Hidden Hills Ranch is an amazing place. It's meticulously maintained, clean and the horses all look healthy and happy. Trainers Nichole, Nick, and Courtney have been wonderful to work with. We would recommend this ranch to anyone looking read more

See all

Hidden Hills equestrian was completely unknown to me before I was recommended there by a dear friend. The name speaks for its self as it is beautiful and secluded up in the hills of sunny Bonsall. At the time I was a 19 year old college student who worked a full time job and an active world ranking competitor in mounted shooting (and still am). I worked my ass off to assure that my horses received nothing but top-of-the-line care. THE RATE IS 100% PERCENT WORTH IT!! (It comes with roughly 4 flakes of hay a day, fresh shavings 3 times a week, blanketing/fly sheets whenever asked, hot and cold water year round, secure tack rooms, and great footing in arenas.) I was absolutely astonished when I first pulled in with my horses as I never toured the property before arrival. The pictures on the website don't DARE do the beauty of the property justice. I stabled two multinational and world champion horses there and was 100% satisfied in their care and safety. The barns, arenas and pastures were upheld to the highest standard I had ever seen in the San Diego area. They have one massive sand arena and two smaller ones which are groomed every morning at 7-7:30 and a sand round pen which is groomed as needed (3-4 times a week). When it rains, which I think we can all agree trashes SoCal, the owners immediately turn their attention to draining and maintaining the foundation of the property. I can whole heartedly recommend this barn to everyone who truly cares for their horses well-being and safety. Attached are some of my favorite pictures taken around the ranch! read more

See all

There are several pictures of my horse Val the owners put up with snide comments that are supposed to help with their marketing: "Owned this gem way too short of a time! Regret the sale now! Love that Val." (pic #30) (creepy like an ex not willing to let go) "A product of hard work, I should never have sold to an ungrateful individual." (Pic #31) Hmm, let me see....Ungrateful for taking care of your clients' horses (plus my own) while the barn manager and trainer was at a camping trip for 5 days? Velocity (gone from the barn), Zion (gone from the barn), Annika (owner's), Baby (owner's), Happy (owner's), Woody (gone from the barn) Cazador (still at the barn) needed pills, ointments applied for an injury, fed supplements, walked, and turned out. Ungrateful for watching your beloved dog Buddy in your home so you can go to Northern CA? Ungrateful by continuing to pay full-time training even though I wasn't getting any private lessons as specified in the contract because of non-communication from the onsite trainer? Ungrateful for giving a 30-day notice and thanking you for all you've done and wanting to keep in touch but you threatening me with a message that you would report me to various horse associations for non-payment when I've NEVER been late on any payment? Ungrateful by paying my board and training on time without any invoices to work with? Ungrateful for naively staying longer than everyone else that left because of how the barn is managed and the toxic culture? I AM very grateful that the owner negotiated a buy for my lovely horse Val. She bought her from Debbie L, and I bought her and paid her in full from Marilyn. Debbie would only sell if Hidden Hills had a client willing to buy her and keep Val in the show ring, in full training. Which I did. And continued to do so after she was all paid up and...up until we left! I find it really upsetting that the owner, Marilyn, makes it seem as if they "owned" Val in a sense that they carried the financial burden and were drivers of her (minimal) success in the show ring. That "she was a product of hard work" is something I PAID FOR. I paid for the pre-purchase vet check (Marilyn had no intention of keeping the horse); I paid board when Val first set foot in the barn, farrier fees, and NPPH for full-time training, not just for Val but all 3 of my horses; I paid NPPH day fees for showing my horses as well as all the trainer's show class fees. Hidden Hills was never an "owner" of Val, they brokered the deal. It was a good strategy for Marilyn Payne because she gained a client that boarded her horse in the show barn and garnered full-time training. During the last year at Hidden Hills Ranch, service waned quite bit in barn management and training. It didn't feel good being at the barn and I had to fake it for the sake of my horses. The beginning of the barn's failure happened when the owner moved onsite. I often found my horse Koda's stall full of pee when I paid for extra shavings. He was in the show barn (indoors!). I also often found the leads tied the same way I left them when I would come in two days later, indicating they were not worked or turned out. I also discovered that my three horses weren't being blanketed (though I paid for this service) during very cold nights. The last straw was the exorbitant price increase that was to be effective in 2 weeks. Though the contract stipulates a 30-day written notice, I got a phone call on my way home from a business conference. I couldn't justify the increase, and neither could the owner. It's a nice-looking facility but the culture is toxic, you're either "in" or "out." It isn't what a training facility should be compared to the barns I have my horses in now in terms of trainer and barn management. The owner tried to convince me to pull my horses out of NPPH's training program and hire the trainer's sister, who has limited experience in training and virtually no experience in prepping horses and clients for show. The owner stated that the NPPH trainer was going to move to Northern California. I had to think of what was best for my horses. Koda was doing western dressage inconsistently. Even though they have a well-qualified dressage trainer on site, I wasn't allowed to enlist her services because I was under NPPH. Thor, my youngest needed to get colt started but NPPH reached the limit on what could be done as the trainer didn't want to start riding him but left it to a ranch hand to ride him when he was around. It was time for us to move on. It seems being "ungrateful" to Marilyn means not staying to continue to be taken advantage of and pay exorbitant prices for poor management at Hidden Hills Equestrian Ranch.... Well...then I guess I'm "an ungrateful individual." I left not for me, but for the well-being of my horses. I left because I am very grateful for my horses. read more

