Bella Oaks Stables

Wish I would have read the review before we drove out to Bella Oaks Stables. I experienced much of the same as other reviewers: difficulty in booking a time, rude, anxious, weird about money, strangely patronizing behavior from Debi.
On the positive side, it looks like the place and horses are well cared for, maybe Bella Oaks should stick with boarding horses because Debi’s customer service for people was terrible.
There are other stables in this area and we’ll be looking for an alternative.
I give negative 3 stars to Debi and 5 stars to the instructor that tried to salvage our experience and try and make it fun.

I agree with Josh B’s review. I also purchased the 30 minute trail ride through living social. My friend and I were scheduled to start at 11:30am, but didn’t get on our horses until at least 11:40am. We didn’t get much instruction except to sit on our horses while they followed our guide on the trail. The guide kept telling my friend to sit up straight, not lean forward… and then proceeded to tell me to keep my heels down and toes pointed (felt more like yelling at some points). We walked for about 10 minutes and turned around to go back to the stables.
Our trail ride was 20 mins max. I don’t appreciate starting late and then having my ride cut short. This is NOT what I paid for.
The horses and trail were nice, but I recommend working on your customer service.

Three words to describe Bella Oaks: Frustrating, unprofessional, and odd.
Having a very tight schedule, my significant other and I looked to book the 30 minute ride through living social. having multiple jobs, dates and time out of the city is really limited. We were both very excited but by the end of the whole experience, have given up.
Firstly, there is no secretary or anyone to monitor the phones. Instead, your call goes to a voice mail, every time. I would call in the morning and not hear back until very late at night. If I call you at 9am or 12pm, to get a phone call at 8:30 pm is a bit strange. It seems like no time was off limits and I even got a call at 7pm on Easter Sunday (after calling a week earlier) I played phone tag with who I am assuming is the owner on several occasions. Finally, I left a voice mail stating frankly that the only time we could use our voucher was on a Friday. I gave her dates and times — still specific about it needing to be on a Friday. This was several days in advance. However, I get a call the next day saying that they were completely full and in no way was that possible. We were finally able to settle on a date (after the ticket expired, I thought this was very nice of them but my opinion would change)
My husband and I left an hour and a half ahead of time, for what should have been a 45 minute ride. Yet, alas, an accident occurred. Tried to call — just voice mail. Having received no phone calls from the stables, we assumed that all was well, so we continued on our journey. Basically, we arrived but a half hour late.
NOW, I completely understand we were late. Obviously we couldn’t help an accident but we must take accountability for our own mishap. Yet the reactions from the stable owner still leaves me more than a little annoyed. We get out of the car after driving FOREVER. The place is someone’s house which is, well, awkward. The owner walks up obviously pissed and reminds us we are late. We explain what had happened and all she could say was that people from Sacramento came all the time and never had a problem punctual.
We apologized several times, hoping that she could look past our 30 minute tardiness. First she said she had come in JUST for us, and that we were the only customers that day. She then says she needs to go pick up her kids from school (at 12pm on a Friday). I guess I can believe this but she then follows up that she has seen several people that day since 8am and that everybody else had been punctual besides us. So what is it? Are you just too tired to «deal» with us or what?
I have made a call to living social. I don’t expect to get my money back, but they shouldn’t be working with these people. Complete lack of professionalism and compassion. I felt berated like a child. Very disappointing.

We love Bella Oaks Stables. Our grandkids have been going to camp for last 4 years and they think it’s great. Debbie, the owner, is a real jewel. Genuinely cares about the experience of the kids…10 stars for me.

