I called "The Stables" and was greeted by the owner. He promptly asked me what kind of a ride we were looking for and I asked if we could arrange a morning ride. We were only in town for a few more days. He said he could. He asked about rider weights (limit of 240) for horse safety. Thankfully hubby is right under. We arranged to meet and pay for our ride. Pud met us at the stables. We signed our wavers and we agreed on our meeting time of 6:30 the next day. We arrived and our ride couldn't have gone any better. Absolutely breathtaking beautiful views. Pud was a pleasant and polite host. I can't wait to return to ride again with him. Thank you! read more

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kimrobertson40 Huntsville, Texas Totally unprofessional. DO NOT BOOK. Horse's are starved. Scammer. Review of The Stables Reviewed 3 days ago Booked a evening ride for September 15, 2021 with that Pud. Was told we needed to pay cash cause cc machine was not working and to pay in advance. Pud called and said something came up and could we reschedule for 8:30 am the next morning. We show up at 8:15 am and he is a no show. Tried calling from my friends # who made the reservation but no answer. I told her to let me try from my #. He answered on the second ring. I told him we want our money back and I put a chain and lock on his gate and would remove it when he refunds our money. He came WITH our refund and I removed the lock. His horse's look very unhealthy and starved :( I took pictures. Date of experience: September 2021 read more

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The business is not professionally run. An appointment was made and paid for days in advance. On the day of the ride, the owner called to give a heads up about the possibility of the ride not happening due to weather concerns (might be true or not). He kept us abreast (which at that time seemed to be great customer service). All day, phone calls of the ride maybe still being on, then one that suggests it is off; and on and on it goes. Finally, as the hour approaches, the ride is off. The whole day, which could have been used for other activities, wasted on waiting to find out if the ride is on. He then proceeds to agree to an early morning ride the next day. We arrived to a padlocked gate. We called several times, no answer. We then sent a text. After about 15 minutes, the owner responds. He has an emergency (again, may be true or not). I suppose he alone runs the business, and there's no other person to fulfill the contract (Given the other posts here on Yelp, it might be true that employees are not compensated, thus the absence of anyone else to meet us). There was nothing else to do, but leave. It may not be a big deal to others, but there is an inconvenience that is not apparent on paper. There is the anticipation of the activity, the notice of a possible cancellation, the actual cancellation, then the promise of another schedule, another anticipation of the activity, the waking up early, the drive to the activity, the waiting and wondering whether it will happen, an hour wait to find out, then the final letdown. The ride, even though paid for in advance, is not happening. Wasted time and energy (for two days!). But the ordeal (for it is now that) does not end there. There is now the issue of the refund. I have no energy to discuss this (suffice it to say that there were numerous "polite" back and forth on text regarding the promise of a refund for two weeks!). Two weeks of excuses and promises; but no actual remedy. I just have to mention, I, too, have had the occasion to use the service of mobile pay. The owner mentioned that he used Square. This service has a very standard refund policy. One can just go on the app or desktop dashboard and click on the refund button; provide the reason (here, it would be non-performance of service) and that's it! There really is no reason for this to take two weeks. And yet, it has. We are just thankful that we did not pay in cash! Imagine the nightmare if that were the case. Maybe it is true that there is an emergency, and maybe it is true that it is a personal matter; but, given it is a business, there ought to be a professional way to handle such things. A customer should not be made to experience or be affected by the owner's personal problems. Would it be fair for a patient to be inconvenienced by one's doctor's personal plight? Is it ok for a client to not have his attorney at trial because the attorney had a personal emergency? I am not without sympathy for people's sad circumstances (hopefully, not manufactured ones). But at least, make it right. Don't make a customer who has already been disappointed by a failure on the business' end be further inconvenienced by having that customer go after a refund that is rightfully his for two weeks, and still not furnish the refund--forcing a claim to be filed with the bank. This business was given numerous chances to make it right. It is apparent that a third-party intervention was needed. The aggregate of all our experiences with this business tells us it's not a serious professional one; i.e., passive-aggressive calls to cancel the first appointment, actually cancelling, rescheduling for the morning, no one showing up at the appointment, belatedly responding to calls and texts, giving numerous excuses for failing to provide a refund. This business when it does it's job seems great judging from the successful rides it has provided others. But, also judging from others like us who were not so lucky, it is a dismal experience. When I choose a business, I would like to think that it would treat all customers and contracts the same way. It seems this one is discretionary. The service seems to depend on the owner's whims and/or circumstances. Really a lottery with a higher chance of "winning". I mean, how many times can an owner experience personal emergencies?! SPI is full of tourists. One disappointed tourist (though how terribly treated) compared to many satisfied ones does not tip the balance. Just look at the business' Yelp rating. I can only hope that you are not the next one that falls in the former category. Good luck! read more

