The city of Buena Park had an Easter 2026 event with a petting zoo hosted by GUR. My daughter loved the pony rides and we greatly enjoyed all the animals in the petting zoo. They had a nice set up with boat loads of hand sanitizer and they clocked the time fair and square so everyone had a chance to visit. All the animals were nice and clean. read more

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Do not recommend, incompetent staff that doesn't know their own policies. Came up with a new rule of having to be 7 years old, then 6 years old to ride the camel, even though kids younger and smaller never had a problem until my child. Was turned away and walked back to the car. Sitting in the car I looked up their website and good thing they posted own policies. Maybe the staff should read it together. Don't blame this on your help, it's poor leadership. If you don't know what you are doing, how are they supposed to know? read more

Giddy Up Ranch - Their policies the staff is unaware of - Horseback Riding Near Me - Phelan, California

They came to my son's school and told him he couldn't ride the pony because he was over weight . My son isn't even fat . He's tall and solid. If u guys couldn't accommodate all the children u shouldn't have came . He was the only one in his class That couldn't ride A pony . He cried his self to sleep . Terrible place read more

We are so grateful for Giddy Up ranch coming to Beverly Hills farmers market. Our kids had a blast petting the animals and feeding them. The staff working was super helpful and nice. Anthony did an excellent job letting us know the rules and making sure it was an enjoyable experience. We will definitely be back for more fun with our little kids! read more

I wanted to hire giddy up ranch for a private party and was shocked by the unnecessary rudeness of the owner when just trying to get some simple information. I had left a voicemail and she called me back almost immediately, she confirmed my date and then told me pricing was on the website. If the pricing wasn't so buried within her site (you actually have to click on 'forms' to find it) we wouldn't have even needed to speak. So finally I get to the pricing information and scroll to Birthday Party Special and see on the first line the package is $1200, so I announced as I was navigating her page, "oh I see here your packages starts at $1200" literally just repeating what's on her page. Well this is when Marie starts getting an attitude and saying No she doesn't do parties for $1200 and definitely not on the weekends. This was confusing since I was reading it right there on her website but there was no room for clarification because Marie was becoming unhinged at the mere mention of the wrong pricing, yikes. Despite our budget being totally comfortable with a higher priced package I definitely don't want that kind of rude energy at my son's party. If Marie is too distracted with her ponies to calmly talk to potential customers, maybe don't call me in the first place until you can focus? That whole exchange was so bizarre! read more

Giddy Up Ranch - Birthday Party Pricing - Horseback Riding Near Me - Phelan, California

They brought petting zoo to our church in Irvine. Staff was great! Lots of animals for mini petting zoo.

By far the WORST petting zoo experience with Marie! I would give her 0 stars if I could Dont let her nice website fool you, like it did for me! She does NOT have her act together at all. We hired her for a community event, NEVER again! Harsh bad attitude from set up, during the event (for the guests to hear) and after the event. Marie was arguing with her staff the entire time while sitting in a lounge chair under the tent we purchased for her animals so they would have shade on a hot day (90 + degree weather) and on the payment, this means it is even hotter for the animals. Shame on her! She is in this for the money only, not for the animals - this is crystal clear! She left her camels in a hot trailer and did not bring them out as part of the petting zoo. She gave my staff a hard time and was extremely unprofessional. read more

My girls and I had the pleasure of riding their camels at the La Habra tamale festival and it was so fun to sit so high up. The staff were friendly. Their petting zoo was awesome. I loved the hair styles on the animals. They looked well taken care of and clean. Can't wait for them to have another event. read more

I'm at an event called carnival for kids and really shocked and disgusted at this petting zoo. They separated little baby animals from their moms to make money. In a tiny cage they have rabbits, duck, baby alpacas, baby pigs, a dog, a tortoise, baby donkey, chickens and ponies. They tied up a baby zebra!!! Baby donkeys, and ponies on a super short leash to their trailer. The animals are distressed, trying to pull away from the trailer and have a little mobility, poor things don't even have a foot to move and can barely move their necks! I don't know why they need to keep the leashes so short so they can't even bend their necks. I hear animals in the trailer banging. It is so heartbreaking to watch so many people oblivious to the animal abuse going on because they are distracted by cute baby animals. What happens when the babies are bigger? What happens when they are no longer cute for the events and instagram?? Why the hell do they have a baby zebra? This exotic animal is not a rescue. PLEASE DONT PAY TO SUPPORT BUSINESS THAT ABUSE INNOCENT ANIMALS. read more

