Boarded with the owner for 17 years. Owner on premises- welfare of the horse is the priority…read more Wonderful friendly environment.

I have been boarding with Don Bar for 19 years and counting . Your horses well being is first on…read morethe list for the owner manager and care takers. Relaxed and friendly atmosphere make boarding a pleasure.

Not a fan of this barn- but more so the gross management. Mean barn manager ( Alison) who will…read morecompletely ignore you unless she wants money takes the joy out of horse ownership. I boarded there years ago with a few friends and left rather quickly. I firmly believe the manager is a racist and have witnessed her treat people poorly if they're of any race other than WHITE. I myself am not white and felt invisible and not valued from the first day there. She will judge you if you don't use the farrier or vet she does. When you email or text her, if she doesn't like you she just won't respond. Every barn is extremely dark and dreary and does NOT have any kind of warm welcoming feel to it. The stall walls are covered in manure, cobwebs everywhere, dead mice, and an overwhelming feeling of non cleanliness. It's a crappy barn and I'd never ever board, take lessons, or want any association with them. One of my friends boarded there and was treated like complete crap too. Alison is so unprofessional and will not give you the time of day unless she feels like it. Then tells people "sorry this is business" but doesn't actually run her business unless she randomly decides she wants to on that day. She touched and moved my friends tack and damaged one of her very expensive helmets INSTEAD of simply contacting her and asking her to move her things. But that seems to be the theme of everything at DonBar. Passive aggressiveness with a side of snark. the manager/owner suddenly responded (over a month later) with the difference in board. My friend paid it even though her horse was NOT going to be there for over half of the month. Alison says you need a 30 day notice to leave but if your horse is for sale there's NO way you could know when they're sold. If someone buys your horse, the new owners need to be able to take their new horse home- not keep them at the sellers facility for 30 days! My friend was so lucky to find a new home within 2 days of listing the horse. The following day Alison tried depositing my friend's board check that was given to her weeks earlier because apparently she's too lazy to cash them when they're received. My friend had changed her bank account (this was the first time she'd ever closed an account but did due to fraud concerns) it was already in effect so outstanding checks obviously would not go through. This wouldn't have been an issue had the barn deposited the check when they got it. My friend did not write her a new check because she was not going to be using any of her services and because she was hospitalized with deteriorating health. Instead of understanding the incredibly devastating situation Alison decided to harass her and make her and her entire family (and friends!!) feel so uncomfortable. Not one "How are you doing?" Or anything of that nature. After contacting the police she was advised to block her on all accounts. The board payment (she didn't handle when she should have) was not hers to have since the horse was gone. Had Alison shown any kind of empathy, understanding, or just plain decency she would have sent a new check. But her threatening, degrading, and aggressive attitude was such a disgusting turn off that we took the police's and lawyer's advice to ignore and not respond to this opportunistic narcissist.

Mary Griffin, the owner and head trainer, of Fattoria is fantastic!…read more She is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects: horse care, horse training, showing, marketing and negotiation. Best of all, she is always energetic, positive and honest in everything that she does. Fattoria is based out of Sunflower farms of which the facility is beyond superb. Divine footing, many indoor and outdoor rings, all day turnout, heated inside, gated, and overall just a safe place for rider, horses and families. If you are in need of a reputable GOOD horse trainer in the area, give her a call!

The stables are beautiful and well kept. Accommodating staff. The community events are a great way…read moreto become familiar with the new crew and ammenities offered.

Amazing riding experience. My friend and I used our Groupons together for a 2-hour lesson. Colleen…read moreshowed us how to get our horses prepped and saddled. She is one of the best horse people I've ever come across. She was super fun, knowledgeable and not at all snobby about things we didn't know. The lesson consisted of an hour of training off the horse and then an hour to practice basic riding. We wanted to trot a little bit, but ran out of time and Colleen didn't want to go too fast and risk either of us getting hurt. It was definitely a good move sales-wise, because now both of us really want to come back and continue lessons. It's a bit of a drive, but I'm sure we'll return and recommend it to others!

I recently attended the Baby Lippizan event where the babies are shown off to the audience and this…read moreis the first time the babies get to be in front of an audience. It was cute to see all the babies next to their mothers lining up on top of the hill. During the show, each mother and baby are lead into the arena and brought around the ring. The baby usually then go off any play with other babies. So cute! The show is on Wednesdays and Saturdays. What was really cool is that the babys are born a dark color and then turn white as they grow older. I had a great time and would love to come back to see the other events the place has.

I didn't see the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and was rather surprised to discover there's a…read moreschool in the northern suburbs. It's near Gurnee and could easily be combined with a visit there or the Gold Pyramid House (which you'll drive right by). If you love horses or have children who do, you really must go. I'm not a big horse person, but I like history and for Goldstar/Groupon prices it was worth it. If you buy online, get your ticket scanned at the ticket booth and get a program. Plan your visit realizing that the stables are open only after the show, and that the sanitary facilities are Port-a-Potties. Food is available onsite, though there are no vegetarian options. Unless you have special tickets or are handicapped; you'll be sitting in covered bleachers. To pick your seat, come early and note which way the shadows fall if you want to sit in shade. Closed-toe shoes are recommended; pathways are gravel and the stables are partially floored with fine soil/sand. The 90 minute show is two halves of four numbers each, with narration and piped-in classical music. There's a 15 minute intermission, during which you can buy a sandwich, use the bathroom, and look through souvenirs in the food/souvenir tent. To start, four liveried riders ride in, doff their hats (take this photo, either now or at the end, depending on where you sit), and then you're treated to a parade of mares and foals; horses pulling a carriage; and gradually-more-trained stallions. Some of the numbers go a little long (there are only so many ways to ride a horse across a short football field) - everything is symmetrical and they want to be sure everyone in the audience sees all the tricks. After the show they open the stable doors for the "tour"; go right. 10 minutes after the show they'll let you in where the horses are; while waiting, you can look at historical photos on the stable walls. Peek at the horses in their stalls; and, on either end, talk with a rider and even pet their horse (head right again if all you want is to pet a horse as soon as possible). The majority of the stalls (and a bathroom!) are on the left; on the east (non-field) side of the stadium is an official photo station where you can take a selfie with a horse and rider. (No charge.) Altogether, a pleasant afternoon.