Bud rectified prior issues so we'll try it again. Terrible customer service. They apparently don't send reminders of rides and after multiple voicemails trying to get confirmation and sitting at the stables for an hour at 6am there was no response at all. Called several days later and Bud hung up several times. We own a home on SPI that we also rent and will never send anyone this business. read more

If I could give 0 stars or even negative stars.. I would. Not sure if this guy (Pud) runs this place by himself and therefore just picks and chooses when he feels like taking people out for rides... but he is the most unprofessional business owner I've ever dealt with. My husband and I try to horseback ride everywhere we vacation. We loved the idea of a sunset ride on the beach as we don't have any beaches to ride our horses here in Ohio. Booked it in advance( in March) spoke with Pud on the phone to verify details. An hour prior to the ride, he calls to cancel it due to "weather" (we literally stayed 1 minute from the stables and the weather was PERFECT) He tries to reschedule for the next morning, but we had other plans already and he would not allow us to do another sunset ride. So I asked for a refund... he offers a "credit" for a future ride. I then inform him that I live in Ohio and would not be returning anytime in the next 10+ years. He agrees to refund my money after claiming that per policy he shouldn't be doing that. On the SPI adventures website where it lists his advertisement website, it says nothing about no refunds when HE is the one who chooses to cancel the ride. Waited 2 weeks, kept calling him... then he refused to answer so I called him from other numbers and each time it was an excuse... oh I just got this new receptionist... oh we have to train them how to refund... oh I've been busy... blah.blah.blah. A month later, I texted him about it and in 3 minutes time I received my refund. Guess he realized this girl does not play games. I just wanted to ride a horse. don't waste your time, energy or money on this. read more

We made an appointment for a ride for my family who was supposed to leave in a few days. Pud sounded nice on the phone however, he canceled on us multiple times (Sounded like a good reason, but looking at other reviews, you can use your own judgment). I'm sure if you catch him on a "good day" it's worth it. We have a house on The Shores and will be looking elsewhere for better service. read more