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My kids waited in a two hour line today to ride a camel at their school event and were told they'd be able to ride, even if more kids lined up they'd be the last ones. Imagine our surprise when this company decided to change their mind last minute and not let me kids AFTER TWO HOURS go on the camel. I will never recommend this company and will tell the school to never hire them again. Such unethical business practice lying to little kids, getting their hopes up with a promise to ride, then breaking their hearts with a bold face betrayal of promise. read more

Great outfit!!! We hired them to provide a petting zoo for my daughters 5th birthday and it was a great success. Very professional, on time, and friendly. Kids and parents both had a great time. Super friendly staff made sure everyone got a turn to ride the ponies and tons of hands on with all the wonderful animals. My birthday girl described it as "the best birthday ever!" Would definitely recommend for any event, money well spent! Thanks again read more

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Giddy Up Ranch is an amazing company. Marie is a pleasure to work with. They are reliable, safe and do a great job. Joy was had by all. I've used this company professionally and personally and they always go above and beyond. Thank you Marie!!! read more

It is so fun here I really recommend going to see them at the church. They were walking animals and it was really cool. My kid had so much fun and hope to see Giddy Up Ranch somewhere soon. read more

Giddy Up Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me - Phelan, California

Went to the Beverly Hills farmers market with my son. The owner is really rude and abusive was abusive to her employee in front of me. I walked over to the area with 2 year old son, she told me he's not allowed to be inside some dumb border that she decided to make up. Went up to for admission then she picked up the phone and ignored me. Her employee was nice and ask 7 bucks for my kid to pet some animals. Then she hung up and berated her employee in front of me because she didn't understand the pricing rules she made up. She wanted to charge me 7 dollars to go in because he was under 5. Told her to hand my money back. Ridiculous, don't know how she stays in business and g-d only knows how she treats these poor animals. I would have given her a piece of my mind if I didn't have my son with me. Just told her she should be nicer to the girl read more

The most amazing experience! They were so considerate, called the day before to confirm and make sure all is well. They showed up on time! Their fence and set up was so clean. The staff was friendly and blessed their heart that they picked up kids for 2 hours to ride the two ponies. And they were so friendly w kids and didn't get upset if kids played with the farm animals. The ponies had beautiful saddles and just so clean. Love love this vendor and I'll be using them again! read more

I just coordinated a BIG event for last weekend in San Pedro. We hired Giddy Up to bring their "Exotic" Zoo & do Pony Rides. HUGE HIT!!! Because the weather has been so hot, Marie let us know (well in advance) that chickens and bunnies couldn't travel in the heat. Poor darlings! So... she substituted a camel instead. AMAZING! The kids were thrilled... and, there were long lines waiting to enjoy the animals for the 3-hours that we booked them. As I did not attend the Saturday event, the first event report shared with me on Monday morning was "The zoo was great!". This, from the President of the organization (who doesn't hand out compliments freely). Thank you Giddy Up for bringing such joy. It is truly appreciated! read more

Giddy Up Ranch - Camel & Zebra as part of "Exotic Petting Zoo". WONDERFUL. - Horseback Riding Near Me - Phelan, California

We just took a camel ride at the Israeli Independence Festival with Giddy Up Ranch & it was wonderful! kids loved it, they were so patient, organised & safety conscience. It was a crazy busy event but Giddy Up managed the crowd really well & every child had their moment. I would totally hire them for our kids future parties. Highly recommended! read more

We have had Giddy Up Ranch coming to our school for the past 15 years. They are amazing! They bring such wonderful animals for our special needs children to interact with, feed, touch and listen to! They also have special saddles for our students to be safely strapped into a pony with supervision on both sides of the pony. The animals are extremely well cared for! They have even brought the camel to us!! They are always on time. They set up and are ready to go. Rules are clearly posted and hand sanitizer ready too!! They consistently clean up after the animals in the petting area and it is truly an amazing experience. This is our yearly animal encounter that we bring to our differently baked students because it is very difficult for our parents to be able to provide this experience for their child. Marie is very professional and delivers what she promises. We look forward to many more years of our animal encounter experience for our students. read more

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Great service and staff. The camel ride really made our party a hit. Love working with this group and will be using them again!

