From beginning to end my wife and I had a great time. Beautiful scenery, horses were great, and the…read moreguide was excellent. I certainly recommend this to any horseback rider.

I took some time to type this review as I would never want to negatively impact a company but…read morethought I owed it to the community to share our experience. We recently had a very disappointing and concerning experience with this horseback riding company. Unfortunately, the horses provided for our group did not appear to be properly trained or well-managed. Several of the horses were extremely difficult to control, and their behavior raised serious safety concerns from the start. During the ride, two horses became particularly unruly and ended up bucking, throwing two members of our group off onto the ground. This was a frightening and potentially dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious injury. While we understand that working with animals always carries some risk, this level of behavior suggests a lack of adequate training, supervision, or proper matching of horses to riders. After this negative experience the Owner refused to reimburse us. She offered us a credit to come back and take another ride with them. After this experience, the ladies are terrified to get on another horse. I would strongly encourage the company to review their safety protocols, horse training practices, and staff preparedness to ensure a safer experience for future guests. I leave you all with the horses are beautiful and you can tell they are well taken care but you should be a very experienced rider if you book with this company.

We had the most magical experience at Poway Horse Party. I came two days in a row, and I truly…read morecannot say enough good things. Jen is the absolute sweetest. You can feel how much she genuinely cares about every child and parent who comes through. She made everything feel so thoughtful, intentional, and special for the kids. Every little detail felt considered, and it created such a warm, welcoming environment. All of the animals are clearly so loved and well cared for, which made the experience even more meaningful. You can tell this isn't just something she runs, it's something she pours her heart into. The next day, she hosted my group of friends and it was just as incredible. We all had the best time and made the sweetest memories with our babies. It was one of those experiences you wish you could bottle up and relive. We will absolutely be coming back again and again. Truly love, love, love this place.

100000/10 experience! We did our daughter's 6th birthday party here and it was fantastic! It is so…read morelovely to have a private setting for a party that is quiet and peaceful. The kids got to horseback ride, pet animals, make crafts, etc. Everyone had something to do! Surprisingly to me, the mud kitchen and the hopscotch were well used. The family helps with every aspect of the party and keeps it moving along with great suggestions. I never once felt stressed. Our guests all came up from San Diego and raved about the experience. I have been recommending this place to everyone. I hope to come back from a Ladies Night! Thank you, Jen and Phil, for the memorable party!

Claire is the Best!! Every child that learns with Claire is very. Very lucky. She has the most…read moreamazing way with children and her horses are wonderful. Her love and bond with her horses is evident. Claire is absolutely the best person to introduce and nurture our children in learning about horses and building a lifelong connection with horses. Each child learns at their own pace.

I love Clare! Her love for these horses and passion to teach kiddos about them is above and beyond…read more My about to be 7 year old goes to Clare's for 3 or so hours once a week to not just ride but CARE for these amazing animals. She brushes them, feeds them and loves them, teaching her about work ethic and connection. Highly recommend the experience with Clare! We have so much love and admiration for this wonderful lady.

My 8 year old daughter has been taking horseback riding lessons here for a couple months. It has…read morebeen her saving grace during the pandemic. As I dropped her off this morning, she uttered the words: "I love this place.". That, in my mind, says it all.

Our daughter really enjoys the laid back atmosphere of this ranch. She took several months of…read moreprivate lessons leading up to summer camp last year, so that she could be proficient in riding. She had 3 different instructors, and they were all great! She enjoyed riding the ponies and larger horses, including learning about how to take care of them. The other barn animals (ducks, dogs, chickens, pigs,etc) are pluses as well. Our daughter begged to go back to camp again this Spring Break and looks forward to summer camp again this year.

I have been at Rancho El Camino in Del Mar for over 23 years and have watched the management and…read morecommunication decline quite a bit, so I'm looking for a new barn. Came out to this barn today and I was really impressed with the health of the horses, the property, people, the trails the location, everything was really inviting. Looking forward to learning more. Going to check out a few more.