Hidden Hills Equestrian Ranch - Owner cc'd attorney and various horse associations when final pay req. Been a client 2019-2022. This is how she treats good paying customers - Horse Boarding Near Me - Bonsall, California

I had two of my horses here at Hidden Hills from 2017-2021. I had both Summer and Cazador in the 12x24hrs first. I was notified immediately of any issues that happened and have never been concerned over the care my horses received. I had moved Summer to a different stall before I left for work in the early AM and was notified immediately that she was acting colicy, pacing, and just losing her shit by Marilyn. Luckily, she was just pissed I had moved her away from her friend. I moved Summer to Texas in 2018 which left just Cazador at Hidden Hills. I moved Cazador into Training with Nichole Payne. During this time, I always felt like she took care of him the same way she took care of her own. I often times spent many hours at the barn and never saw any "abuse" that i'm reading in these other reviews. Nor were horses "starved". I saw some come in skinny but then put on weight with proper feeding. In 2019, I was involved in a catastrophic incident (non horse related) that left me wheelchair bound and bed ridden for a long time. Nichole handled everything for Cazador for me, whether it was vetting, farrier, keeping me updated. She even helped me with my first ride back after my incident. He had a long episode of laminitis, that was initially misdiagnosed by a vet and Nichole spent countless hours and days rehabbing him herself while I couldn't. Unfortunately in 2021, I had to rehome him and Nichole found a lovely new owner for him and he is still at Hidden Hills today. I can go on and on about the care and all sorts of different instances the owners & Nichole have done for me and my horses. Besides all of this, the location is just beautiful. They have every sort of option that you could need, stalls, barns, paddocks, and pastures. They have multiple arena's, round pen, and even a trail that loops around the property. I urge anyone thinking of boarding here or anywhere for that matter to go down and take a tour & meet the owners/trainers for yourself. Walk the property and look at all the horses there. read more

See all

I have boarded my horse Killian here with my partner who rescues horses and boards her horses here as well. I am an active duty service member in the USMC and was required to deploy to Japan in 2022 in addition to field trainings that have required me to be away from Killian for extended periods of time. Killian lives in the upper pasture with his pasture mates and loves to get himself dirty and run around with his friends! Our horses have been very well taken care of throughout my time at Hidden Hills. Marilyn, Courtney and Nichole helped care for Killian while I was deployed and have always notified me when they noticed anything wrong with him. They helped rehab my partner's horse Max back to health after he injured himself in the pasture from a kick with his pasture mate. I am and have always been able to rely on their team to care for my horse and my partner's horses when we are away from home due to work. I would highly recommend boarding here as the owners and their entire staff are friendly, kind, respectful and always willing to help. I can honestly say that Killian is extremely well cared for and happy here at Hidden Hills! read more