The lady who runs this place needs to have her company dismantled! She has had a petting zoo at the America on Main street 3 years in a row and this woman needs to have this place and the animals taken away from her! The first year we saw them they were on asphalt with NO cover over them and there were a large group of people in each pen and they were almost stepping on the animals. There was hardly ANY food or water in the pen for this animals and a few of the big animals had NO place to walk they were stuck in one spot either standing or laying down. This year we went over there and she had 3 guys working for her (that we could see) and one guy was sitting on a chair inside the pen. These pens were disgusting. She had large animals with small animals, she had kids running and chasing the ducks and bunnies and chickens, and no one was telling them to stop. They had a pot belly pig that was in one pen and I guess its sibling or mate was in the next pen and it wanted to be with it. I mean it was even trying to get t hrough the cracks in the fence to get to its friend. It was squealing so loud you could hear it down the street. Everytime the guy opened the door to the pen the poor pig was trying to get out and he would actually grab its snout and shove it back in the pen. IT was disgusting! there were too many people and the workers were not keeping an eye on anyone or anything! I called this woman and all she said was " IM going through a divorce right now dont report me I love my animals" well it does NOT SHOW! SOMEONE NEEDS to get these poor animals away from her before she gets them hurt. AND she needs to get employees WHO CARE about animals and KNOWS HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM!!!!!! read more

I just came from the Monrovia's Farmer's Market and I'm so horrified by what I saw. There was a female donkey that was tied to their truck and she was continuously pacing back and forth. She banged herself against the truck a few times and so finally my mom asked one of the workers if the donkey was ok. He responded with, "Yeah, it's because her baby is in the zoo." It all made sense. About 10 minutes prior to this I heard a loud sound coming from the petting zoo. I imagine it was a distress call from the baby donkey. None of the workers seemed to care. The mother donkey ended up screaming out a few minutes later but of course, no one cares. I can't believe they would separate the child from it's mother. Just so disappointing to see. I hope that Monrovia will reconsider allowing this company to be a part of the farmer's market. At the very least, I hope this company stops bringing separating animals that shouldn't be separated or don't bring them at all. read more

My sister just hosted an early Easter Day celebration and she booked Giddy Up Ranch for their petting zoo. The staff was really friendly and professional. I appreciate that. And all pets were pet friendly and cute. My 9 months old baby loved it. She was so happy petting them. The reason for the 1 star review is for their "rules" they had. A lot of my nephews and nieces were here and family friends. And they had 2 ponies. They said the horses could only hold up to 65lbs. And hey that's okay. But if you are going to set those rules they should apply to everyone. 2 kids were over the weight limit. My niece is y'all and weighs 75 pounds. My nephew is about the same height but weighs a bit more maybe between 90-100 pounds. When asked if my niece could ride the pony/horse they said no because she was as over the weight limit. My nephew got to ride the horse about 10 times and my sister asked if she could get to ride once and they said no more than once. The only reason they let my nephew ride the horses is because my sister booked them. To me that is really unfair. Put yourself in an 11 year old shoes and be told no to ride the horse when everyone other kid at the party got a chance. If you are going to set rules don't bend them for one specific person. My niece was really heartbroken. read more

