Friendly Pony Parties was an absolute highlight of our school's End-of-Year Carnival! Their team was professional, communicative, timely, and incredibly friendly. They brought a variety of animals including baby bunnies, goats, a piglet, ducks, and chickens and the kids were obsessed! Students were smiling ear to ear the entire time! Their staff did an amazing job creating a fun, safe, and engaging experience for our school community. You can tell they genuinely care about what they do and about making events special. We are so grateful they were part of our carnival and would absolutely recommend Friendly Pony Parties for school events, parties, and family gatherings. We would happily book them again in the future! read more

We had a great time yesterday! Terry is a great host. We had a petting zoo full of pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits. We also had two pony's. The kids had a fun time riding them. Terry was doing face painting, which the kids love. Made my nephew's first birthday memorable! Thank you to Terry and her staff. read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Worked with Terry and her exceptional team at Friendly Pony Parties for my 3 yr olds birthday this weekend. We had both a pony & petting zoo. Start to finish they did such a wonderful job! Terry made booking a snap, and followed up with confirmations, details on what to expect day of, etc etc. On the day of the event, her team Frank & Eduardo were early, communicative and just lovely to work with. The set up is a cut above, with sunflowers and little touches layered in throughout. It's not easy to wrangle the animals, a bunch of 3 year olds and eager onlookers passing through the park. Frank & Eduardo did it all with grace and ease. And last but certainly not least, you can tell these animals are very well loved and well taken care of. Which makes it all work. Terry & Team, thank you for making my daughter's 3rd birthday an event she will NEVER forget! read more

Perfect addition to any event, whether it be for kid's bday's, school activities, corporate events, etc. I highly recommend them. Such a great entertaining and educational way to bring joy to anyone for any occasion. Love the diff variety of barn yard animals, and the ponies are esp a great addition as well. :) read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Barn yard pals!! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

My 7yo daughter wanted a petting zoo for her birthday party. I hired Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals to set up a petting zoo in our backyard, and it was a huge hit! The kids absolutely loved it. They arrived with plenty of time to set up before the party, erected a cute, covered enclosure on the lawn, and brought in a variety of adorable animals. The young attendant was very respectful and courteous, and they took great care to ensure nothing in our home was damaged, and thoroughly cleaned up after themselves at the end. Such a great experience from start to finish. Highly recommend! read more

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We had incredible visit from Friendly Pony Parties. Terry was incredibly communicative prior to our visit and brought the sweetest animals for students and staff to connect with during our on-site event. It was such a joy for all. We opted for the medium petting zoo, which was absolutely perfect for our campus and included rabbits, chickens, pigs, goats, and we requested the Alpaca, Daisy, who was a huge hit. I would absolutely recommend Terry for any event you might have in mind. She has all kids of packages for every occasion and was wonderful to work with. We look forward to having her on campus again in the future. Thank you, Terry! read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Daisy the Alpaca! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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Used Friendly Pony Parties for a 2 year birthday party and was very pleased with the service and the animals. I worked with Terry who kindly scheduled me with short notice. JC was the animal handler for the day and was outstanding! Incredibly knowledgeable and his care for the animals showed. We booked the "8x8 small petting zoo" and that worked well for the young children and the parents were happy too. It could have been slightly improved if the area had just a little more space for the number of animals and people. read more

5+ Star review due to how amazing Terry and her team made our last minute party come true. Read more to find out. Contacted Terry 2 weeks before Mother's Day and asked for a last min zoo and pony. Our mother is on hospice and we wanted to do something special. Not only did she accommodate us and make a way, but she totally surpassed our expectations. Cute, fluffy, friendly, to say the least. Truly felt loved and catered to from e-mail to day of. Our handler JC was a great addition to the party as well as professional and did his job very well. Set up and clean up was quick and thorough and the animals are very clean and loved so they are so fun to hang out with! Thankful to Terry and JC for this memory they made happen. read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Zoo + Pony package. - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

We love Friendly Pony Parties, we have used them multiple times for our kids birthday parties (both petting zoos and pony rides). They are professional, reliable and affordable, a pleasure to have at any party. Recently they put on an event at my son's school, the program is for kids with severe disabilities and Pony Parties couldn't have handled the day any better! They were quick to set up, super patient with the students and staff and incredibly generous with their time (they stayed a little bit longer so all the students had time with the animals). It was a wonderful experience and I recommend Terry and her team for any event you might be hosting! Thank you Party Ponies!! read more

