Twin L Performance Horses

Twin l is a sad place for horses, I rode and boarded my horse there for over a year. My horse developed extremely bad stall habits including cribbing, weaving, tail chasing and kicking the stall door. The horses are only turned out once to twice a week in a small pen due to over crowding and they all lack food. Linda is rude and abrasive, yelling and demeaning children as well as encouraging gossiping and back biting that ruins the atmosphere of the already decrepit barn. Sadly due to her neglect several of her horses have died including numerous foals all succumbing to accidents, improper diet, or lack of veterinary care. This barn taught me a great deal about what can go wrong in a horse business, save yourself and your children the heart ache and go somewhere you can really appreciate horses.

This place is a nightmare for kids. Our «private lesson» was actually a group lesson. Linda is condescending and belittling. The horses are poorly maintained and have very bad behavior! Linda is terrible with children and we left feeling upset and unsafe. The place leaves a lot to be desired!

I’ve been taking lessons at Twin L for 6 months. The lessons are quite affordable when compared to others in the North Phoenix/​Cave Creek area. Linda is out at the arena or round pen all the time so leave a message if she doesn’t answer-she’ll call you back. She won’t coddle you-​she will train you. She is not mean-she’s matter of fact. She will praise you when praise is in order and that’s when you will value it most. I’ve been happy with my lessons, have made much progress and will continue on at Twin L.

Twin L Performance Horses does not even deserve the title to be a «show barn». I have been riding for 7 years and I was looking for a new place to ride because my old barn had taken me 45 minutes to drive to and I wasn’t going to deal with that. I looked on groupon to see if they had any deals going on and I saw an advertisement for Twin L. I decided to look into it and called Linda Leslie (owner/​trainer). I called her at least 7 times in one week and no answer. When she finally answered her phone, she told me that I could come out and look at the place to see what I think. It had rained the night before, and it was very muddy so I couldn’t have a trial lesson which is plenty understandable. Once I arrived at the place, I walked around for about 20 minutes looking for Linda. Meanwhile, the whole property is covered in filth and looked like a total dump. The stalls and turnouts looked like they hadn’t been used in ages and were covered in horse manure. I may add the horses were standing in this thick deep mud filled with poop and water. I peeped into the somewhat organized tack room to ask if anyone knew where Linda Leslie was and one person told us to knock on the door. When she answered she explained how much lessons would be and also asked me if I owned a horse. When I told her no, she explained to me about how parents «crush» their kids dreams by not buying them a horse which immediately turned me off. She told me that the lessons were 40 dollars and that I could buy a package whenever I liked. I told her I would get back to her once I was ready and have never gone back to that place since. All I can say is that this place does not seem safe, is a filthy mess of a barn, and her communication is terrible with her clients.

We bought a few horseback riding lessons for our 8 year old. Linda is very knowledgeable about horses as other reviewers have said but I also second the opinion that she may not be a good fit for a younger rider. She is very stern and offers little praise. By the end of the lesson she almost had my child in tears just by her tone and barking of instructions with no positive feedback. My daughter did not want to return based on this alone.

Linda is obviously very knowledgeable about horses however, I don’t recommend her for young children. Her style is brusque and did not match with our families’ style. I purchased a groupon for lessons for my daughter (7) and her friend for Christmas.
While scheduling the lessons, Linda did not make a great first impression on me by coming across as judgmental while I was on the phone with her. She told me that the reason that kids lose the love of horses is that parents «squash their dreams.» When I explained that I was bringing my daughter’s friend, she stated that she was surprised that another parent would let me bring their child without the parent there. «I wouldn’t let someone take my child without checking the place out,» she stated. As a mom, I am often taking my children’s friends to activities without the parents being there, so I was taken aback for someone to say this. I think I would have understood if we needed to sign waivers or if she had told me the other mom needed to be there to help, but this was not what was communicated to me.
At the lesson, she kept asking me and the kids, «So you’ve had NO experience with horses before?» This was like she was annoyed that she was going to have to teach us the basics. Then when I went to help my daughter on the horse she told my daughter that she was going to really have to help me by climbing since she is «chunky.» My daughter is not chunky and even if she was I don’t think that it was appropriate for her to call my 7 year old daughter chunky especially with all the pressures on girls about body issues. Throughout the lesson she consistently yelled at the girls and told them to be better listeners. She had no patience with them. Both myself and the other mother that was there didn’t think the girls were not listening, they were just new to all the directions. When we left my daughter’s little friend said as soon as we got into the car, «She was really mean.» Unfortunately this was not the fun experience I had hoped. The first thing my daughter told my husband about the experience when we got home was that her teacher called her «chunky.»
I am sure that Linda is an expert with horses, but I don’t think she wants to deal with young or inexperienced riders. We have decided to cancel the rest of the lessons we purchased.

I’ve been riding at Twin L for about 2 years now. Linda is not only the best trainer and horsewoman I’ve ever known, she’s also the best teacher. As others have mentioned, she doesn’t coddle but challenges each of her students to continuous improvement and best effort. From the beginning child to the advanced adult, Linda has an incredible talent of knowing and communicating just what her students need to take them to the next level.
In and outside the arena, there is a wonderful feeling of community and cooperation at Twin L. Many of the experienced riders, along with Linda, are always willing to lend a hand. From my first lesson, I felt that I found a home.

Linda is not a people person. She is always yelling at the kids. Also the place and the horses are not given the attention they need.

I rode here many years ago. Linda was pretty nice but not as nice as I expected her to be. I wanted to continue to do lessons but she said that I had to purchase a package of lessons and that I couldn’t pay for individual lessons. Honestly this is not how you get customers. This is mainly a show barn and those kind of barns only care about the money not the customer.

My mother got horse riding lessons for my girls, and Linda was a great instructor!
Emily rode Rebel, a 13 year gelding, and Grace rode Caprice, an 8 year mare.
Linda was extremely patient with the girls, and helped them build their confidence on the horses. She taught them the proper way to hold the reins, how your feet should be positioned in the stirrups, and proper posture while riding.
Grace was much more confident, and by the end of the lesson was trotting around the arena very well.
Emily trotted a bit, but was more reserved.
It was a great experience for my girls, and I will probably take them back over the summer.