Great operation! Have been at least 5 times with them. Jules is great and they clearly love and…read morecare well for their horses

I really enjoyed my time here! As someone who had never ridden a horse before, I didn't really know…read morewhat to expect, but our guide was absolutely amazing and very patient with us (as were the horses!) Will definitely be coming back and would definitely recomend this experience for anyone looking to try something different!

Erica is doing great with kids. They loved riding with her. She is very knowledgeable and friendly.read more

I VERY HIGHLY recommend Erica for horseback riding lessons and beyond! I truly NEVER write Yelp…read morereviews but just had to for Erica as she is a true Equestrian, a great instructor, and a rare gem of a human being. She is a genuinely good hearted person that is always there to help with your horse lesson/training needs and beyond! She goes above and beyond and even helps with saddle fitting, horse exercising/training, and almost any of your horse related needs! Most of all she is always there without judgement and with all encouragement to help you push through to the next level during her riding lessons. I can't say enough about her and you are missing out if you don't utilize her before she is too booked up! She is a breathe of fresh air and so fun to work with! Happy Riding:):)

I've got two spoiled kids (half joking), and they LOVED their 4 day semiprivate camp experience…read more Their primary instructor was Chris Margrave, a true cowboy with a big heart for kids. My girls were also instructed by Katie who was great with my girls. The tandem of Chris and Katie made for an outstanding experience for two little girls (8 & 6) who wanted to learn to ride horses. The camp went, Monday - Thursday, and we enrolled in class from 1pm to 4pm. It turned out that my girls were the only two enrolled in the afternoon class, so it was actually private. It was a little hot, but not too bad. The girls spent lots of time in the saddle (Western ridding), and learning the basics about horses and the equipment. They also spent time on fun ranch type crafts, decorating a bandanna and making a horseshoe picture frame. The 4 day program even finishes with an official horse show, which was a good ol' time. The cost was $250/child, and worth every penny. The facilities were nice, the staff was wonderful, and the horses were all beautiful specimens. In a summer filled with various camps and vacations (did I mention spoiled?), the Callie Bell horse camp will assuredly be THE highlight for my girls.

We were originally very excited to find this summer camp session and actually made arrangements for…read moreour daughter to fly from the San Francisco Bay Area to SoCal to attend this riding camp with her friends who live in Redondo Beach. 2 weeks prior to camp, Gudrun called from Callie Bell explaining that they were over-enrolled, they had 5 horses and 8 riders and asked could we possibly switch to a different week of camp. I explained our situation, and they let me know that they would honor enrollments in order of enrollment date, and I thanked them. They asked me about specific kids names who were also enrolled (since my daughter needed to attend with the friends that she would staying with and whose mom would be driving all of them to and from camp each day). They assured me that since we had enrolled in May, 3 other children (that they mentioned by name) would be moved instead since they registered in July, to ensure there would be 5 kids for 5 horses. I called my daughter on her first day of class to learn that they had 8 kids for 4 horses, and the 3 children (whose names they had specifically stated were over the limit and as a result would be moved to a different session) were somehow in that same camp session after all. The kids walked behind the horses when they weren't riding, and they spent almost no time riding. When I called Callie Bell Riders to ask about these things, suddenly things shifted. When I asked about kids walking behind horses when not riding Gudrun claimed it was "only on the way to the riding arena"--as if that makes it ok. Her explanation that one of their five beginner horses wasn't feeling well so the staff made the call to use 4 horses for 8 kids made absolutely no sense whatsoever. They told me that the staff had a sticky over-enrollment situation and they felt this was the best way to deal with it. They completely forgot that we talked at length 2 weeks previously about this over-enrollment situation. I was unhappy about the fact that they did not move kids to other sessions (what they had originally said they were going to do), but kept all 8 kids in that time with just 1 adult, and 4 horses. I learned that the kids would only ride 45 minutes out of a 3 hour camp each day. Then in the same breath they assured me that "this was just the first day's activities". However when I asked when they would do on the second day or the rest of the week, they told me they would learn to walk the horses, learn about horse safety, comb the horse, and draw pictures of their horse. Seriously??? Draw pictures of the horse? It was to the point that I withdrew my daughter from camp after the first day despite all the expense of flights, and other travel from SF to LA. Anyway, I looked to the previous yelp review from 2011 who raved about the summer camp to try this camp, and felt others might benefit from hearing about a more recent experience in summer of 2018. Not sure what happened between 2011 and 2018, but I can tell you I had a markedly different experience. On the other hand, they might look to summer camp weeks as a way to cram in as many kids and cash as possible, and perhaps their serious riders are treated well?

My daughter has benefited from this therapeutic experience. The horses, instructors and volunteers…read moreare incredible. We are so grateful for this non profit organization that continues to make a huge impact!

Ride to Fly is a wonderful organization with the most humble, loving, compassionate, knowledgeable…read moreequestrian volunteers. These individuals volunteer their time to teach horsemanship to people of all ages who have a form of a disability. They incorporate other therapies into their riding lessons (speech, OT, PT, vision). All the lead instructors are lifelong equine lovers and riders, and have horsemanship in their blood. All the side walkers are also equestrians from all levels. If you have the privilege of working with this organization you will see (straight away) that their passion for horses will immediately translate into excellence in teaching and learning (by either you or your loved one). My child has been a pupil with Ride to Fly for the last 7 years (on and off). She started with a leader and 4 side walkers (2 on each side). My daughter can now ride independently and confidently as a solo rider. One other thing to note, the instructors are so adept in equine knowledge that they explain, in detail, exactly what and how your body should be feeling with each movement. They assimilate their teaching implementation for each student. That alone, is a skill that is invaluable.