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Exceptional job letting about twenty 3-year-olds get pony rides and petting zoo visits at my kid's birthday party! Very friendly staff. Very cute animals. I also appreciated that they left our property very clean. read more

I can't say enough good stuff about this company! The owner Terry is the sweetest women, and the attendant Auggie was amazing! He was the most polite, kind and patient young man ever. They drove the animals all the way to Santa Rosa to accommodate our event and did such a great job with everything from start to finish. We will absolutely be using them for all our big events and you should to!! read more

We had a petting zoo scheduled a month out for a 4yo birthday party. Payment sent, everything confirmed. The 4yo was super excited. On the day of the party, no one shows up. No calls. No emails. Not answering calls about where they are. Nothing. Just ghosted. Got an email a bit after apologizing, with some story about a black out in Half Moon Bay, promised refund etc. Almost a week later, no refund. Opened a dispute case with PayPal (conveniently the only way they take payment) and still no response, and no refund. Starting to feel like a fly by night scam operation. Stay away. EDIT: Three weeks after the original review was posted, got an email from them asking for the review to be modified. So I am doing that to clarify. They did refund two weeks after the originally scheduled event, and a week after I filed the dispute with PayPal and with the credit card company. Not sure why it took so long to get the refund. Should have been immediate. read more

We had a wonderful experience with Sheila and the animals today! Terry and her team were extremely nice and communicative. We had a very small get together for my mother's birthday so we all got a lot of 1 on 1 with the animals. They were the softest and friendliest animals I have ever met! The bunnies were snuggled up on my mom while I snuggled up with the pig! My nephew enjoyed being able to feed the goats and ducks. We even got to feed the pony and take pictures with him. Truly such a great experience and COVID friendly! You can tell that these animals are well taken care of and I appreciate that. Looking forward to doing more business with Terry and her team! read more

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Friendly and fun staff. Animals are well cared for and very sweet. Highly recommended!

We could not have had a better experience with Friendly Pony Parties. Willow the Unicorn (and our amazing handler Claudia) arrived early for our 9am slot. Willow was beautiful, gentle, calm, and literally made our daughter's unicorn dreams come true. She and our son took turns riding Willow to their heart's content. Not only did they get to ride her, they got to pet and feed her which was an added bonus. My daughter already is asking if she can ride Willow again, and we would love to have both Willow and Claudia back. read more

We had a medium-sized petting zoo for a 150+ kids elementary school event. The team texted me when they were on their way with ETA, and showed up a little less than 30 min before the event and was able to complete the setup prior to the event. They also brought two canopies to cover the area. It was an instant hit for the kids. The date/closure was pretty convenient for kids to get in and out, the team was cleaning up dropping as they go. The clean up was well done as well. Very good job on the day of the event. Not an issue for personal birthday parties, but I wish the contracting process could be more convenient for corporate/school that need to get invoices for reimbursement. Also, no phone communications this whole time, email/text could also be a bit more responsive. I would give 4.5 star if Yelp lets me. read more

Amazingly easy--we booked a month or so in advance of a birthday party. Terry then confirmed details 3 days in advance of our event, and Eduardo texted that he was on his way with an ETA on the day of. He arrived 20 min ahead of the party and set up in about 10 minutes. The kids loved the animals (farm animal petting zoo and alpaca)! We really appreciated how smoothly everything went! read more

Had a wonderful time using this company for our daughter's 8th birthday celebration yesterday. JC came on time to set up and was a great presence, answering everyone's questions, cleaning up any poop, and being very chill with the children. They had a blast petting the pigs, goats, bunnies, chickens, and ducks. There are a few more exotic looking chicken which were fun to see. Loved the two hour deal on groupon too. I would say at the beginning it took a while to have questions answered by the team, but closer to the party date, they were more responsive. I would recommend this company for others wanting to make their party a bit more magical. read more

