I have had Katie Hoefs Martin as my and my daughter's trainer for nearly 6 years. She is a gifted…read morerider and trainer, with extensive experience in bringing riders and horses along, from totally green to PSG. She has guided us in choosing appropriate horses, and appropriate goals for our training. The atmosphere in Katie's program is very professional, yet very relaxed. Unlike other trainers I evaluated before choosing Katie, she considers riding client's horses part of the job, and her calm, even manner of dealing with training issues is appreciated by client and horse alike. I had worked with several other trainers prior to Katie, so this stood out to me as particularly valuable in a training program. After a thorough interview process, Katie moved her program to Gilroy Gaits, and we have been really happy there and so have our horses. Katie has two veterinarians in her program, and they trust her with the care and training of their horses. She has provided excellent care for all of my horses (3) through a variety of ailments. At Gilroy Gaits, we have an on-site vet clinic, so horses who require care are very closely monitored and the vet works very closely with Katie. She brought my young horse back after OCD surgery, and I went on to enjoy a full show season. Over 5-6 years, with three horses, we've had several occasions to require support from Katie in caring for them, and nothing has ever occurred to suggest that she is anything but competent at following a vet's instructions, including knowing when to involve the vet at any point in a health issue. I find these review forums useful, but occasional they are abused to settle personal vendettas. As the horse involved in a previous review is MY horse, I feel compelled to set the record straight: The accusation in another review that Katie was prosecuted for drugging a horse is completely inaccurate. I was disciplined for not filing the correct paperwork, not for drugging a horse. As my trainer, Katie was subject to fines as well. If you have any doubts about that, read the link. And then interpret the rest of the remarks in the other review with that intentional misrepresentation in mind.

As an adult rider, I am deeply committed to Dressage. It is my passion and I have had some great…read moretrainers, clinicians and horses. In fact my gelding Sebastian is currently being ridden by a member of the US Para Equestrian Team with many championships under her belt. I take the sport of dressage seriously, although I am happily an amature rider. That said, I was thrilled to be introduced to Katie Hoefs Martin at Gilroy Gaits. Her teaching style is kind and supportive, but as challenging as I want it to be. Her vocabulary to help me get what I want to get out of any movements is broad, giving me plenty of ideas of how to achieve what I want to achieve. Most important to me is her approach to the horses which is with love and respect, born from years of experience which can't be learned without hours in the saddle. Katie's style is the same as my longest and most favorite trainer, and I expect to be with her for some time.

Myself and friends came into town from Idaho for a celebration of life. We were staying at the…read moreHotel Los Gatos, they are dog friendly, but having so many events planned for the weekend it was difficult with the dogs. I went onto Rover and sent a request for a pet sitter for two dogs . Dara from Swoop N Go contacted me saying that she was available to come to the hotel and pet sit our dogs. Dara and her friend Mike came the 1st night. They were both so caring with our pets and communicated through out the night with photos of the walks they went on. I asked if she was available to come back the next day. Dara and her friend Jolene once again came to the hotel and took care of our sweet babies so that we could focus on family . Dara is a life saver, but more importantly she is such a compassionate animal lover, I felt I've known her forever . Being in a new town for such a sad occasion leaving my fur baby with a stranger was scary, Dara instantly put us at ease, she and her team were amazing. They treated our pets as if they were her own. I highly recommend her for any of your fur babies needs. If you are ever in need for yard clean up or someone to care for your pets, CALL HER!!! I feel I have made a friend for life! If you are staying in the area from out of town, and need a pet sitter, do not hesitate to call her!!!

Great volunteers! Nice initiative! Responsive contact staff! Fun event! Good course! Looking…read moreforward to have a great time!

Race/event management services. Training, timing, camps,…read moreathletic running events. Duathlon, triathlons, 1/2 marathons, 5k's athletic events. They are about fun, safety, challenging great events. Clear information on their website about their events. Race results were posted the evening of the race. Minus one star...they were 30 minutes late getting the Livermore Grape Stomp 1/2 Marathon started on 10/21/12.

I recently ran the Dirt Inspires 5-Miler at Laguna Seca Recreation Area and it was the most…read morechallenging and therefore most satisfying event yet. See, I'm not a real runner; don't let the dozen half-marathon medals fool you. I jog for fun, peace of mind, some me time. I run in the East Bay flatlands, mostly San Leandro Marina with most of my races being urban flat races though I love the occasional Wine Country race. Hills can't be avoided if you do a San Francisco event. However, I was not prepared for the steep dirt paths this race throws at you. I had originally signed up for the 2012 Livermore Grape Stomp, another Finish Line race, but deferred my entry for a year due to tendonitis. That race got canceled and I couldn't pass up a free race in the Monterey Area. I originally planned to do the half-marathon but my recovery from surgery was extensive. Again, I had to change my race entry and Penny at Finish Line was awesome. What a beautiful area for my first event post-surgery. Pretty but I cursed for at least half the race. Still, I felt like the Bionic Woman when I was done. The folks at Finish Line are wonderful. Friendly, supportive, especially the poor woman at bib pick-up who had to deal with extra paperwork because of all the changes I had requested. I was weirded out by the porta-showers and was too starved to grab a free Heineken and sandwich. Overall, a well-run event.