See all

I rescued my horse Big Red about 8 years ago. I didn't know where to take him since I was clueless about boarding facilities in the area. One of my friends talked to me about Hidden Hills and Nichole. I was surprised by how nice the facilities are and how nice Nichole was/is. I didn't have a truck and much less a trailer to move my sweet boy to her facilities. She offer, kindly, to come and pick us up. We were with them for 3 years, she took care of everything. From scheduling farrier, adding Red to the vet visits, keep an eye on my horse while we suffer the wild fires, etc. I left their facilities because I retired Red and I took him to a bigger pasture. Later on, I purchase my own place to have my boy with him. Even tho I wasn't a customer anymore, Nichole came to see us and my new horse and provide with some advice on how to train my new addition to the family. Always thankful to the Payne's family and Nichole. read more

I was asked by Yelp to provide a more detailed review so here it is. My wife and i boarded here for several years. In recent months we have dealt with an increasing number of issues including poor maintenance of the arenas and round pen (dragging, watering in summer, leveling), feeding improper hay (potentially dangerous since our horse has IR), shavings we paid for being missed because they ran out (multiple times). Our stall flooded badly many times and all the repair/maintenance had to be done by us. Many other stalls in the pole barn flooded as well on a routine basis, and many had damaged sections in the wire between the stalls. it became increasingly our job to make sure our horse had the proper hay, a dry stall and enough bedding, which we supplemented with extra shavings and pellets we had to purchase. read more

See all

The time my wife and I boarded our horses; Sister, Reggie and Titan at Hidden Hills was a positive experience. Nicole and Courtney would go the extra mile in caring for them. Though we no longer own horses, we will always have fond memories of the time we were at Hidden Hills. read more

I have had (and still have) 7 of my horses boarded here. I work full time as an engineer and fell into rescuing horses as a hobby. My partner is an active duty pilot in the marine corps. While our horses mean the world to us, we are not able to be with our horses each day due to our careers and have to rely on Hidden Hills to care for our animals. All 7 of my horses live in the upper pasture areas and paddocks because most of them have come from neglect and/or abuse and do better in herds. They are supplement fed each day and receive hay based on their weight. Their water is always available and clean. Owning horses my entire life, I have never felt that my horses were as happy or as cared for as they have been (and still are) at Hidden Hills. I do not have to deal with stressed out horses or judgement like I have dealt with at previous barns, because my horses are not immaculately groomed and trained show ponies. Marilyn, Courtney, Nicole, and the ranch hands have been nothing but professional, kind, and caring with my animals and I. The ranch is clean, well kept and beautifully landscaped. Their team carefully watches all animals and has always alerted me when they noticed something wrong with any of my horses. I can think of several occasions where the ranch owners or the ranch hands notified me when they noticed something wrong- whether it be a cut or potential colic. My horses live in a pasture as well, which speaks volumes considering you can't always see them up close. The ranch owners were extremely caring and accommodating when I had to put down one of my horses in August 2021. Courtney and Nichole have even stayed late into the night waiting for a vet with me when one of my horses colicked. They also bandaged up my horses cuts from a kick when I was unable to attend to my horse due to a work trip. Nichole trailered my horse to an equine hospital for me around 9pm on a Tuesday- just to mention a few times they were more than willing to help me. I see other reviews mention issues with the rain- I hope that anyone reading this review understands that we live in Southern California. Rain is always an issue in any outdoor enclosure regardless of the drainage engineering or footing. Unless you are in the fully enclosed barn, there is absolutely no way for footing in uncovered areas to not get wet. The owners have always been accommodating to me if I needed to move my horses into another enclosure or stall due to an injury when it was raining. The paddocks always drain quickly and the footing naturally returns to normal. I can honestly say that the footing is probably some of the best you'll see in San Diego. I would highly recommend boarding your horses here if you don't want barn drama and want to feel accepted, regardless of your riding style. They even let us take our "family" photos on the property too! read more

Hidden Hills Equestrian Ranch - My horses and I in the upper pasture area... clearly everyone is happy and healthy - Horse Boarding Near Me - Bonsall, California

The pricing is very confusing and isn't what it advertised. TOO EXPENSIVE AND CLOSE TO 900 A MONTH

