My friend and I bought a groupon for 1 hr trail ride. Like the other yelp reviewer mentioned, the ranch is deserted and there was only one man, who did not speak much English, working the entire ranch. The process was fairly simple. When we arrived, we were given a few consent/liability forms to read and sign. We had arrived a little bit early but the instructor was kind enough to let us choose our horses and roam the ranch by ourselves on our horses until everyone arrived. When we got onto our horses, he showed us the basic commands on how to tell the horse to go, stop, and turn left/right. When all riders were mounted, the instructor got on a horse himself and led the pack on a trail ride for exactly 1 hour. The horses were obedient, except mine off course, who insisted on eating and walking backwards half the time. The horses tend to stay close together and if one starts to lag behind, it will gallop to catch up to the rest of the group (it will slow down if you command it to). Towards the middle to end of the trail ride, we stopped in a field where the instructor took pictures of all riders in front of some beautiful scenery.
Overall, my first time riding a horse was pleasant. I would recommend wearing boots and long pants. I wore Sperrys, and my ankles began to hurt towards the middle of the trail ride. When the horse gallops, your feet/ankles will hit the stirrups and it will become irritated after a while.
Be sure to tip the instructor! read more