I made the mistake of booking a 30-​minute trail ride at this place through
. We arrived, filled out the standard paperwork, and they got our horses ready. The guide asked us if we’d ridden before, which we had, so she was like, «Good, then I don’t have to show you any of the basics.» Just as we were mounting, the guide explained that she would «be walking with us the whole time.» This sounded a bit strange, but not as strange as the events that followed.
As it turned out, the guide did not mean that she would be walking along with us on a horse. Instead, she and her assistant walked with us on foot through the entire ride, which was totally unexpected. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected the guide (s) to walk on foot while we rode on horses. Moreover, she told us to keep our hands rested on our horse’s necks while we held the reigns. OK, but this is not normal, so she had to tell us a few times, as most equestrians are taught to hold their hands up as they hold the reigns.
«Heels down, toes up», the guide told us repeatedly. This is standard. But then the guide told me keep my toes pointed forward rather than to the side, because when the heel is pointed inward towards the horse, you tend to kick the horse, which causes the horse to walk faster, and she can only walk so fast. Now, this is where I was on the verge of saying, «What the —- kind of a trail ride is this?»
Newsflash, it is expected for an equestrian to «hug» the horse with his/​her legs and kick them from time to time (some horses need a lot more kicking than others). So not only does this ride involve no trotting or cantering, you want the horses to walk as slow as you? The guide had to ask me to stop multiple times so that she could catch up with us.
The whole experience seemed like it was meant for 8 – 10 year old kids that had never been on a horse before. Alas, the ride did not even last the 30 minutes that we paid for. If you include the time it took to the saddle the horses and get mounted, it was probably 30 minutes, but the trail ride itself was more like 15 – 20 minutes. In those 15 – 20 minutes, we basically just sat on our horses and did nothing. The only thing I did to actually control my horse was stop him to let the guide catch up, and turn him around so that we could head back to the stables. I think I’d have had more fun on the trail had I been riding a bicycle (it certainly would have been more involved).
The stable itself was cute but poorly kept. There were lots of flies and other telltale signs of a dirty facility. Horse stables require a lot of regular cleaning and maintenance. Thus, it’s easy to tell a well maintained facility from a poorly maintained facility. Unfortunately, Bella Oaks Stables represented much more of the latter than the former.
I do not recommend this facility, especially for adult riding. Perhaps it is OK for kids, which is exactly how they treated us. Suffice it to say that we will not be returning to this stable in the foreseeable future.

Excellent service. Very warm-​hearted tour guide, Debbie. She knew her stuff when it came to horses, and put us both at ease. Would certainly recommend. Also very accommodating and kind while scheduling the horseback riding.

Don’t even remember how I found ‘em. Wanted to get my daughter (3yo) on a horse. Shot them an email in a dark and, for my surprise, got a very quick response back :) so all scheduling was done through email and well communicated (which I really loved)
we got 1 hour ride for 3 of us. with no time to waste they got us on our horses (first time ever) and off we were on a trail along small stream close by the farm. Debi was walking our daughter’s horse and all I could hear whole hour was giggling and laughing of my little one. Horses seem to be well trained and taken care of; had no issues guiding (can’t say, steering) mine, at least :) so if you ask me — was it worth the money — more than one could ask for!
Great, mega friendly staff, great horses (as much as I know about ‘em :)), bunch of other animals on the farm (as well as creepy dwarf looking goat with crossed eyes who greeted us, the moment we stepped on the farm’s ground, with a light sniff of my leg and «I’m watching you, city folks» kind of look :))
will I recommend this place? ABSOLUTELY YES !!!
Thank you for great times !!!

I took my boys here age 6, and 7 for lessons. The staff was great and the teacher, Stevee, was knowledgable and patient.
There are other animals on the property that my boys loved looking at including a friendly goat and chickens. They apparently have summer camps that I haven’t sent my boys to yet, but will definitely try!

We went and did the 30 minute horseback riding as part of their living social deal. Though we had a scheduled time, they were running late so it was a bit worrisome as there was no one on the property (minus 1). We waited around, looked at their baby goats, chickens, ducks, and ponies in hopes that someone would show up. After waiting 15 minutes, the staff came back with a large group, got us set up, and helped us up on the horses.
It’s perfect for a newbie as they have some really tame and gentle horses. We went for around 30 minutes on a nearby trail. It gets a bit chilly, so I was glad I brought a light jacket. One of their horses had to go to the bathroom, so it was a unique experience for my bf. Apparently, you have to stand up on the stirrups because sitting down compresses their bladder. Our guide was really friendly and informative, answering questions we had about horses and the different types of sports/​events. I should have gotten two living social deals and made it a 1 hr ride for two, but oh well.