The trails are amazing! Super easy access. Good footing in the arenas and the stalls are very…read morelarge. Friendly, drama free atmosphere. Large tack sheds are reasonably priced, and the hay is good quality. My horse and I are very happy here!

Taking riding lessons with Kirsten and she is awesome. Professional, patient, makes it fun and…read moreeducational. Loving every minute of it!

I looked at several facilities for a summer camp for my daughter. This place seemed to have…read moreeverything we were looking for at a reasonable rate so we signed her up. She absolutely LOVED the camp. It was really easy-going, professional, and fun. By the end of the week my daughter's riding skills had really exceeded my expectations. My daughter knew the names of the horses, said good morning and good bye to them daily, and just really really really enjoyed herself. We may look into lessons in the future, depending on her schedule. She truly loves the environment, the horses and the staff.

This is a bit of an overdue review, but I had such an amazing time horseback riding! I hadn't…read moreridden since I was about 5 years old, so I was definitely a little nervous going into it. I'm not sure it's exactly like riding a bike--but Karen made me feel completely at ease from the start. Kiwi, my horse, was incredibly patient and gentle with me. I swear she knew I needed a little extra TLC! It made the whole experience so enjoyable and stress-free. I even got to do a tiny bit of trotting, which was such a fun bonus. Overall, it was such a great experience, and I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking to try horseback riding or get back into it!

Great horses, great guides. It is always a pleasure to do a…read morehorseback ride at Suzie Q Ranch. Lovely afternoon today January 19th of 2026. Will be back! I think this ranch is the best of the area. Thank you Suzie!

Terrible Experience for Our Kids - Avoid This Camp!**…read more We had been looking forward to Horse Savvy Training Camp in Poway, CA, all summer, expecting a fun and enriching experience for a group of four girls (ages 9-11) who are all friends Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very disappointing and an upsetting experience. The camp was being ran by a teenage girl as the owner was not around. The problem was that girl let her authority go to her head and behaved like a drill-sergeant. The camp was incredibly hot which is of course not their fault however there was no shade other than a tree. There were no umbrellas or sail shades to help provide relief from the sun. The staff consisted of a teenage girl who treated the camp like a boot camp, bossing the girls around rather than encouraging them and making the camp an enjoyable experience. Our daughters were literally in tears when we picked them up after the first day. This was heart-wrenching for us as parent as these girls had been looking forward to horse camp all summer and this was going to be their favorite week. All four girls have previously attended horse camps elsewhere and had wonderful experiences, but this camp was entirely different. Instead of having fun, they felt as if they were being yelled at, bossed around, talked down to, and take orders from one counselor in particular. On the first day they were ordered to pick up papers that were not their mess and the counselor rudely yelled at these young girls, aggressively threw art supplies like scissors and glue sticks across the table. Basically an extremely bossy attitude and not a good fit for a young girls camp. We contacted the owner who was shocked and said she's never heard of such complaints. We agreed to try again the next day. The following day was a little better, but Wednesday was back to the same short fuse negative attitude just like Monday. The girls were forced to participate in a game where they would get wet. Some of the girls asked to not get wet but they were forced to play. Not everyone likes getting wet in their clothes but they were demanded to play along. Another girl with dust allergies was forced to clean a dusty area even though she asked to not have to due to her allergies Another girl was forced to pick up horse poop even though she asked not to. This was a terrible experience for all four girls from three different families. We had to pull them out of the camp after day three and requested a refund. The owner said she was only willing to pay us for the two days we hadn't used (Thrs & Fri) which she did. She refused to reimburse M-W. We will never be going back, and I strongly advise others to avoid this camp if you want your children to have a positive and enjoyable experience. The camp is upsetting and for a young girl not the positive experience one would envision. There are better choices when it comes to horse camp that's for sure.

My daughter did 2 weeks of Horse Camp and she absolutely feel in love with riding. This camp was…read moreextremely empowering and helped my daughter with confidence and anxiety. The bond she made with her horse was pretty special and the skills she took away are invaluable. We are immensely grateful for the summer program.