I really wish that I could write a good review about Giddy Up Ranch, but after two unprofessional and inappropriate interactions with this company, I just can't. Our first interaction with GUR was at the Girl Scout Day at Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga. Most of the Pro Shop activities filled up within minutes of the event opening, so there wasn't a lot for the girls to do. Even though the temperatures outside were pretty high, our daughter decided to ride the camels that GUR had there. The camel ride/pony ride area was chaos, and not at all organized well. I asked the gentleman by the ponies where the line was for the camels. He wasn't really sure and said, "Somewhere over in that area," and pointed. I noticed that the children in line for the ponies all have papers, so I asked what that was. The same man told me that they were the liability releases for the pony ride. When I asked if we needed one for the camel, he said, "no." We walked over to where he pointed, and with some polite discussions with other parents, we figured out the general area that we needed to be in for the camel rides. Once it was our daughter's turn, the woman asked where her ticket and release was. The questions were presented rudely and abruptly. When my daughter said that she didn't have a ticket or a release the same woman started yelling at our daughter for trying to sneak in. What the heck? I quickly walked up and told the woman that we had asked the guy at the ponies where to get in line, and about the releases. I also stated that we didn't see any place to buy a ticket (everything else at the event, with the exception of food and retail purchases, was included), and that the man said that we didn't need a release for the camel. The woman began yelling at me for lying. I calmly told the woman that I understood that it was hot out, but that there was no need to yell at me, or my child, and that if things were a bit more organized and clear, that it would likely run more smoothly for everyone involved, including her. She just went off on me again. I wanted so much to just leave, but my daughter was very intrigued with the experience of riding a camel, and it wasn't her fault that this woman was being so obnoxious. So we got a ticket, quickly signed their form, and handed them to the woman - who then tried to send my daughter to the back of the line. That is when I got more firm with her, but still polite, and told her that my daughter had already stood in line once, and also patiently waiting while I found the guy wandering around selling tickets. My daughter enjoyed her camel ride, but this woman, who gave the impression of being the owner, was beyond unprofessional. Sadly, this wasn't our only run in with GUR. We attended our company "family day," and there again was GUR. The woman running the pony rides was the same woman that we had had the run in with at the Girl Scout event. We were going to do the pony rides, but while we were in line we noticed that this woman was telling some children that they were too heavy to ride the ponies and that they have a 65 pound maximum. First, every other pony ride I have ever been to, including Griffith Park, has a 100 pound maximum, and if her ponies can only handle 65 pounds, than are the healthy enough to be there in the first place? Second, and more importantly, the manner in which she was speaking to these children was again, rude and unprofessional. This time, it had the potential of being damaging as well. Children, especially young girls, are growing up in an era where there are huge expectations on what is beautiful and what is "fat." From the look on the face of the young girl (maybe 6-7 years old) she sent away while we were in line, this girl was devastated. I am sorry, but you don't tell ANY young child, that they are, essentially, too fat/heavy (especially when in any normal case they aren't). This young girl was by no means "heavy" and likely the ponies, if indeed healthy, would have had NO problem carrying her. We, and several of the other people in line who saw this happen, got out of line and went to do other things. It is simple - GUR just isn't good for children. Until they, especially this one woman, learns how to be professional, and how to properly interact with children, they best find something else to do with their animals. Events where there are children just should simply avoid this company. read more

We hired GUR for our daughters Birthday Party and had a blast! They had two ponies for the kids to ride which unfortunately not to many kids took advantage of but they loved all the other exotic little critters. All of they animals were neat and clean. The kids and adults had a blast petting and feeding all the animals. They were on time and set up quickly. I was happy to see that they also cleaned up after all the animals. We rented a canopy for our basketball court for them to set up. They laid down what looked liked wood shavings for the animals and every bit that was laid down was picked up. Very happy to have hired them and hope to do so again in the future. Last I want to comment on how they were very polite and patient with all of the little kids that ranged from age 2-7 years of age. read more

Well I must say that I really am pleased with Giddy Up Ranch. I have used them for years. The animals are always well maintained and behaved. Everyone is very friendly and professional. Bottom line, they don't Disappoint! read more

Hired them to do an event at our preschool. They arrived on time and helped collect our tickets. They were kind to the animals and were great with the kids. By far the best petting zoo experience to date. read more

We just had a petting zoo and pony for my little girls 7 birthday it was a hit and the husband and wife team were wonderful man the party come alive for her party read more

I have hired Giddy Up Ranch for several of my nonprofit's events, and we have never been disappointed! Marie and her staff are extremely reliable and easy to work with, and the animals are healthy and adorable. The kids (and adults) absolutely love them! We've gotten the deluxe petting zoo for all of our events. Would definitely recommend for your next event or party! read more

Giddy Up Ranch does an excellent job in regards to their pony, horse and camel rides. I have used Giddy Up Ranch for the better part of the past decade for my summer camp and the staff is always professional, the animals are always healthy and well taken care of, and the experience is always top-notch! We've even used their baby zebra for a wild-animal-encounter. I highly recommend Giddy Up Ranch! read more