Been here almost 9 years as boarders; three horses under training by Nichole and Courtney for almost 8. Great facilities, excellent maintenance of stalls and rings, and, also, good on-site trails. The owners are proactive in maintaining high quality hay. Marilyn, Nichole, and Courtney exercise diligence in care and feeding. They are excellent at anticipating and dealing with medical problems. Nichole and Courtney have strong equestrian skills in many disciplines. My wife has benefited greatly from their training and development. They raised our Morgan from foal to prize winner. If you checked their ancestry on 23-and-Me, I'll bet you'd find the Payne ladies are a quarter "horse". -- OK, pun intended. ;-) (Marilyn does not tolerate barn drama. Makes for a great facility, but may lead to unfair reviews by FORMER tenants who act like they're landlords.) read more

I took my horse to this facility Hidden hills and trainer Nichole Payne after selling two horses through hidden hills. My horse jewel was happy healthy and needed to move forward with her training. I lived in Az at the time and would see her as often as I could as was in Sd monthly. She looked good for the first few months. But was losing her top line somewhat. After 2/3 months of seeing her top line dwindle I became concerned and mentioned it to there trainer at hidden hills (nichole Payne) After 7 months of seeing her not moving forward and losing weight I decided to take her home. I gave a months notice and picked her up. Loaded her early in the am. She had a day sheet on and we headed to Az. While I stopped during our journey to Az for water and care I did not take her blanket off during the trip. When I arrived home I was horrified at the condition my horse was in. Very thin out of shape and a very fearful behavior and the look on her face. Gashes on her hip. Hidden hills was starving my horse and she was not being worked at all. Even let out of her stall ! It brought me to tears. I had to rehab her at home for months before we could move forward with her training. Iam not alone in this grievance. There are many more stories of neglect. DO NOT TRUST HIDDEN HILLS WITH YOUR ANIMAL. They do not have a honest trainer and have many unhappy clients. Do your research for your animals sake read more

Absolutely amazing experience! I cannot describe how beautiful this property is - it's right out of a magazine! 360° views, and the most amazing trails and scenery. I was so impressed at how well-maintained all of the stalls, the equipment, the horses were. You can see how much effort is put into the property daily, because there was no smell, and everything was pristine! The stalls are gorgeous and the horses seems relaxed and happy in this environment. All of the horses were gleaming and so well cared for. Having had very little experience riding, I was overwhelmed with the kindness, patience, and knowledge. It's a family owned business that is actually run by the family, and they obviously pour their heart and soul into everything they do. You can see the passion they have for not only the horses that they themselves own, but they take extensive care of clients horses as well and everyone is treated like family. Highly highly recommend whether you are a newbie or experience equestrian. Exceptional experience if I could give 10 stars , I would! read more

Have been boarding my half-Arab (Shagya) gelding here since May 2022, and have been extremely satisfied with the attentive, clean, drama-free board-and-care provided by HHR. In addition, the resident trainer, Nichole, has worked wonders with his attention and focus under-saddle, which I unfortunately found was almost 'green' / rather undisciplined after I bought him. Fees are more than fair for the quality of staff, care and attention provided, in my opinion. read more

My boarding experience here has been wonderful. I've had two different horses at Hidden Hills over the course of a few years and had nothing but a positive experience. The facility is beautiful. Nichole has been very helpful with creating the foundation on my current horse and because of that, we are able to progress and become more competitive in the show pen. This is a full service facility that offers more than just the basic needs. read more

I absolutely love having my horse at Hidden Hills. I have boarded my sweet boy there for almost two years and couldn't be happier. He feels the same. The setting is beautiful and peaceful. He is no longer startled by traffic noise (prior boarding location) but enjoys the quiet of the rolling hills, his workouts in the ring, grazing on the hillside and his special treat of overnight turnouts under the stars, weather permitting (Almost always!...thank you, California, for our great weather!). I do have an inside stall for him and the care has been exemplary. His stall is always clean and fresh. I am there during the week and on weekends and have always had easy access to the ring for lessons and for practicing. If a quiet trail ride around the property is desired, we can always enjoy that together. The Payne family is lovely and they love the horses. It is a great feeling to know that, day or night, there is someone right there to watch over the horses and the property. I feel that I am in the company of friends at Hidden Hills and the whinnies I get from my sweet boy upon my arrival let me know that he is happy, comfortable and ready to go! Come on out for a visit. You will see... read more