Emeri Kitchell of Ijula Equestrian has set up an outstanding riding program at Jaz Creek in…read morePetaluma, CA! Emeri is such a knowledgeable instructor who knows horses and how to get the most of your time riding them. She does this with a gifted understanding of how to feel your way through to communicating gently, but clearly, with your horse. She has an extensive set of tools that bring horse and rider enjoying their time together. The skills that Emeri brings to Ijula Equestrian combine with her wonderful eye in her horse and pony selection. Each of them is a good-natured, hard-working, and comfortable ride. The horses seem to really want to work with the rider. I credit this to the environment and training regimen that Emeri has created at Ijula Equestrian. Besides being an articulate instructor who explains recommendations well to her clients, she is so warm and friendly all while being a consummately caring professional with a great sense of humor. In addition to the wonderful combination of Emeri Kitchel and the horses she has selected for us to enjoy, Ijula Equestrian at Jaz Creek offers outstanding facilities. My favorites are these: 1. Enormous indoor arena with exceptional footing 2. Large outdoor arena with a great variety of ground poles and jumps to match all levels with a variety of patterns, routines, and courses that allow Emeri to offer a tremendous variety in our lessons' activities. 3. Tack-up area indoors right next to the tack room with full supplies for grooming your horse or pony. Combining the qualities of this instructor, her horses, and Jaz Creek's facilities all under Emeri Kitchell's leadership, I cannot recommend Ijula Equestrian highly enough. It is for all these reasons that I always leave there feeling happy and energized.

From the owner: Ijula Equestrian is a premier training and lesson program operating out of Jaz Creek Inc. in Sonoma…read moreCounty. Our lessons offer an individualized experience with a focus on community and horsemanship.

We had such a wonderful time at Five Brooks! Booked a ride for my boyfriend's 30th birthday and he…read morereally enjoyed it. He got to ride on Guinness, the biggest horse there. It was super cool. Ashley was wonderful in answering our questions and Jay was a great guide! Will definitely book again in the future.

To my travel crew's either excitement or dismay, I always insist on a horseback ride while on…read morevacation. I understand it can be challenging for trail groups when there's a mixed group like ours - one advanced, some intermediate, and the rest beginners - but Five Brooks made it so every single one of us had an enjoyable time! We chose the Salmon Creek 1.5 hour ride and had a blast with our guide, Jay. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get that close to the creek as I thought we would from other reviews and the description on the website, but maybe it was due to our group size (7 + guide) or our mixed levels of experience. We did get a few opportunities to trot, and the sights were gorgeous. I may have fallen in love with my horse, Cody, a beautiful palomino (which is saying something because I have a palomino of my own at home) but he was so responsive that I really enjoyed riding him. I have family in the area, so I'm already trying to plan my next trip so I can go ride with this group again!

Towards the end of my lady's and I eight day coastal trip on our way back down we had a blast doing…read morethe two hour private horseback ride, Our guide Romero was a really cool guy Good laughs, conversation, and an overall great experience. Saw a lot of cool wildlife on the ride including a bobcat or a mountain lion cub everything was A OK but the horses could definitely tell there was a predator in the area so they were a little spooked. Had such a fun time I will definitely be coming back for the six hour ride!!!

I booked a private beach ride (6hrs) for my friend's birthday. I can say that the experience alone…read morewas worth the price. Our guide Ramiro was great, he tested out our skills in the beginning before seeing we had experience riding and letting us take the leads during the trail. We also got to see dolphins! He told us in the 6years he's done this, this was the 2nd time he's gotten to see them. We ended up skipping the waterfall (couldnt get to it due to the tide anyways) and instead got to follow the dolphins! Highly recommend doing the wildcat trail with Ramiro! It is a 14mi ride, so be prepared to be in the saddle for a while. Experience is a plus, but Ramiro made sure everyone stayed safe and would always give pointers.

