My mother and I had taken my 2-year-old niece to Keona Farms for a pony ride on June 14, 2020. When we first arrived, we were greeted by Barbara who seemed very friendly. We talked for a bit then she went to the stables to prepare for the pony for the ride. There was a teenage girl at the barn that Barbara asked to come over to be the spotter for the ride. Throughout the ride, this girl seemed to be struggling to hold my niece upright . I asked her several times to pull my niece back up onto the pony. My niece is a normal size 2-year-old; so it shouldn't have been that difficult for a teenage girl to hold her up. At the end of the ride, I got the impression Barbara was a little angry about me asking her spotter to maintain the correct position. Barbara had us go into the stable to feed the horses. While I'm carrying my niece in my arms, Barbara gives my niece a whole carrot stick to feed to the pony--which my niece feeds the animal. Barbara then hysterically throws her body in front of us towards the pony and yanks the carrot stick from its mouth. She looks at my niece and sarcastically says in a condescending manner , "Lets feed the pony the right way. We don't want him choking." Then she shows her the "correct" to way to feed the horse by breaking it up then holding it in the palm of her hand before feeding it to the pony. There was NO reason Barbara couldn't have snapped the carrot into pieces in the FIRST place! If it had to be broken up before feeding it to the pony, why didn't she break it up before handing it to my 2-year-old niece? Barbara never instructed her on how to properly feed the pony. Her reprimand and snarky attitude were uncalled for and unwarranted. It appeared that she deliberately made that carrot move as a power play--in retaliation for me correcting her teenage spotter. There was no reason for Barbara to be spiteful and behave like this. I was very nice to the spotter EVERY time I reminded her to pull my niece up on the pony. I have a right to say something to keep my niece upright and safe--and NOT leaning to the side. It was extremely petty and unprofessional to use a two year old to take a jab at me. My mother witnessed this and later asked me-- "was she "trying to one-up you?" It's inexcusable that a woman who runs a business in which she works with children-- would act that childish. read more