No idea how this has a total rating of 3+ on Yelp. Mostly mad at myself for not taking the time to actually read the reviews so hopefully we can help others with this and sum it up with 'don't bother'. Seems like a repeat of experience of so many others but ...we booked a sunset ride for Tuesday. My 7 year old was excited to teach us all she learned from her couple riding lessons back home. Texted us and asked for cash payment day before, seemed off, but had a story about how his Cube kept messing up and people booking and no showing or cancelling costing him rides and money. Paid him $220 for 3 adults and a child, though we remembered it being 170-180 on earlier communications. Was telling my daughter about a surprise polo lesson that he would give her as he has his kids into polo now, got her even more excited about the ride. Day of ride came and he thought best to cancel since there was a chance of weather and rescheduled for the next evening. Then came the next cancellation because the 'crab holes' after the rain might be dangerous to the horses. Offered us up some times on Thursday, not a sunset time frame but at this point, whatever. We committed to 10AM and clearly stated in our text that if we don't ride at 10 we want our cash back which he readily agreed to. Showed up 15 minutes early prior to our 10AM ride. Gates locked and his truck (one he was driving when he met us for cash) was parked inside next to little shack. Texted him, called him...nothing. Texted, called, texted, called....1015, 1020, nothing. Now I'm p***ed, dropped a call into the SPI police to discuss and asked to have an officer come so I could fill out a report. Another couple rolled up informed us he blew off their group of 6,7 riders for the morning ride. They had the police come to their hotel to file a report and he claimed he would meet them at 1030 for a full refund. 1030 and the truck fires up and he comes rolling to gate. Combative and making all sorts of excuses about how his kids are with his ex who has blown off 90+ parental visits and this and that. Refunds their money as I'm there and then I mention I'd like my money back as well...he looks at me and says 'who are you?' I'm your 10 AM ride, it's now 1040...I want my money. He flips on me as why I can't give him another chance and schedule for later...on and on. Nope, I want my money. Claims he doesn't have it, makes some claim about knowing the police chief and how his family runs a law firm and I can follow him to get the money there but it's 3 hours away in Harlingen. We inform him that we have family in Harlingen and it's 50 Mins away and he sounds happy and asks us to follow him to Harlingen. Not gonna happen. At this point, I'm still waiting for the police and don't know if this guy drives off if we'll see him again so I'm going to follow him. Cops advise to not follow him (probably smart) and then an officer rolls up. Seems like routine for the cop who has no interest in taking a statement of any sort and dismisses as Civil matter. Says he'll be back in an hour with our money. He leaves and continues to text us diatribes about how he was brought up to have empathy if people are going through things and show compassion and how I'm not being fair and how I should 'put that in your police report'. Surprisingly he showed and gave me my cash and tried to make me feel like a jerk for wanting it back. I want to say I feel for this guy as he must have some sort of issues but as it's been a few days after all the BS, I think this guy might be a straight up scammer who takes your money, does the song and dance and if he has to give 80% of it back to folks who persist or get the threat of police involved, he's still up that 20%. Seems like a lot less work to just actually take people on the f*****g rides. Steer clear, or I can send you my info and I'll gladly take your money off your hands for you and save you all the running around. read more

The experience of a lifetime! Super personable and friendly service. The owner made us feel like we were riding with long time friends, and he even rode with us on his birthday! We love that they don't take huge groups because this is much safer. The horses are well taken care of, and they seem very happy. The awe-inspiring beachside ride really connected you to nature in all her glory, and the bayside ride allowed us to wade in the water. Amazing! read more

The Stables - Whiskey - Horse Racing Near Me - South Padre Island, Texas

He is so good with kids! Lyla 6 and Viv 3, nervous at first and then wanted more! I highly recommend it! Fun to see the kids love it and how the owner just controlled their nerves and had them at ease! read more

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Thank you for a wonderful horseback experience. Easy to schedule, clean stables and nice well trained horses

Pud was very nice and helpful with information about the island. The horses were very calm and well mannered. This was our first time in a long time that my boyfriend and have rode horses and Pud was very helpful and slow with making sure we were comfortable and the horses were comfortable. Chopo, the horse that I rode was funny at the end he tried to play with the other horse Kash read more

The Stables - Horse Racing Near Me - South Padre Island, Texas

Scheduling was a bit of a struggle, but once we got everything figured out, it was a great experience. Pud is very personable. It was my boyfriends first time riding and he took the time to explain things and answer all his questions. You can really tell he loves his horses and what he does. read more

Great facility! The owner is so friendly and his horses are so well loved and taken care of.

We are visiting South Padre for the first time and this was the perfect spot! We did a private ride along the beach which was gorgeous. Pud, the owner, led us and was very friendly, gave tips when we needed it, and was patient with the horses. He also got some great pictures of us on the beach with the horses. I would definitely go back in the future! read more

I went on the sunset ride with my mom. When I called the first day the owner said they weren't doing the rides because of heavy winds and I knew right away their horses were taken care of very well. So I booked the evening ride with them and it was just two of us and the guide. They don't do big groups and our guide was awesome!! The girl worked there was very welcoming also. When we got back the owner came and talked to us. It felt very special for taking my mom on a private horseback riding and I would recommend going to them instead of doing the big group trips with the other place. read more

Great Great all around experience... Best In SPI.. Great Great all around experience... Great Great all around experience... Great all around.. Caring business.. Respectful. Helpful.. Patient. Treat you like family. Great with little ones.. Would go back and recommend for training and learning to horse-ride... Wont regret it... read more

We had such an awesome time, we went twice in the same week. The owner PUD is very patient and cares very much for his horses. We took our kids and grandkids and they loved it. We highly recommend The Stables and PUD. read more

