Amber Forney is the best! We retired from San Jose last year and decided with all the Equestrian…read moreCenters nearby that we could finally learn how to ride a horse. So my husband (age 57) and I (age 58) got started with Amber at Cornerstone Training at Royal Oak Farms in Granite Bay. During our weekly lessons Amber taught us everything about horses; how to groom, how to saddle, how to mount & dismount, how to post a trot, and how to canter. She went at exactly the right pace of learning for us. Amber introduced us to new goals each week, including intro to dressage and trotting over low barriers. Amber is fun, her training horses are sweet, and the equestrian center is well groomed.

Very disappointed in this facility. Home of the 20 minutes lesson and little accountability. My…read moredaughter took lessons for one year and I have many issues with this place. I tried to be patient because the owners are very nice, but at the end of the day I wasted a lot of money and wasted a year of lessons for my daughter. I paid for an hour lesson and sometimes my daughter would be on a horse for 20 minutes!!! when I called the owner on it, she told me it wasn't quantity but quality that mattered. I happened to disagree, if I am paying for an hour lesson, I expect my child to be on a horse for an hour. She also got very little guidance in grooming and tacking, had to do it mostly on her own, which didn't help with her confidence in the process. Finally, they have very few riding horses and kept her on their Welsh pony Molly for a year. Now that she is at a professional riding facility, she is very unprepared to ride a real horse and has to start as a beginner due to her lack of confidence. I have also found myself alone, with no adult nor responsible person on the facility and two children waiting for a lesson. The owners are very laid back and do not seem to get involved with their students personally, they are more interested in their own performances but happy to send you an invoice that they may not be able to honor. I do not recommend this facility, it was a waste of time and money for our family.

I started taking riding lessons with DaNae in late summer 2024 and I am so genuinely pleased with…read moremy experience so far. I went to Los Lagos as a beginner rider. I'll admit, it's pretty daunting to pick up riding as an adult. It's *a lot* to learn! But I appreciate and love how DaNae motivates and challenges me each time I'm there. The facility is so beautiful and it's a huge perk to have a covered arena! And if we can't ride on rare occasions, we've got educational lessons. Everyone I've met at the facility has been welcoming. And I've also been really lucky to take my lessons with a great group of girls. I recently heard that DaNae purchased the property and it's so clear that she's putting so much love into the space. I can only anticipate positive changes ahead. Looking forward to continuing my riding lessons and can't wait to see how much I'll learn in time. Who knows...maybe I'll have a horse of my own and board it at Los Lagos someday!

Excellent equestrian center with great people working to make it the best. I took a riding lesson…read morethere and was very impressed.

Go elsewhere!…read more Hillside facilities are very run down and have a lot of deferred maintenance, but my daughter started riding here because I liked the owner Kathy Pead. Unfortunately, as time went on, it was apparent that her lesson instructor Destiny, who is only 18 years old, needed some additional teaching experience and mentorship. She is quite young and doesn't have the best judgement yet (however, in Destiny's defense, it seems like she has a lot of responsibility at the barn and is doing the best she can). Sadly, my 12 year old daughter was put on a horse named Daishar who was too advanced for her skillset and he BOLTED off during a lesson. My daughter was screaming and crying as she had no control over the horse, but eventually was able to roll off him when he slowed down. Thankfully, she did not sustain any injuries. This scary incident could have been prevented as she asked Destiny to get off the horse before leaving the arena, and also asked Destiny to grab the reigns to help guide her out as she sensed Daishar's energy changing and told her she was scared. Destiny did not take these requests seriously and told her no. I'm also horrified that Destiny had her get back ON the horse after this happened (despite my telling her I didn't think that was a good idea). After this situation, I thought it was important to discuss the situation with Kathy and confirm she had insurance coverage. I requested a declarations page to show the policy is paid up and active as I understand she is on MediCal and insurance is expensive. She said I am the first customer in 50 years to ever request this and told us we are not welcome for lessons anymore. If she had the coverage, don't you think she would've just showed it to me? In hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise as I am looking forward to finding a barn that takes my child's safety more seriously. Be careful if you decide to take lessons here.

Positives: -Great location: easy access to Orangevale Park…read morefor trail rides, etc. -Affordable -Owner is pleasant and lives on-site -Riding lessons for beginners and mommy-and-me available weekdays and weekends -Relaxed environment -Kid friendly! -Work Exchange Accepted! You can work in exchange for lessons and boarding of horses. Cons: -No front gate between main road and facility -Many areas where maintenance is overdue -Limited training or lessons for intermediate or advanced riders/horses -Many of the barn staff lack general horse knowledge and/or are under 18yrs old.

My friend's daughter had her 7th birthday party here and it was great!! The place was very easy to…read morefind, with ample parking in the pasture. All the horses look healthy and well taken care off, The party package includes a horse ride, walking the miniature horse, a petting zoo and crafting time. Everything was well organized and adults were having as much as the kiddos. The staff were amazing!! I got my car stuck in the wet mud and they helped me pull it out!! Yay!! Highly recommended for a kids birthday party destination.

Was up for sale according to trainer. That was told to me in March 2022 so no idea if there is a…read morenew owner. If not, dont even think of leaving your horse in this horrible place if you care for it at all. See pictures of what happened to my filly due to their negligence.

This is by far the best facility I have ever been to. We invested some money in a performance horse…read morefor our daughter and the area a ground and facilities are maintained so well. Do not hesitate to join any of the hosted events that they open to the public. The owners show genuine concern for all of the animals on property and they treat people well. They have beautifully maintained grounds, incredible turnouts and large stalls, state of the art heath and wellness options for your horse and ample parking.