I can't. I am literally limping and exhausted, and I refuse to go to bed without posting this review. What I absolutely loved about working with FPP: 1. Timely response: I reached out to Terry about a month and a half before my event, panicking YES PANICKING that I woke up one morning and realized I had ZERO PLAN as to what I was going to do for my son's 5th birthday. Terry was outrageously responsive. We got all of the booking squared away in less than a day. Which is saying something as I'm about as wishy washy as they come. 2. Follow through: I kept meaning to text/email Terry to confirm the event. I have an anxiety disorder, so I would frequently have nightmares that they would no show or I never actually booked them. But I'm also a single mom with a lot going on, and so I never actually reached out to confirmed. You know who did? Terry! What a relief to have the vendor confirm the details several days out from the event. Perfection, 3. Actual event: There aren't even words. I had the fabulous Miss Julie. I was wondering how in the world one person was going to manage this pony and petting zoo. WOW. Move over Avengers, Julie is a beast! I offered her any hands and help, but she just moved quickly and quietly setting up the petting zoo and getting the pony ready before I could even blink. She had a great energy, was so wonderful with the kids. And let me tell you, she had her work cut out for her. My son has Autism, ADHD, and a speech language impairment. In attendance, we had another child with ASD, a child who is visually impaired, and another child with a speech and language impairment. She was so sweet with every child. Above and beyond the call of duty. Honestly, I was so worried and in my own head and there were moments were I would turn around, and my son was safe with Julie. She didn't have to look after him. But she did. And there isn't enough money in the world or words I could type to express my gratitude. 4. The animals: The most docile, sweet, cute animals I have every seen. I'm allergic to most hays at this point, and I swear these animals make me want to try again. The bunnies, seriously. I don't know what they are feeding them, but they are UNBELIEVABLY soft. The goats are hams. The ducks weren't having it, but have you met a duck that was all about a bunch of 4-5s chasing them? All things considered, these were some calm a** ducks and chickens. All in all, our petting zoo (pretty sure I opted for a small petting zoo but don't quote me) had chickens, ducks, a goose?, a baby pig, and goats! I died a little on the inside. Too. Stinking. Cute, Can I keep them, mommy cute. One of the hens laid an egg on the way in, and Julie showed it to my son and let him hold it. Which is pretty brave. But wow, again talk about going above and beyond. She was also super lovely about stopping mid rides to let us grab photos. 5. Timeliness: Julie texted me when she was about 30m out. This gave us time to be sure that we were ready. And this was far beyond the stated window. When I pointed this out thinking maybe she/ I had made a mistake, she just replied that she wanted to have everything set up for our window. WOW, WOW! They could easily take time from your slot to set up, but not this company. 6. Easy payment. I hate, HATE cash or venmo. Zelle'd the money right over and easy, breezy. Did tip in cash though. Please tip! 7. The cleanup: Seriously, Julie went through every inch of the area with her fine brush and cleaned up every pellet of poop. I wanted to stop her to tell her that was unnecessarily. We have dogs (who I relocated to another house during the party as I didn't want the animals on edge) so like poop in the yard is a daily life whatever for us. But wow! Wow! Applause This was a bit of an impulse expense for me. But I do not regret it at all. Gosh, I don't even know if this was about my son or me at this point. Everyone, EVERYONE said they had never seen anything like it and thought it was the most brilliant thing ever. I have to say that the pony and petting zoo combo was amazing. Truly it gives the kids who either do not want to ride OR are waiting to ride a distraction. And, again, huge props to Julie. One hand, she's got the pony on a lead and the other she's feeding the animals. You know she cares about the animals because she was quick to set them up with shade while she worked in the hot sun, declining break after break to make sure all the kids got as many rides as they wanted. I'm a pretty stoic person, but the beauty of this brought me to tears multiple times. Terry and Julie, thank you. From the bottom of my heart and with every fibre of my being, thank you. To anybody on the fence, please book. You will not regret it. Absolutely amazing people. Not only will your event be spectacular, but you are patronizing good people. Great people. I just cannot say enough good things about them. Best decision that I ever made. read more

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We just had such a great experience with Terry and team! We rented the mini petting zoo for my daughters 2nd birthday party and it was a huge success! Terry was easy to work with ahead of time, they arrived with plenty of time to set up, and Frank did such a great job helping the kids with the animals. I would definitely hire them again. read more

Sugar, the unicorn, delighted all of guest, adults and kids alike. The unicorn handler was so kind and effective, keeping everything moving. The petting zoo was much more amazing than we could've expected. The friendly goats, the pot-bellied piglet, the ducks and rabbits were delightful. The special treat was the egg that one of the chickens laid. They managed to do all of this in our small San Francisco backyard. read more