Took my granddaughters twice in the same week, because the first experience was so very awesome, small family run business, and well taken care of horses. We will be back on our next visit !!! read more

If I could give this business zero stars, I would. The owner, Pud Nieto, is the most disorganized, unprofessional business owner I have ever had the displeasure of meeting! My daughter and her husband came to spend the Christmas holiday with my wife and me. It's our first Christmas in south Texas and we wanted to make our daughter's visit to be memorable. We spent two days and nights on South Padre Island. Weeks ago I called Mr. Pieto to reserve a sunset ride for the four of us on his horses. The day we arrive on the island it was drizzling and because of it we had to change plans. I called Mr. Nieto and asked if we could reschedule for the next evening (our second and last evening on the island). He told me he had already reserved the evening ride for the next day but we could take a sunrise ride the following morning. No problem. We agree to the alternate plan. We had to get up early to arrive at The Stables for our ride. When we woke up it was sprinkling outside and it looked like it had rained overnight. Mr. Nieto didn't bother to call us until the time of our scheduled ride (we had arrived at The Stables already), which by that time it began to pour down raining. When Mr. Nieto finally called me to inform me that he would not take the horses out (which is understandable) he offered to take us later that day if it stopped raining. I told him we would not be able to ride if he wasn't able to take his horses out by 10:00 am as it would split our day and we had other things planned. He told me he'd call me by 10:00 to let me know if we could ride that day. Once again, he did not call in a timely manner so I called him at 10:00. He informed me that the route we would be riding was still too boggy to take out the horses. My family was leaving the next morning (today) so I asked him if there was any way we could do the sunrise ride before we headed out of South Padre. He told me a couple who was scheduled for the sunset ride the night before had the sunrise slot but he had an 8:00 am slot available. We could do a 45 minute or hour ride and still get back to the hotel to pack up and check out. I told him we'd take that slot. This morning came and my family got up early again to take the 8:00 ride. We arrived at 7:50 and when I introduced myself he didn't even recognize my name even though we had talked at least 10 times over the past four weeks and several times over the last couple of days. He told us he had scheduled in another party to take the 8:00 am ride! He showed me his schedule book (which was very disorganized) and my name wasn't even on it! We spent the next several minutes discussing the fact that he had made a mistake but he tried to turn it around on us and claim we misunderstood him. I was very offended by his rudeness and curtness with us. I found it highly unlikely it was a simple matter of a misunderstanding when he didn't even have us scheduled in his book! He told me he could work us in at 9:00 am but by that time my daughter was very upset. He offered to give us a free ride NEXT YEAR but my daughter told him she lived in New York. I also told him they wouldn't be visiting us for Christmas next year. Mr. Nieto got very defensive and was obviously very flustered. He actually had the audacity to tell my daughter not to talk to him and then he announced he was done with us. At that point he turned his back on us and invited the couple he had scheduled in our slot to come up. Conversation done. No need to discuss further. Get lost. THAT was his attitude. I have NEVER been treated in such a highly unprofessional manner in my 59 years on this planet. Mr. Nieto has horrible people skills and is a discredit to his chosen vocation. I will NEVER do business again with such a rude, unprofessional, and defensive person. read more

We selected this stable over the other options because they told us since we all knew how to ride, we would appreciate having good horses (ropers and polo ponies, rather than the old plugs the others use). Also they said the others take out huge rides and we take out small groups. We were excited and booked our ride. The day before, we called back, Pud(the owner), asked what we each weighed. He said he did not have a horse for my husband even though he is under the advertised limit of 240 lbs. Dispointing! We arrived for our ride early, and the horses were just returning from another ride. The helper grabbed another horse for my daughter that turned out to be about 30 years old, and my daughter could barely keep him walking with the group. The most disappointing thing was the ride was only 30 minutes(not the advertised 45)! It was one tiny loop behind the stable and we never rode on the gulf. We rode next to the Laguna Madre(the inlet). The stirrups were so short that it was very painful. Later we saw the other stables riding right on the gulf side in a group of 12 or so. I would chose that stable next time. read more