Lisa! Thank you SO much for a seamless and wonderful and homey experience! Our group absolutely had…read morea lovely time unforgettable. It was the first time for one, some their second time. I've never been horse riding at an open stable and this made me feel so alive and one with the horses the way I always wanted! Being able to get hugs, holds, pets, and a ride with the horses was truly life giving and I hope to come back with another group! If we lived closer one of the girls wanted to volunteer--that's just how much we felt great about your stable. Seeing the peacocks made me so happy and meeting a roaming turkey was quite fun. Hope to see y'all again this year. Folks...Go, enjoy!!!

What an unforgettable experience! We booked this horseback ride thinking it would just be a…read morebeautiful ride through nature, but it became one of the most special days of our lives. The horses were gentle, well cared for, and perfectly matched to Us. Our guide, Ella, was absolutely incredible. She made us feel comfortable from the moment we arrived and took excellent care of us throughout the entire experience. Along the trail, we stopped to watch several deer, which was such a peaceful and magical moment. Then came the biggest surprise--we arrived at a beautifully decorated table that had been set up for our engagement. It was absolutely perfect, and everything was arranged so thoughtfully. It couldn't have been a more romantic setting to propose. A huge thank you to Lisa and her Team for helping make our engagement so memorable. Her kindness, attention to detail, and genuine excitement for us made the day even more special. We'll cherish these memories forever and highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for an unforgettable adventure.

Great experience! Mimi and Lilly were awesome. The horses and ride are amazing. The mountain…read moreviews were lovely. This is a must do!

My husband and I had such a great time doing the vineyard trail ride. It was an absolutely…read morebeautiful view and with such amazing horses. They all had their own goofy personality and it was all around just really enjoyable. Anna, the trail guide, was amazing, knowledgeable, and very kind.

We booked a bachelorette weekend tour with Indian summer and it was the BEST trail ride any of us…read morehad ever been on. Most of us are beginners but the bride is a more advanced rider and she had an absolute blast. The horses were beautiful, well-behaved and absolutely full of personality (shout out to Electra). The pace was excellent and everyone felt included throughout the entire ride. Both Ashton + Devon were incredibly nice, communicative, and super flexible with us asking for dozens of pictures. If you can request a ride with them, definitely do it!! The merrie mill trail was also beautiful and a nice mix of open fields, forest trails, and spectacular vistas. This was the highlight of our trip!

Five stars really for our guide, Cathy. Four stars for the overall experience. My friend booked a…read moreride for her birthday. She'd never ridden before and I only have sporadically (summer camp outings a million years ago, vacations etc) so we were kind of nervous. Our ride got off to a rough start, the horses did not want to be ridden that day and were kind of difficult to handle as novices. My friend had Hagrid and I had Gracie and both were kind of dead set on doing their own thing. We understood as they are animals with their own minds and personalities. However we were kind of spooked starting off the ride. Cathy did a great job at keeping us calm and guiding us. I will say the horses my friend and I were riding apparently do not do well in close proximity with each other, and that was a disappointment because the whole reason my friend booked was so that we could do the experience together. We actually had to keep a distance most of the time because Gracie did not like Hagrid at all and she definitely let it be known lol. I really appreciate Cathy and Indian Summer Guide Service being so accommodating with us. We were coming from about 2 hours away and hit some unexpected traffic so we ended up late. Cathy still ensured we had a great ride with great views!

We had a fabulous visit to the farm and facilities on August 23rd, 2015. The highlight was seeing…read moreGabriela Hoard exercise Jackpot and several other ponies and horse. There was also a guided ride from the stables earlier in the morning. It was a beautiful day at Epona.

If you are taking the time to read this review, it probably means that you either own a horse or…read morelove horses. In my case both are true. Virginia has more than 300,000 horses and, in part, as a result, countless places for you to board your horse, take lessons and compete. You can choose according to your budget, your discipline, the level of care, prestige, whether the stable offers lessons, what level of horse shows they compete in - you name it, there is something for everyone and everything. The "horse world" is often competitive, brutal and even dishonest, which is a shame given that owning, caring, and showing a horse is already an activity that is not for the financially weak of heart. However, there is one place that can check so many of the boxes that you need to consider when you are looking for boarding a horse, taking lessons and competing, and that place is Epona Farm, LLC. Located on Gordonsville Road in Keswick in the heart of one of the "horsiest" parts of Virginia, if you are within 1 hour of this location, then you are in luck. Owned by Rebecca West and her husband Marty Hoard, Epona Farm is a multi-discipline "A" level show barn. Epona Farm is managed by Jaime Andrews-Feola, a distinguished trainer and rider across disciplines. Whether you are interested in the Jumpers, EQ, or Hunters, Jaime is the trainer for you. She has competed at the national level to great success in all three disciplines. Sitting and chatting with Jaime quickly makes you understand that she was practically born in the saddle. Daughter of a renowned "Chef d'Equipe" and nationally recognized trainer, Becky Andrews, Jaime was raised to ride. Jaime's training was also shaped at an early age by the internationally recognized trainer, rider and master horseman, George Morris (http://www.equestriancoachworld.com/coach/?tid=1942). Jaime's long experience included being a trusted rider for many horses owned by Hyperion Stud, the internationally recognized breeder and sales operation for jumpers from Europe http://www.hyperionstud.com. Despite her many, many distinctions, Jaime remains down to earth and approachable. As a trainer, her depth and breadth of knowledge will identify and correct issues with your riding that you may have been grappling with for ages. She will equally identify problems that you did not even know you have. As a result, you will notice immediate improvements in your riding, and if you like to compete, and Jaime does and will encourage you to compete, the improvement will translate into accolades for you personally. And, it will be not be just you who will benefit from Jaime's attention. Your horse(s) will be cared for by a team that Jaime has personally selected, keeping in mind at all times the health and comfort of your horse. Your horse will benefit from the daily maintenance of impeccable stalls, appropriate food and water, excellent grooming, well grassed turn out, and a watchful eye. If life takes you away from your horses for whatever reason or whatever length of time, you can rest at ease knowing that they will be in excellent hands. I have two horses at Epona and neither they nor I could be happier or ask for more. Neither has taken a lame step since they have been there and both have never been more fit and healthy. This is due not only to the excellent care and healthful conditions at the barn, but also the quality and excellent footing of both the indoor and outdoor rings - an added bonus that allows you to ride comfortably year round and in any weather. Epona Farm's rates are competitive and fair especially since you are saving in health care and vet bills given the maintenance and upkeep of your horse. I have boarded horses at other places and by far Epona Farm not only offers the best services, but also offers the greatest opportunities for your horse and you as a rider. Moreover, and finally, the attitude and the friendliness of the staff, owners and other riders make it a pleasure to spend your time at the barn.