I had a great experience with this company. Our starting time was set for 2 PM, they were here at 1 PM setting up. The animals were amazing. They were clean, calm and looked very at ease with the children. The Llamas were so friendly. They set up in a pavement area but brought their own canopy and plenty of wood shavings. They left everything super clean afterward​. The attendants were quiet​​ but very polite. Overall, I received ​very professional and timely service. Thank you! read more

Giddy Up Ranch is great! Every time my kids have been to one of their petting zoo's, I have had to drag them out, they didn't want to leave! The animals are so cute and friendly, and the staff is great as well. I will recommend this place to all of my friends, and we will be visiting their petting zoos again! read more

Rude staff! After my 3 year old daughter finished her turn of course she's 3 and was fascinated with the horse as to any kid would be, since she was taking a little longer to exit a annoyed staff member in a rudely manner shoved my 3 yr really!!! read more

I am a first time mom and knew that I wanted to get my son ponies for his 1st birthday party, maybe a little much for a 1st birthday (he probably won't remember but there will definitely be pictures for him to see) but that was my own personal dream for him. I found Giddy Up Ranch at a Farmer's market in Monrovia and I knew instantly that I wanted to hire them. My instinct did not fail. I couldn't be any more pleased and happy with the service that they provided. They showed up way before our agreed time which was awesome because we got to enjoy the animals a little longer. The staff set up and cleaned after the animals constantly to make sure the petting zoo was always clean for the children. The animals were so well groomed and well behaved and OMG, they brought an alpaca!! Definitely didn't expect that. The staff were very patient and helpful, they were a pleasure to work with. The ponies and petting zoo were a huge hit. The owner was so nice and responsive to my emails. I highly recommend them. They are well worth the price. I will definitely be using them in the future. read more

Giddy Up Ranch was booked for a family birthday and was wonderful! They made such a great experience for the children and adults alike. They brought a variety of animals which were all fantastic with the kids as were the handlers. I would definitely book them again and recommend them to my family and friends. Thank you to a true small family business for a great experience!! read more

Rented two ponies for my kids party And it was a hit the staff was courteous and early they even put ribbons on the ponies it was so cute ! I know the weekend I booked them they had a big fair going on but they kept there promise and showed up and made my daughters day I highly recommend them and the owner is so nice I read a review and It didn't make sense to me she is so nice and was very attentive !! Thank you guys so much !! read more

Wow. I don't know about the last person that did the one star review. Maybe a competitor?!? Anyway... With all the options available, I chose them based on their professionalism on the phone and courtesy. We were so excited when they showed up for my daughters 6th bday party. The animals looked healthy and clean. The guys that ran the show were energetic and super fun. Everyone commented on these guys at the party. I should have put a tip jar out for them. They would have banked. Thanks!!!! read more

Giddy up ranch has been in business for more than 20 years. I have seen all the blood sweat and tears that are put in. The owner puts everything she has into this ranch. She has no personal life aside of it. These animals are so lucky to be loved at such an extent. They have the most cleanest, sweetest, and cutest animals ive ever had the pleasure of petting and/or riding. The set ups are just perfect, they are always tidy and organized! The helpers are kind and very helpful! I give Giddy Up Ranch 5 stars because they are hands down the best ive seen. & I highly recommend them for your next event! :) read more

We attended a company picnic that Giddy Up Ranch was hired to provide pony rides for the children. My daughter, who is 7 and weights 67 pounds was asked to step on a scale after which she was told she weighted too much to ride the ponies (by 2 pounds). Who does this woman (the owner) think that she is telling my daughter that she weighs too much. This woman had no business working with kids. Very unprofessional, rude and a bully. My daughter cried all night. Most companies that provide this service have a maximum weight of 100 pounds. If this company only has ponies that can handle 65 pound children, they need to let people know ahead of time. No one should EVER tell a child they are TOO Heavy! This woman wouldn't even let her pet the pony. Do not every hire these people. read more

My girls absolutely loved all the animals. They are well taken care of and very friendly. The staff is also very friendly. I would highly recommend them to everyone! Thank you giddy up ranch for a wonderful experience! read more

Can I just say wow what a great bunch of people , I loved my camel ride and all the cute animals at the petting zoo , I got to ride a camel for the 1st time, all the animals were looking happy healthy and well cared for. I am looking forward to having them come to my birthday party so all my friends can have a great experience with these wonderful animals. I recommend giddy up ranch for your next event! read more