I have been riding and boarding at great escape for years! Wonderful facility with knowledge staff.read more

My daughter has been riding at GES on and off for several years. The quality of instruction is…read moreexcellent with a focus on developing properly and safely. The other riders are friendly and this is a NO DRAMA barn (which as a mom of a teenager...I appreciate!!) Robyn is wonderful with my daughter who also suffers from anxiety. She is patient and understanding. My daughters skills have increased 10-fold under Robyn. In addition to riding, there are fun events, shows (if you choose) and horsemanship training for those who want to take their knowledge to the next level. I highly recommend GES.

After college, I wanted to get back into a sport I had previously done when I was kid, horseback…read moreriding! And boy howdy, let me tell you, I have NO regrets! Kay and Emily run a fantastic farm and they genuinely care about the well-being of their horses! Both of these women have a passion and drive to continually learn everything they can about the horse world. Anything from how to better the health of their horses to new dressage techniques. They also have experience in multiple disciplines of riding. One thing to note that many barns cannot say is that this farm is drama-FREE. Meadowlark has a laid-back and welcoming community. It is perfect for everyone of all ages and disciplines. Additionally, Meadowlark has a fantastic Horse Camp that's extremely popular - the spots fill up super fast! I have been riding with Emily for over 2 years now and it's amazing! She caters her teaching style to how her students learn best and has no problem answering questions. If you're on the fence about taking lessons or even bringing your child to Horse Camp. I encourage you to at least try it! I would recommend this farm to anyone! Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed!! :)

I approached Meadowlark interested in lessons. I didn't really know much about what that entailed…read moreas my experience is that every location in the area is totally different in their approach and what they can offer. They were really condescending and short, and said they couldn't assist. I am giving two stars as they said it politely, but it's just not a welcoming place to newcomers. It isn't a place you can go to learn as a newcomer.

I have been riding here ever since I was 5 years old, i have had great experiences at this barn. it…read moreis one great place, I am on show team and it really helps me inprove my riding skills and abilities. it is a fantastic barn and I just love everything there. I wish I could give it a higher rating.

We really wanted to like this place. I've debated whether or not to write this review but my…read moredaughter hasn't been able to shake the bad feelings she has and neither can I. Initially we were impressed by the "everyone belongs" talk but the owners seem like they are annoyed and tired of children. They were impatient and annoyed at riders for simple mistakes like dropping a crop while mounting or needing to adjust stirrups. Lots of sighing and eye rolling and groaning and snark. The teaching method (in a beginning level class, not high level competition riders) was constantly things like "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?" and "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR YOU TO BE DOING THAT". In my daughter's words "they don't help you fix your problems, they just yell at you for having them." The indoor is very small and dark and it's almost impossible to properly space out 6 horses/riders (esp. with jumps set up) and the kids were constantly being yelled at for not spacing their horses properly. Many of the horses are lazy and my daughter and other kids were yelled at constantly for not getting their horses more forward- these horses were often on their second or third lesson of the day by that time. We chatted with some adult students who expressed similar frustrations about the horses being lazy. We also witnessed a teacher repeatedly berating a young rider with disabilities who was clearly struggling with her physical coordination. To be fair, there ARE multiple instructors here and not all of them are like this. When we didn't purchase another lessons package, intending to just quietly walk away because this was not a good fit for us, we were called into the office before her last class and held hostage for 45 minutes. I was lectured and talked down to, and they kept repeating that she wanted a more "difficult horse" because we expressed concern about the laziness issue. I was told that if she couldn't get the lazy horse to go forward then she's not a good enough rider and shouldn't have been in that class (even though one of the trainers evaluated her and placed her there) and we were told that nobody should be in a beginning jump class (jumping crossrails) unless and until they have mastered flying lead changes! Without knowing us at all or having ever seen my horse or seen me ride, I was also lectured about my horse who was scheduled to be put into training with the trainer on staff (ended up not happening due to medical issues). I was accused of not knowing anything about horses or my horse because "most people who put their horses in training think their horses are great and they overestimate their abilities and underestimate their training needs". (She doesn't know us. At all!) When I mentioned that I was planning to sign up for some private lessons on my horse, *with the trainer* during the time he was in training there, I was told that I should not be allowed to ride my own horse while he is in training because I would "mess him up". There are some good people working here, but overall it felt like an abusive relationship. My daughter is terrified to take riding lessons again anywhere. I sincerely hope someone will take this review to heart and do some soul-searching to make their farm a welcoming and positive environment as they say they want it to be. We love horses and horse people and want to see everyone succeed.

I had a very good experience taking lessons at Willowbrooke. The people are friendly and helpful…read more The owner cares a lot about the horses in her care and I've always admired that she hosts many CANTER horses at her barn (a rehabilitation and rehoming organization for former racehorses). This is a great barn to go to if you don't have your own horse, as they have a large schooling program. The quality of the lessons definitely depends on who is giving them, but that's the case with most barns. It is a LARGE barn, which can be great if you like the opportunity to be in schooling shows and make friends at group lessons. However, it can also mean that you might feel like your individual needs and goals go un-noticed. You'll have to advocate for yourself and speak up if you need something.

I've been taking lessons there for years. Great horses, instructors, tackers and people!read more

Katie is an AMAZING instructor. She confidently and reassuringly taught my family to ride. We…read moreranged in age from 6-71. The horses were incredibly responsive and well cared for. I wished we lived closer so we could ride with them and take lessons from her more regularly.

We visited Maybury Farms for their maple syrup tour and it was great. Took a wagon ride out to the…read morewoods and learned all about the farm and how they sustain it and then learned all about the sugar maples and how to tap the trees! We came back to the sugar bush house to hear about the process of syrup making. It definitely kept my 12 & 14 year old interested! The farm itself is also so fun to visit. And of course we bought honey on the way out since we got to see their bee grounds too! It was a really fun day out! The farmers are so passionate about what they do there. It's certainly educational but it's a really fun place to visit for events and just seeing some farm life, land, and animals

So, I've seen a few farms and petting zoos in my time working with children and a vast majority of…read morethem have been set up with the intention of letting children learn and interact with the environment, etc. and this one was no different with the exception of a lot of space with only so-many animals. There are a lot of comments on the staff being friendly and while they were, a lot of them were practically children themselves! Perhaps they were part of the camp they offer? Who knows! The sweetest young lady asked my kiddos if they'd like to pet a rabbit named Mayonnaise and of COURSE we absolutely had to! The wagon rides stopped at 12:30 so we just missed them, which was kind of a bummer since that was one of the perks the youngest kiddo was looking forward to despite the heat. Oh! We had been misinformed via LittleGuideDetroit that there was horseback riding and that in fact, seems to be down the street? In the end, we left with some peacock feathers, fresh goat milk soap and some flavored honey sticks.

Kind of disorganized, they changed our lessons a couple times, just didn't like the horses or…read moreteacher very much. Just took 3 lessons.