We rented the medium petting zoo for our elementary school's annual picnic back in September. It was a huge success! Terry was a delight to work with. She was very responsive with both emails and texts. She was very patient and helpful as we navigated through a few last minute insurance hurdles. JC was our contact on the day of the event. He was outstanding with the children. I was a little nervous planning this event while still on the edge of the pandemic. Many businesses have been unreliable or disappointing on their delivery. Terry and her team did not disappoint. Everything went off without a hitch! I will definitely use them again and highly recommend! read more

Amazing and kids has so much fun! Don't know what with the negative review from people but they were on time, animals are well taken care of and we couldn't have asked for a better experience read more

Terry and Olivia were phenomenal at our wedding! The animals were a true highlight. They were the ones who greeted our guests, and our guests just loved them. We believe there was talk of bunny adoptions. We want to give a huge shoutout to Olivia, because she was so capable, cheerful, knowledgeable, patient, and welcoming. We so appreciate her, and are also impressed with her resourcefulness. John's favorite were the mini pigs and mine were the bunnies. We also loved Cuzco the llama, who kindly put up with all the petting. We would love to recommend you to friends and hope to have a chance to work with you again! read more

I asked for a petting zoo and pony and it did not disappoint! Caretaker arrived early and set up nicely. Animals were great and caretaker was very nice and accommodating. One of the chickens even laid an egg! The children loved it. I would highly recommend! read more

We had such a great experience with Friendly Pony Parties for my daughter's 4th birthday party. We have a pretty small backyard and Terry totally made it work. We had ducks, little pigs, bunnies, chickens, and goats. The girls were thrilled and had such a blast. Terry was so easy to work with and Olivia was so great with the kids. Terry and Olivia even showed up thirty minutes early so everything was setup before our guests arrived. I would definitely recommend them for a unique backyard birthday experience. Thank you Terry and Olivia! read more

I found Friendly Pony Parties through a Google search and booked before looking on Yelp. After I had already paid, going through the mixed Yelp reviews made me a little nervous, but all was well. Terry responded quickly to my inquiries via text and email. We settled on a medium petting zoo for my son's 6th birthday. Yesterday, Sheila (? I think that was her name), called me to give me an ETA. We requested a 12:30p start time, and she was there by 12:00 and ready to go on time. The petting zoo was a hit and several people commented on what a great idea it was and asked for their contact information. There were several baby goats, a pig, bunnies, ducks and chickens. Sheila was very kind and gentle in reminding the kids to treat the animals with care. I think an hour was plenty for the number of kids we had. read more

I got a Valentine animal-gram to send over to my girlfriend's work to surprise her! I got her a surprise visit from Kuzco the llama that delivered a bouquet of roses and chocolate! Timing was perfect and the photos and videos were just amazing! Her reaction was priceless! Thank you so much for an amazing experience! read more

We had an Animal Gram come out to our house for Valentine's day and we had a great time!! Their mini cow Gracie Mae was so sweet and adorable! We got lots of pictures and made great memories. I would recommend. read more

Absolute gem!!! This place is AWESOME!!! Best kid/family friendly patch in Half Moon Bay

We had a fantastic experience using them for a petting zoo for our daughter's 2nd birthday party. They were fairly easy to coordinate with everything promised was delivered upon. JC (who ran our petting zoo day of) was fantastic with the little kiddos and did an incredible job running the show. The animals were well taken care of and very, very friendly. They made a ton of kids' days and I'm really appreciative of what they do. Thank you Terry and JC! read more

Please! Please be aware that your requests is guaranteed check with them if possible everyday, I normally don't write reviews but I wouldn't want someone else to experience what I did. There's two things was requested and they fail me on both of them so one was the time as you see on the picture. the time I requested was at 3:00pm but they arrive at 1:00pm my guests was invited after 3:00pm so you can imagine most of my invited kids didn't got a chance to ride it. I also want it a white PONNY! Really bad that's why I paid extra for more to get what I want it . and On several messages I mention that very clear. this was for my daughter baptsm they brought a brown ponny. My expectations wasn't met at all. I had ask her for an explanation for this matter with no response yet. read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - On their page it says clear to choose your ponny. Also my time requested is there as an evidence - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Julie from Friendly Pony Parties did a great job of arriving early, being easy to communicate with, and managing the pony and excited kids. Mateo the pony was beautiful, well groomed, very well behaved, and looked to me, like a proud and happy working pony. Overall, this was a great addition to my daughter's birthday and worth the splurge! read more