This is the first season I've participated in Threshold Racing events, and after finishing the last…read moreevent of the season yesterday I was so pleased with my experience that I feel compelled to write a review. I did the San Jose Metro Triathlon (which turned into a duathlon), Morgan Hill Tri, a weekend Splash & Dash, and a weekend Norcal Open Water Swim. All the events were well organized, with good pre and post race food, well staffed water stops, clearly marked courses, and awesome shirts (they just needed a few more porta-potties at the Splash & Dashes). What impressed me the most, however, was how well they managed problems. When the swim portion of the San Jose Metro Tri had to be canceled they sent out clear communication, provided a discount on a future race, and donated money to a nonprofit. Most importantly, they still put on a great race, even without the swim. Threshold races attract a lot of tri clubs and competitive age-groupers which was intimidating at first for this back-of-the-packer. But the vibe was always very encouraging and welcoming. Plus, competing with all these high level folks really prepared me for my first Half Ironman. The races are reasonably priced and I love all the different options with the Splash & Dash events. You can swim 1 or 2 miles and then run 3 or 6 miles or just swim without the run. It's such a great way to get in a brick workout and get some practice racing too. Thanks for a great season Threshold. I'll be back!

Almaden Lake is closed for swimming. Everyone knows this. Organizing a triathlon from a lake with…read moreexisting problems means you have to address those existing problems. Duh. What does Threshold Racing do? They screw it up, cancel the swim portion of the race the day before, do not offer any refunds for the race fee, and they blame it on the City of San Jose. I love the excuses. The race director, says in his response, "We will overcome this obstacle, we will persevere, and we will race." Uh, no. We are not going to overcome the obstacle. The obstacle is the inability to swim in the lake, and you cancelled the swim portion of the race. You did not overcome anything. You failed, and then you gave me a lame platitude. Double fail. The race director also claims that these are the facts: "one, this was out of our control; two, we did everything we could to have a swim." Let's break that down. Who is responsible for the race? Threshold Racing. So if the water quality was not addressed in time and corrected, how was that out of the race director's control? It wasn't. This problem didn't sneak up on anyone. This is always a problem with Almaden Lake. The race director simply cannot accept the responsbility for his failure and blames the City. The second part, about doing everything the race director could have done. Also not true. On the morning the swim is cancelled, the race director sends out a letter to the athletes stating, "We have identified four water quality control initiatives with the city prior to the race next year." The race director then lists four obvious corrections. So obvious, one wonders why they were not done in the first place. Threshold Racing did not do everything they could do to have a swim, they did the minimum, hoped for the best, and when that failed, they did not accept the responsibility and instead blame the City. Epic fail. (Post-race follow up.) Okay. I was a tad bit harsh yesterday with the two stars. The event was well put together, very fun, the bike portion is a great route, and so I more star for you, Threshold Racing. But don't screw it up next year.

This trip was so much fun. I'm so proud of the fish I caught. I went home right away and cooked the…read morevermillion rockfish on my grill. The fish had so much meat it was delicious. Thank you Santa Cruz Coastal Fishing for such a fun and memorable experience. I told my friend about it and now she wants to go!

Capt. Rodney and his deckhand was amazing! He put us on the fish and did his best to keep us on the…read morefish. We all limited out and had a blast.

It was an amazing run. My last marathon was back in 2017 (Rock n Roll San Diego - Full), so it had…read morebeen a while I ran a marathon (or half). Was happy to know Rock n Roll has a half marathon in San Jose. The course was mostly flat. There were ample of water/feed and medical stations along with bands spread across the course. Overall I enjoyed the run a lot. Already signed up for 2026 :)

Amazing run! I love how there are ppl cheering us on along the way! We need more runners to join us!read more

Very nice and clean park across from Castro street. Lots of people having picnics. Nice walk after…read moreeating on Castro. Lots of benches and shade. Not much parking.

This is a clean and adorable park located in between the Mountain View Public Library and Mountain…read moreView Center for the Performing Arts. I've come here several times while going for runs cuz it's just such a beautiful place, even if on the small and simple side. Some of its unique features includes a rock garden (sometimes used by kids as a play structure), Count None But Sunny Hours sundial sculpture, and the playful characters of Toad's Book Club situated next to the library. The best part is the peaceful atmosphere, with a lush grassy field (even in winter) and an amazing collection of trees, more than 15 different species throughout the park, with lovely layers of fallen leaves adding color to the scenery in December. It's easy to take advantage of the concrete trail bordering the park for walking your dog or jogging, as people often do, including myself last week. And street parking was easy to find right next to the park on a Thursday afternoon.