Cloverleaf Ranch is a magical place! Our nine-year-old just returned from his second year of…read moresleep-away camp (He attended the day camp when he was younger.) and he has so many positive things to say. The counselors were fun and supportive. The activities were engaging. Thomas loved the food. This year he encouraged a friend from school to join him. That boy had a great time, and they both made new friends too. Thomas came back with greater confidence and displaying more independence too. We can't wait to get back the pictures he took with his disposable camera! What I love best, besides hearing the stories about him getting up early to care for the horses that he once found intimidating, was the call we received from Dawn mid-week. We weren't worried. We've had great experiences at Cloverleaf. We know the ratios of campers to counselors allows for attentive care. Still, the mid-week phone call telling us how his week was going just reinforced how much the staff really cares. For this reason, Cloverleaf will continue to be a Cremidis family tradition for many years to come. Next year, little brother will be old enough for residential camp and he's already making plans for how he'll spend his time.

I feel like parents should know the teen leaders they employ are from some summer study abroad…read more program and are boys sent here from other countries (New Zealand, Australia, etc.) and they aren't allowed to disclose their names (my daughter's camp leader was named "Cobra"). I didn't feel comfortable with this arrangement and am glad I didn't sign my daughter up for sleep-away camp. She enjoyed the day camp but the staff seemed more concerned with protecting themselves rather than allowing parents to protect their children. I was expecting some nice local horse riding girls to mentor her and instead had to leave her with boys who wouldn't tell me their names. She won't be back.

Super fun! it was my granddaughters 10th birthday- what an event. The park is beautiful, the guide…read morewas outstanding. We learned a bit about history, and non negotiables. What a wonderful treat, encourage everyone to give this a whirl!

Thank you Dominic for a wonderful ride! My husband and I did the private hour and a half ride in…read morejack London state park. We rode sunny and Annie, both horses were amazing and rescue horses. You can tell from the moment you arrive the horses are well taken care of and loved. For me, that is the most important thing I look for when trying to find a place to ride. We were lucky enough that we could trot our horses a little as we were the first ride out and no one was on the trail. You will be responsible for your own horse, and you are given clear direction on how to have an enjoyable ride before you leave the grounds. I felt very safe and comfortable out riding, and we will be repeat customers and can't wait to go riding again. Thank you!!!

Awesome little place for a rural feel country horse ride place, and though we didn't avail of this,…read morethe boutique is super cute with Western west theme that's not gimmicky. They have shirts and tees, as well as jewelry aka brass/copper/silver/turquoise galore. Very quaint and prices to match! Warm and friendly customer service!

My wife and I decided to spend a lovely brisk day riding horses on the beach! We've both been…read morehorseback riding, but never combined into one activity such as this. My wife was paired with Matty and Zero (his horse), and I was with Christina and her horse (forget the name).... For my wife, she had a lovely time. Her horse gave a little sass. Sometimes it wanted to just pace, other times there was a little trot for playing catch up, but she enjoyed the extra little ride boost. For my ride, although I very much enjoy conversation and Christina was a very knowledgeable and friendly host, I do wish that I had been able to experience more of the ride experience in quietude. Taking in the views and talking with my wife a little more. Instead, I feel like Christina and I were sharing our life stories. Although I am not faulting her for the mutual conversation...... I just wish that the guides would keep it to the ride and landscapes vs trying to chat. The experience and this business is very lovely. I thoroughly appreciate the fact that I was able to text with the staff prior to answer any questions. I always prefer texting to phone calls these days. I would absolutely recommend Horse N Around to any of my friends that want to enjoy this type of activity. Again, I just wish that it was more about the serene experience, the horses, and beach vibes, with less chatter all around. Thank you to the team at large! From planning, to paying, directions, waiting patiently as we almost got lost, and giving us a nice ride. Thank you!

Strides is a really great facility with fantastic trainers…read more They have horses and ponies for all levels of rider. All are well trained,we feel very safe, healthy, well cared for and relaxed ready for each lesson. The facility is safe, beautiful and easily accessible. We highly recommend Strides and Maggie Clancy for anyone looking for that special and excellent equestrian experience.

I'm disappointed with my son's experience at the one-week camp. He came away having learned very…read morelittle. It appears that he was afraid or hesitant, and instead of helping him work through those fears, the instructors simply allowed him to opt out of learning. We also received no communication during the week about the challenges he was facing, so we had no opportunity to support him. I would have expected the staff to both keep us informed and encourage him to gradually overcome his fears rather than letting him avoid the activities entirely.

