This is my experience at Fentress with Holly, the barn owner/manager. I left after one month…read more -Horses are only fed about 8lb of hay, once per day in the evening. In the morning instead of being given hay, they are turned out to a grassless mud-slick "pasture" where they may eat from a bale of straw that is left in the mud, manure, and rain. During the month I was there, there was about a one week period when there was nothing in the fields for the horses to eat, except for the remnants of soiled old round bales, soaked in mud, urine, and manure. -There was a large patch of black mold in my horse's stall where her evening hay was being thrown. -At times the horses did not have more than a few inches of water in their trough outside, and when water was available outside, it had an oily chemical film on top. -Horses were left out all day on more than one occasion in 40 degree temperatures with down pouring rain and no shelter, and heavy blankets were left on when the outside temperature was over 65 degrees. -Field injuries were not reported to owners -The entire grounds around and in the barn, driveway, and nearby in the turnouts constantly had garbage strewn about. This ranged from cat food containers, to fast food wrappers, to soda bottles, to ripped up blankets, to broken toys and broken plastic containers, empty grain bags and so on. The trash cans were overflowing onto the ground. I personally cleaned a lot of this and took it to the dump while I was boarded there, only to have trash and refuse re-appear on the ground the very next day. Refrigerators were festering with mold and rot. -The aisleway leading to the bathroom and the "lounge" was full of broken kid's toys and bikes, and farm equipment. When I moved some things out of the way to take my daughter back to the bathroom I discovered years worth of trash and rot, including cat feces, broken glass, broken rusted implements, rotten food wrappers, diaper wrappers, dirty animal cages, dead rodents, ripped up horse blankets covered in cat urine, etc. I personally spent hours cleaning this entire mess by myself, as it was not only disgusting but a hazard to my kids. -The bathroom hadn't been cleaned in probably years. I personally bought cleaning supplies out of my own pocket and bleached and scrubbed out the layers of bathroom grime, mud, mold, and mildew. Unfortunately I didn't have the forethought to take detailed before photos of the aisle mess and bathroom as I didn't plan on posting a review, but other boarders can and will attest to the level of filth that was there before I cleaned. -The barn owner has a sweet but lonely, dirty, and fur-matted St. Bernard which lives enclosed in a stall at the barn, where it defecates and urinates, and hangs out full time except when the barn owner is cleaning stalls and lets it out. (See photo) -The area where my horse was turned out was constant state of about 8 inches of slick clay mud, large pools of water (often with bits of trash floating about), and treacherous pocked dried mud. Many of them did not have a dry area to stand at all, and horses were sliding around in the deep mud. Manure was never removed. During my time at Fentress, I didn't have much contact with the barn owner Holly and what contact I did have was cordial. I did not make a fuss or create an issue about the things that I cleaned. I offered to help. I did not have any drama with Holly or the other boarders. I did not complain once. After a few weeks there, I decided that it was too poorly managed and too much of a stress for me, and so I chose to move on. I sent Holly a polite text that I would be leaving about 4-5 days ahead of time as I'd found a situation that was a better fit, and thoroughly cleaned and stripped my stall before I left. I had no intention of exposing her business, I did not create a scene, I was not rude or negative. What happened next was appalling. I was informed that Holly took to Facebook to bash me for not giving 30 days notice (which I was not under contract to do). I sent her a text advising her that it's not good business practice to bash clients on social media. She then "DARED" me to "keep going", to which I responded that it wasn't worth it. Later I was informed by another local farm owner whom I had only met on one occasion that Holly went online and escalated her attack on me by disclosing my name and bashing me left and right to other horse business owners, in an attempt to give me a "bad reputation in the local horse community" as this other barn owner said, or as Holly herself said, "blacklist" me on various local group pages to other barn owners/trainers/etc. I have never been so appalled by a business owner's actions. This barn is dirty and poorly managed, and the barn owner is juvenile and vindictive, and doesn't seem to care about what the horses need. I recommend avoiding this barn at all costs.

I couldn't find these other reviews to be further from the truth. Holly is a fantastic farm owner…read moreand treats your horse like he/she is her own. I never ONCE had to worry about my horse during his year long tenure at her farm. My horse came from care as crappy as it gets and Holly was able to put weight back on my gelding, and in a safe environment. She would let me know if he got knicked in the field or threw a shoe, that sort of thing. When there was not enough grass in the field in the winter, she would supplement with hay. I know she also took special care of her senior horses as well. She took great care of the ring, too. Holly is super professional and definitely communicates and in a timely manner. Thank you for all you did for Double, Holly!

