I did not book the experience, but I was more expecting a trail ride that you show up at a certain time, ride for an hour, and then head out. I was not expecting to stay 2 and a half hours tacking up, grooming, and bathing. As a horse person myself, I do not mind the work that goes into caring for a horse throughout the whole process- but it was just not what I was expecting. So be prepared to take the thorough time to learn all aspects of grooming, tacking, and aftercare. The ride itself was fun and exciting in a new location on a new horse on some beautiful trails. Jan was very knowledgeable on the areas we were riding, and pointed out some cool beaver dams. I rode Gem, and my friend rode Chili who were very well behaved equine partners. You can tell that they are well loved and treated with kindness and respect. It was a very hot and humid day, and I liked that we took walking breaks for the horses to cool down a bit and it wasn't too strenuous for the horses. As a horse person, I believe that the owner knows what is best for the horses. I am aware that I don't have the extensive knowledge and experience as Jan, and she does what is best for her horses. With that being said, I had some minor concerns. I was slightly concerned with the lack of tendon protection on the bush-whacking part of the trail ride. I was also concerned with the saddle fit on the horses. I am not a saddle fitter and I acknowledge that, but there was minimal wither clearance on the saddle that was put on Gem. I understand this is a riding school and saddle fitting to horse and rider can be an insurmountable task, and that gem did not show any visible signs of discomfort. There was a girth rub on gem, and I wish there was a fuzzy sleeve on the girth or maybe some shoulder stretches to help prevent further rubbing. Jan definitely knows her stuff, and seems to be a very experienced horse person. She can be gruff and stern at some times. I do recognize that safety is at the forefront of her business, but I wish she spoke in a more professional manner and explained more on what her expectations were. Again, it was a cool experience to ride a different horse in a different location and get to enjoy horses, friends, and beautiful scenery. My complaints are minor, but I do think there is room for improvement. Thank you ambrosia and Jan for a fun Saturday morning!

Such a wonderful ride. Lovely, happy horses, peaceful atmosphere and beautiful scenery. Thank you…read moreJan!!