I unfortunately am forced to revise my review due to the continued threatening and belittling…read moreemails I have received from the owners friend who think such unprofessional behavior is how you resolve negative yelp reviews. Bulling someone into changing your factual review is not how to professionally deal with complaints. I again think the facility is nice however their professionalism is extreamly lacking.

I practically grew up here, it was my favorite place to be and I will always be grateful to Tami…read moreand Ralph and their facility. Trainers of all types came and went over the years, some better than others, but this is not unique to GBEC. One thing that never changed was the dedication the barn owners had to the care and welfare of their boards. Tami worked nonstop from the morning to night, and she always contacted owners if she noticed a potential problem, etc. She was EVERYTHING to that facility and she always made herself available to boarders. I took lessons from outside trainers, I was assistant trainer to 2 wonderful resident trainers, I leased horses, trained horses, started horses.... Everything. Thank you T & R for everything

We interviewed four equestrian centers before placing our horse here last year. They provide good…read moreservice, reasonable rates and plenty of options from which to choose. It would be nice if they provided a table and chairs outside the arena for those people who like to hang out or bring work with them, though.

The Good: The facility is nice with 1 large arena with…read morelights and 1 round pen, both with great footing. The boarders are friendly and the horses have plenty of room to roam in their pastures. Each pasture has off the ground feeders. We were told Folsom Lake was a short ride across a neighbor's property however we were (understandably) denied access at the time due to the heavy rains and uneven footing so I cannot attest as to the distance of the trails. Four very sweet dogs greet you upon arrival and Rory (owner's son and ranch hand) and Greg (owner's husband) are both incredibly sweet and easy to talk to. The Bad: Tack Space / Trailer Parking: Originally we were offered space in the community tack shed. Upon arriving with our horse, we were advised that community tack shed would not be provided because it was free tack storage OR (not and) free trailer parking. We were told to use our trailer for tack and supplies. That is not what was quoted prior to arrival, as you can check on craigslist posts. Restrooms: There are none outside of the owner's home. Fine for adults, difficult with kids. Self-Cleaning: This facility requires self-cleaning of the pastures every day (shared with your partner). There was a gal there you can pay however as of 03/22/17 she is no longer offering cleaning services. Our unfortunate experience: Our boarding adventures at 8 Oaks lasted all of two months before things escalated beyond acceptability. Our horse is a post-impaction survivor as of only 5 months prior and oat and other cereal hays are highly discouraged by his vet. We were skeptical to move to 8 Oaks as they offer grass and oat hay in a 2-horse shared pasture setting. After many conversations, Cathy Andrews (the owner) ensured us that our horses' diet (grass & alfalfa/ digestive smartpaks) would be accommodated by separating the two horses during breakfast as our intended pasture mate was also on an alternative diet and would need to be separated for breakfast (only) regardless of who he shared with. The accommodations were honored for a short duration. It didn't take long before we were repeatedly reminded by the owner of the inconvenience separating during breakfast caused. We were asked to compensate additional monthly funds to supply our hay choice outside of our boarding agreement on two occasions. We were later then "offered" the option of picking up the hay ourselves. There were several instances where our horse was injured, in which we felt we should have been notified yet weren't, including obvious lameness due to a bloody leg injury. When various concerns were brought up to the owner her responses were indifferent or dismissive. On one occasion, upon seeing my horses injuries, the owner noted in passing that "I saw that a couple of days ago, and thought about texting you..." but she obviously didn't, then redirected it back on me as my fault for not having been there the last 2 days. Additionally, it was discovered that our horse was being left in the breakfast pen until mid - late evenings. This was contrary to assurances from the owner that he was to be moved back to pasture after breakfast. The pen had nothing in regards to shade or shelter, and is too small for him for that long duration of time as well as denied the option of shelter from sun/rain/hail that the normal pasture provided. The client-customer relationship degraded further when we found him in that breakfast pen mid evening, surrounded by the debris of a broken metal structure that had fallen apart. Overall I felt the lack of care and concern demonstrated by the owner to be unprofessional and in our case, inhumane. Since leaving, I've heard a few horror stories regarding others' experiences at 8 Oaks that I wish had been published when I was looking, including issues with another past boarder that had a similar experience with feed. I wish better luck to the next person, but would advise against boarding there if you expect communication of any sort if your horse is ever injured or ill, or if your horse has dietary needs other than grass/oat hay. *************Response to Owner Rebuttal************* Unfortunately there's a character limit so I've attached a picture to my original review containing my response to owner's rebuttal.

I feel so fortunate that when our horse needed a new barn, now that hes retired from the show…read moreworld, 8 Oaks Ranch had an opening. I met with Cathy, the owner and immediately got good vibes. The property is gorgeous and well maintained. No easy feat for property of this size but its obvious this is a labor of love by Cathy and her family. The communication here is wonderful, there are group emails sent to boarders advising of this or that relating to ranch info or just for Cathy to invite people to ride with her on beautiful Folsom Lake Trails, a few minutes down the lane. Any questions or concerns are easily brought up and discussed, Cathy is so easy to talk to.

Watched my granddaughter's horse riding lesson. Wonderful people and she really really enjoying…read morelearning to ride a horse!!

If you're looking for a riding instructor with decades of experience, incredible patience, and a…read moredeep love and appreciation of horses, look no further than Karen Young. A year ago, my daughter fell off a horse and broke her arm, and Karen has been invaluable in helping restore her skills and confidence. Six months ago, my daughter wouldn't go faster than a walk; now she is walking, trotting, cantering, and even jumping a bit. When we made the decision to purchase her first horse, Karen gave us expert advice and regularly came with us when we looked. She guided us on exactly what to look for, and thanks to her knowledge, wisdom, and advice, she helped us find the perfect horse. While Karen's specialty is Western dressage, she has expert knowledge of both English and Western riding, including dressage, hunter/jumper, equitation, and pleasure riding. We're so grateful to have found her.