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.

We have been here for 9 months now and I can say it is such a wonderful barn. The training is top…read morenotch, Nikki is an amazing teacher and my son has brought his riding skills up so much in a short time. The other trainers Gail and Catlin are also very good. The people boarding and in training program treat you like family. The barn and grounds are kept up nicely with improvements all the time. The barn manager Natalie is awesome, always helpful and responsive to any needs. We have our 2nd horse coming here tomorrow. I would recommend this place to everyone!

I have been training at this barn for several months now with my son (age 11). I am so impressed…read morewith the great care that they take of the horses. Also, everyone is so warm and friendly. It is a great community of people who are passionate about riding. I am especially impressed with the owner/trainer, Nikki. She really knows how to bring out the best in you. I can see so much improvement in our riding during the few months that we have been working with Nikki. She is a great balance of pushing you to grow in a way that feels supportive and super positive. I just can't say enough good things about this barn.

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.

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.

This is a well run, clean boarding facility. Ideal for your equine. The family operating Whirlawind…read moreis highly experienced, friendly and very good, patient instructors. I highly recommend Whirlawind for lessons, training and boarding.

Danielle, my trainer, is amazing. She has improved my riding skills in a very short time…read more The facility is always clean and the horses look well cared for. Many of their horses have been rescued, rehabed and put to good use. What a great thing to do. Love this place!

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.