I visited their open house a couple of weeks ago. The location is beautiful, the people seemed…read morefriendly, the horses looked happy, and the stalls were clean. I didn't see there were issues with flooding. Clearly the other reviewer had a different experience from me, but I'm just commenting on what I saw.

Came for a birthday party and we had a blast. The highlight for my son was the hay ride.read more

My daughter had her 8th birthday party here and it was amazing! The staff were super accommodating…read moreand friendly. The kids loved the experience and the parents enjoyed themselves as well. Such a fun time and experience for everyone!

I was asked to pull my original review of this place down because parents were worried about the…read morereputation of the barn reflecting poorly on their kids. Well. Upon further reflection and new information that has come to light, I feel the right thing to do is inform people how terrible this place is. Do not come here. I'm sure at one point, this was a good place,but it seems like the good people left. Not only is this place on a death spiral grind to survive, it's full of lying, manipulative, toxic people. The place is run by a completely unprofessional human being named Joel Griffin - who has a known track record of harassment and apparently a history of being hostile. If you want a community of riders to grow and share bonds over animals - these are not your people. This is Mean Girls on a budget. The owners work harder at excuses and blame than they do providing the services you pay for. They will not clean your stalls. They will hide the stuff they are supposed to clean under your shavings. You will get extra helpings of passive aggressive behavior if you mention it. Joel, the owner, has no problem spreading rumors and information about anyone's personal lives to anyone who happens to be around. There's no limit, or any filter. He's actually said that he won't answer the calls of some boarders because they annoy him. He is also cheap. Did I mention he was inappropriate? Don't tell him or anyone anything personal unless you want others to know. They will not fix anything for you unless a situation turns into a blow out. Our horse and several other horses have sustained repeated injuries due to stall conditions, and nothing was done about it. They will do the bare minimum with feeding. If you use a slow feeder or have special dietary needs, you're on your own. They will not help. When we discovered a horse living in squalor, and temporarily moved it, they accused us child endangerment. And after getting angry and confronting people about lying and spreading misinformation, there is now a rumor going around saying I threatened to punch a woman . This behavior is ABSOLUTELY NOT OK and it is dangerous. Fortunately we have a couple of witnesses to the contrary, and learned of an illegal recording that was made during that confrontation, so should be easy prove otherwise. We are definitely talking to our attorney about what actions we can take against this place and any slanderous/libelous claims made against us both from the owners and any remaining boarders who just don't seem to get how bad and serious these claims are. They will definitely throw you under the bus, before even considering the acceptance of anything remotely resembling their own accountability. This isn't normal. When we left, due to all of the drama and complete unprofessionalism (not to mention keeping up the stall became a nearly a full time job despite paying for it), we were locked out of our locker, instantly - even tho we had paid for the whole month. We want to go and recover our remaining items and food,, but now don't feel safe or trusting of the people there. You never know what will be said about you next, or what will be manipulated into something else The barn is not secured. Odd people randomly come thru off of the street, and it doesn't feel safe at night. It's sandwiched between railroad tracks full of garbage and the occasional homeless tents, some processing plants... and the 710. There are groups of riders who take over the barn at night, party, get drunk and rowdy. Some say some beat their horses, but the owner turns a blind eye because "money is money". There have been claims that worse behavior towards other boarders has occurred. I cannot personally verify these claims, but I've heard similar stories from unrelated people elsewhere, who had boarded there and left. We have spoken with a few previous IEC boarders now at our new location as well as people from across the city, who all have their own horror stories. This includes vets, horse professionals, caretakers etc. this is obviously a huge problem. Joel is a huge problem. And to the people out there worried about the reputation of the barn... you should be. And you should do something about it. These are your decisions. It's your responsibility. I will not subject my family to this place for one second longer, or cover for one of the worst experiences of my life for the sake of others. That is just irresponsible at this point and my family deserves better.

My son and nieces attended the horse camp for a week, and they loved it. The horses are well taken…read morecare of, and the camp coordinators were awesome. Thank you, IEC, for providing kids with an awesome learning experience.

It could be better. Angela is a trained professional, but there is so few lesson horses. if you…read moreride in the riding club, there's more options for horses, but for just lessons, there's only 2 and there both ponies. otherwise u have to have ur own horse. when I came here, they held me back for so long and made me do trotting on the lead for around 6 months and i realized they held me back bc they don't let lesson kids jump so the highest I could go was canter- and they didn't want me to improve fast to get to canter bc then I would stop doing lessons with them so they held me back. also I outgrew this pony and felt so bad bc they always put older kids on that pony and he seems overworked and old. I lost lots of confidence here. It is a nice place to learn, but probably they could do better.

When I started riding over on "the hill" three years ago, I asked some friends (a trainer and…read moreanother equine professional) who I should take lessons from and they unanimously referred me to Angela. Angela is one of the most professional and knowledgeable trainers I have had the pleasure to work with- she has training in eventing, dressage, hunter/jumpers, pony club (A-rating), as well as a lifetime of skilled horsemanship. She has taken the time to really, truly understand how I learn, and I have never left a lesson feeling anything but positive and excited about where the trajectory of my skills as an equestrian are going. Angela is able to explain and break down the "whys" and "hows" of the exercises that she prepares for every lesson- being in her program means that you are learning how to ride, not just be a passenger on a horse. She has a method to her instruction (and can explain her reasoning for it!) and wants all of her riders to have a strong, safe foundation. I have been fortunate enough to lease two horses from her, including my current lease, and she knows her horses well enough to be able to see tiny gaps in my position and equitation during lessons that have led to significant improvements in my riding and confidence. Everyone that is in her program is positive and supportive regardless of their age, ability or experience level is, which is a rarity to find in the equestrian world, and her horses are happy horses who receive the best care. Riding with Angela has made me a better equestrian AND a better person, and I would absolutely recommend her!