The views were definitely epic, but they came with a couple of big hurdles…read more The first was that when I booked online there wasn't any way to put the ages of kids or expertise level of the people riding. It's fine, but they claim that you don't need any experience. When we showed up, our guide saw us waiting outside of the car and he told us to sign in. After filling the paperwork he came out and said he didn't know that there were kids riding on their own. (I had my 11 and 9 year old riding by themselves). He seems like a very nice guy, but the whole time he was complaining that he already dealt with kids that morning and the slow horses had been used so he didn't have slow horses for us to put the kids on. The second hurdle was that his horse was not listening, I think he might've been a young horse that wasn't as broken-in as his usual horse. He said his horse was hurt, so he couldn't use it and he had to ride a horse that was "nuts." There were horses that were in the back that he had swapped so I don't know why he couldn't switch his horse to different one. He kept having to smack him and pull the reins to try to get him to keep going on the trail because he wasn't listening. This wouldn't have been a huge issue, but he insisted in holding a lead to lead my daughter's horse since she was riding on her own. (he suggested my son go ride with my husband doubled up) His horse kept moving abruptly, and I felt like it was more of a safety issue for my daughter to be near his horse so I asked him to let go of the lead, and have her ride by herself without him pulling the horse. She seemed to do much better without him holding it because, thankfully, her horse (Diamond) was cooperative and chill. The whole time he seemed very frazzled and worried. Although it is understandable for him to want us to have a good experience with the horses and for everyone's safety, I think that him having a different horse and there being better communication when booking a riding session would've made for a much better experience. The whole time we pretty much felt like a nuisance, and I felt sorry for him. He suggested that we get a partial refund because our experience wasn't as great as it should've been since we didn't have the correct horses to have a smooth ride. When I communicated with the owner, they just said thank you for letting them know and they didn't offer any sort of compensation or refund. In future, if we were to do this experience again, it would probably have to be with a different guide, but I don't think that I would come back to this Ranch I would try somewhere else. On a positive note, the views were amazing, the horses that we had were pretty chill and kept trying to eat, but other than that they didn't cause trouble. They had helmets for us if we needed them and the guide was upset, but he was apologetic the whole time. The guide did a great job at posing the horses for our family picture.

My wife and I stayed in one of the cabins here over the weekend. We had a fantastic experience to…read moresay the least. Our host, Jess, was extremely welcoming, helpful, friendly, and made sure our stay was top notch. She provided detailed information, maps, a guide, food recommendations that were spot on, and brought us pizza our first night that was delicious. Our second day, Justin gave us a guided hike through the mountain to a couple private waterfalls. He was very friendly and accommodating of personal limitations for the group. Later on we had a trail ride on horseback with Justin. He made sure to pair each rider with an appropriate horse based on their skill and experience level. The views were absolutely stunning, and the ranch definitely lives up to its name. We enjoyed every second of our stay and did not want to leave. I hope to return sooner rather than later.

Mark Gebhard of Brookhill Farm provided outstanding transport service for our horse. His truck and…read moretrailer are state-of-the-art, in excellent condition and extremely clean. Mark's very professional, friendly and calm demeaner made the move of our horse a real pleasure. On a 5 point rating scale, I have to give Mark a 10! Dr. Thomas Towberman

We had a lovely trail riding experience on horses at Brookhill farm. The owner and staff members…read morewere friendly, Knowledgeable and the property is beautiful. We had over an hour long trail ride through the countryside and it was a very peaceful experience for a reasonable price. I highly recommend visiting Brookhill Farm if you're in Charlottesville!

Do not board your horse here…read more Poor pasture and forage. Hay is absolute shit, often riddled with weedy invasives that the horses won't touch--in some cases partially rotted bales are brought out to boarding horses. Pastures are flooded with buttercups in the spring, indicating acidic soil about which nothing has been done in at least two seasons. Fields are being taken over by prickly amaranth and other invasives. Run-in sheds are collapsing and in some cases dangerous. Post-Helene, fences stayed down--with wire all over the field--for well over a month. Overall conditions for horses are poor and less than safe. Poor fencing that is aged and badly in need of replacement. Very often horses are forced to be in standing water and mud. There's a reason field board is so cheap here relative to other farms with better accommodation. Farm is under resourced and the land owner is not a fair employer. Underpaid hands and poor working/living conditions. Do not board your horse here.

Mechum View Farm is a fabulous place to board and ride your horse…read more If you don't have a horse, you can join the rideshare program and use one of the wonderful horses on the farm. There are lots of trails to ride and beautiful open fields for troting and cantering.