Had a great trail ride on 2/11/2025. Kaity was very helpful, knowledgeable and had a great…read morepersonality. It's been about 15 years since I've been on a horse and she made it very comfortable and easy for me. I ended up being the only rider at that time frame so I got a personal experience and was a great and enjoyable ride. I rode Maverick and he was very well behaved. Had a great time and will definitely get back sometime for a ride. Thanks again!!

This review is specifically for potential boarders and why you might not want to board your horse…read morehere. I am beyond fed up with the way Debbie and Nicole talk to their customers, and the way they do so publicly is beyond unprofessional. A group chat for boarders was started a long time ago as a way for the owners (Debbie and Nicole) to communicate emergencies with boarders as well as for boarders to communicate with each other. Lately, it has been used for public arguments and power trips. Today, September 8, 2024, the boarders notified management that the horses had no water at 10am. Instead of checking into the issues immediately, they blocked all boarders from being able to communicate. It took 3 hours to get their staff to manually fill waters for 20+ horses. It is 104 degrees. 3 hours to complete this task in 104 degree weather is gross negligence and asking for "time to figure things out" is absurd. Considering this has been a known issue in the past, there should have been an immediate action plan that was put into place the second the first border stated their horse had no water. We all received a board increase notice for October 2024 (which is the second rate increase this year) and the new rates are an astounding nearly $100 increase for many boarders. Their claim is that they can't keep up with costs, but as a boarder it appears to be stupid financial decisions made by the owners. They own 23+ horses of their own that they use for trails and camp. I can only imagine the food, vet, and farrier costs for those horses costs over $70k a year, and I would be willing to bet that the trail rides don't bring in that kind of income to cover the costs. It certainly seems as though the board we pay is also covering the costs of their excessive amount of horses. The ultimate slap in the face happened last week when boarders were repeatedly told that finances were terrible and they just couldn't keep the rates "low" anymore. (Please note this is not an affordable barn, there are many more in poway with lower prices that include the cost of hay). Then we find out in the group chat that they bought a "mini home". Mini homes START at $20,000. I have no clue what they paid for theirs, but you would think if you're experiencing financial issues that cause rate increases that you wouldn't also be spending tens of thousands of dollars on a mini home for who even knows what. Once again, it feels like something the boarders are paying for. Nicole also loves to try to start up new business ventures. She had platforms built out in the mountain area of the trails to be able to host weddings. How exactly do they plan to get the wedding party there? It's up a mountain... no bride is going to walk that, and being carted up in a truck seems weird, especially if you have to cart around 50 guests, but whatever I guess. Though, it would seem prospective brides and grooms may have asked these same questions as they have yet to host a wedding at all (as far as I'm aware), despite the newly built platforms that I would also wager cost over $50k to build. She also thought running a dude ranch at $1500 a week was going to happen?? The itinerary is literally the same work they should be paying employees to do. No one in their right mind is going to pay THEM $1500 to work. Most people don't even MAKE $1500 in a week at their jobs. LOL! $531 a month for a place that can't even clean urine out of the stalls is just plain absurd. Then tack on the way that they speak to their boarders and blatantly refuse to fix simple things like hoses, it really feels like a slum lord situation. Anyway, please see the screenshots attached for info on: The water failure Hose replacement refusal and now deleted messages Other business ventures

There is a jewel, a sanctuary hidden off of Moreno road in Lakeside. It is called Heartland Ranch…read more If you love horses like my wife and I and want to relearn techniques necessary to ride a horse properly and with confidence or as a beginner just starting out, Heartland Ranch is for you. We have a 6 day horseback riding adventure scheduled for next year so I was searching for a great training facility to get back in shape for this type of ride. The lead trainer Amy is professional, engaging and fun to work with while ensuring your safety and making sure the horses are protected too. I didn't think there were any horses left in lakeside, well thankfully there are many of them at Heartland Ranch.

Love love this ranch ! The owners are very attentive and on top of everything . Beautiful facility…read morewith all of the amenities ! Can't say enough good things about!