From the first moment I set foot at the barn, HoofBeats has revealed itself to be my dream place of…read morelove and safe self-development, where: - I can explore my language, love and flow with horses and become a better horse woman - all my self-development nots in turn come to the surface, where they meet Jenny's gentle and graceful coaching, thus getting channeled each time to a constructive learning outcome - my body started feeling good, in shape and useful - I found a family away from home - activities and interactions bring me to higher and greater clarity about my self, my life, my work and relationships. This is not a push-the-button riding school. It's a space of self-discovery through interaction with horses, from the ground and from the saddle, and its depth has brightened my life up like I didn't even know was possible. If you live in Sonoma County and you are looking for a safe place of exploration, this is THE place!

Jenny is amazing. She's overall a beauitful person inside and out. I received a equestrian guided…read moreeducation session as a gift, and it was amazing. Jenny's horses are all rescues and they all have a calm and easy going demeanor. I never worked with horses and got sppoked the first few times they initated contact with me. They are such gentle giants and by the end i am definitely now a fan of them! All the horses were great to work with and Jenny was awesome at giving guidance and feedback. Her passion in her work is immediate. I highly recommend attending one of jenny's sessions, she's one of the sweetest people I ever met. She's very generous and really created a personalized session to fit my needs. Overall I had a great time just being in her space and interacting with Jenny and the horses! She's a kind, compassionate and thoughtful teacher! There's something indescribable about being in the space, it's like for a second, nothing else matters besides being in that moment. Thank you Jenny!

Awesome experience for eight year old girls and their Dads some of whom have never ridden before,…read morethank you!

I waited until I had another experience with a riding stable before writing this review because I…read morewanted to be sure that my experience here was not good. I have never been on a horse before this experience and have a lot of anxiety with trying new and potentially dangerous activities. I shared this with the woman who was our guide for the tour because I figured that would let her know how to interact with me as I'm trying this new thing. However, the guide was not helpful or empathetic in literally any way and when I was nervous because the horse was not following my direction (after confirming I was doing it right) she just told me "yeah they don't listen in the arena"...okay, well if the horse can't follow my direction in the arena how am I supposed to feel safe to take him on a two hour cliffside ride? Absolutely not. I ended up having a panic attack after many more attempts to direct him with no success. At that point I decided not to go on the ride because I know horses are incredibly emotionally intelligent and I did not know how my stress would impact him. In addition to not feeling safe and not feeling like my guide knew how to handle that situation. After talking to the woman who was working that day I requested a full or partial refund if possible and the owner called me and was wildly condescending. She made sure to drill it in that this experience was my fault and everyone else does just fine! So even though I knew that wasn't accurate, I let it go because the refund wasn't that important to me. Yesterday I went on another attempt to ride a horse and again I was scared. I told the guide that I've never done this and I was nervous and she was incredibly helpful and made sure I was comfortable with the horse before we left the arena even though we were on a public group ride. Something that this ranch's staff couldn't manage on a private two hour ride. So for me, the service was an easy 0. However, the location was beautiful and the lunch was decent. Wine was not for me and the gal working couldn't tell me a single thing about any of the wines. Edit: After reading the atrocious response from the business I've decided this place couldn't possibly deserve a two star rating. I wish zero stars and a PSA was an option! I would like to clarify that the ignorance from the business owners is shown clearly in that they are pretending I had ruined an experience for a group of "all other riders" when the entire group was my girlfriend (who had no problem "sitting through it") and I. I also felt I stated clearly in my review that the refund was not a major concern of mine. I don't need the money, I just don't appreciate the way these people treat customers that don't have a stellar experience. Truly disgusting. Your horse did not listen, your horse absolutely did not stay still in the arena, and your guide assured me I was following instructions and navigating just as she showed me. Your guide also stated that horses don't listen until they're on the trail (which is a ridiculous statement and shoes that you do not have control of them. But again, no shade to the horses. They're beautiful and they're animals and I respect them far more than any of the staff at this point) Additionally, the wine was awful and your staff doesn't even know how to describe or recommend a single wine on the shelf. Thank you for further affirming my negative experience and showing even more unprofessional behavior! After reading other reviews and their responses to anyone who didn't leave 4/5 stars...I'm not surprised at the awful customer service!