Thank you so much to Terry for making my daughter's 2nd birthday a big success. She was in heaven to ride the pony and pet all the animals, and all our guests had a blast. The flowers on the enclosure and on the pony were beautiful touches. The animals were all so calm and sweet, and oh my goodness how cute were the pigs!! The two young ladies who helped out were also very sweet and a pleasure to work with. Wonderful experience! read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

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We have been using Friendly Pony Parties for two years in a row for our annual Spring Fling fundraising event! They are amazing! It is for our preschool which we had about 100 families. Parents ask about their contact for future birthday parties which I would highly recommend. We got two ponies and the petting zoo for about 2 hours. Terry was very easy to talk to when booking for the event. JC was kids friendly on the day of the event. They are both very accommodating upon request. The experiences were pleasant. They arrive early to setup and professional. read more

I barely bother with reviews, but considering this is a business that deals with kids Birthday parties which every parent wants to make the best experience for their child, it prompted me to share this. I called and left a message and no one got back to me. I texted the number prompted on the voicemail and was asked via text what time frame I was interested in and then never heard back after texting back twice to check in with what the status of availability was. Its unfortunate they don't understand the importance of getting back to potential customers. read more

petting zoo and "unicorn" pony rides for the kids at a backyard pride party! they were professional and the animals were gentle, clean, and mild-mannered. festive flowers around the petting zoo cage, as well as a sparkly harness and flowers on the pony were a special touch! read more

Friendly Pony Parties & Barnyard Pals - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Saw these poor, sad looking ponies at the Treasure Island flea. One poor pony had a "unicorn horn" strapped to his head. Shame on this organization for exploiting animals and shame on the idiots who support them. Animals are not put on this plane to "entertain" idiot people who "want their children to experience animals." (Memo-how about the parents take their child to a wildlife refuge instead-or can little Junior not be able to eat his deep friend corn dog and smile at his Daddy's I-phone at the same time while riding these poor creatures..?) Oh wait, memories are being made! Dummies! The ponies looked bored and miserable, walking in endless circles with squalling kids on their backs. Those of us who love animals are trying to put organizations like this out of business, and we are following up with the organizations that employ you. read more

I purchased a booking for a pony/petting zoo though a daily deal site. I spoke to Terry initially by phone but then she passed on my booking to Liane. Contracts and details were made by email. So here my good assessments: -Set up and breakdown was done quickly and the crew cleaned up after the animals -The animals were well-card for...clean and sweet with the kids. Here is the not so good: -The pony/petting zoo were to be set and ready BEFORE guest arrived at noon. They did not arrive until 12:20 and then it took another 20 minutes to get ready. The reason given was traffic coming over to East Bay (um, that should have been factored into the travel time) -The petting zoo was left unsupervised. We asked for someone from their crew to remain back there for the animals' own safety (kids can get rough) and to provide some guidance on handling the animals. In the end, the parents had to rotate watching the pen Overall: despite the hiccups, the kids had a blast. read more

We were excited to celebrate our daughters 2nd birthday with a petting zoo and pony ride. She absolutely loves animals so we thought this would be the best theme for the party and a perfect entertainment for the kids in our backyard. We were also very anxious hoping that everything was to our expectations. After speaking with Terry over the phone a few times we finally booked. We were kind of nervous with her no cancellation policy( only reschedule if your child is sick) but decided to book anyway. We booked them for two hours and we had about 20 kids. Timing worked out great for us. I can honestly say that I have absolutely no complaints and only compliments from my guests and myself. Terry was a very kind hearted woman. Her crew consisted of 3 well mannered kids who helped with the petting zoo and pony rides. They were patient with the excited kids in our party especially our birthday girl who refused to get off the pony :) Everyone enjoyed the cute and healthy little animals in the petting zoo and the pony's were dressed with pretty flowers. They were on time and didn't leave a mess. They were worth every penny because everyone enjoyed the party not just the kids.Thanks Terry for being a woman of your word and delivering everything you promised. My daughter's party was a hit! I would def recommend to my friends and fellow yelpers! read more