Grubb Grove Farms is a wonderful place for horseback riding lessons. My daughter took lessons here…read morefor three years, and the instructors were patient, knowledgeable, and truly invested in helping her grow. The horses are well cared for, and the farm has a peaceful, welcoming atmosphere. We will definitely be going back. One thing worth noting is that the ranch could use more diversity. The quality of instruction is is great, the representation matters especially for kids. Overall, Grubb Grove Farms is a great place to learn and build confidence around horses. We had a positive experience and look forward to returning.

I signed my child up for summer camp under the beginner class. Very calm horses but it is NOT ok to…read morewear bike helmets instead of proper riding equipment! At the time she was quite new to horseback riding and had only ridden a few times before along with a few other kids in the camp, according to her everyone was nice but I think it was a little advanced for a beginner class considering that they asked kids who had never ridden before to trot on the 3rd day. Overall I think it would be a great camp for riders with some experience but if you're not comfortable with taking things quickly and haven't been riding for a while don't go here! Also, DO NOT wear a bike helmet it's not safe to do!

Lisa is AMAZING!!! Just started riding earlier this year and she has been so supportive and a great…read moretrainer. She cares so much about her horses & is super flexible with my crazy schedule! Absolutely love it here

We had my daughter's 5th birthday here last weekend and it was a fantastic experience! Perfect…read moreweather great area and the kids LOVED the horse rides, the animals and seeing the farm area! This is such a neat spot! I'd definitely recommend it for this age group, or the small horse farm experience! Grateful to the staff for being flexible and letting us come 30 minutes early to set up and clean up of 30 in afterwards! I would do this again in the future!

Beautiful place with amazing animals, also some awesome staff who very friendly and make you feel…read morecompletely comfortable

My daughter had a blast. The summer camp week was not actual riding lessons. Counselors walk the…read morehorses on a lead with the kids on the horse. The kids mostly learn about grooming and equipment, and get to spend time on a hidden gem of farm property fairly close to the heart of VB. Great location near the NAS Oceana Commissary definitely beats driving out to Suffolk. This was a good find.

I was brand new to the horse world in 2019. We purchased an OTTB and Coastal Equine Veterinary…read moreService was our FIRST and ONLY vet to take care of our herd. After that first horse, I got myself a horse and another horse ( we all know how that goes) and then 2 donkeys. I started in VA with Coastal and was ecstatic when I found out they would still provide EXCELLENT service to me and my horses in Elizabeth City. We have fallen in love with the office staff and ALL of the vets out in the field. They are down to earth, cut to the chase, and as Dr. Sweeney often tells us, "Let's give it the old college try" . They have taken frantic emergency calls from me. (ALL about my stunt loving OTTB) and scheduling fall and spring shots are a breeze! - shout out to Rhonda in the office. My oh my. I don't have a favorite...BUT my horse Willow loves Dr. Kara and her healing hands! Her Chiropractic work is so gooood for Willow. Dr. April has been very empathetic when I had to make a choice that a particular horse was not for me. She was so compassionate and professional when a boarder of mine had to put her horse down. Dr. Emily put aside my anxiety when she said...she loved Donkeys! haha! even my big attitude boy, Charlie. I can't thank them enough for ALL the help every single one of them provided in 2023 in keeping my OTTB Willow alive and on her feet when she had not one, but two abscesses on her front hooves. Many after hours calls were made and no matter the conditions from October-February we all took that mare from nearly dying to running around showing her proudness for all to see! ALSO! Big thank you to Dr. April for and enucleation for the books. Removing an almost 1inch or more thorn from Willow's eye after it had been embedded for over 2 years. And for letting me keep it after the eye biopsy. It truly takes a team to keep horses healthy. I hope you find this review helpful. Attitude is everything. Be nice. Vet's are in short supply in this area. They are ALL run hard during the day. They are human. Respect them, even if you don't agree, I am sure this practice will recommend a second opinion if you don't! These people and they are PEOPLE...keep our horses healthy and our job is to help them help us. A happy horse is a damn good thing. I certainly love my two horses. Notice the second one is never mentioned in the review...he is the one holding the beer for Willow as she does her stunts. :) Thank you Coastal Equine for being rockstars!

Love the staff at Coastal Equine. Very knowledgeable sport horse vets who provide owners with all…read morethe information and options regarding treatment. The HMO program is amazing!

My dogs love it here. I drive 45 minutes each way to bring them to this facility, passing many…read moreother kennels. The dogs always go in excited and come out happy. I highly recommend this facility.

My dogs (1 big and 1 small) are able to stay together to rest and then go out an play with other…read moredogs their size in nice outdoor spaces. Both dogs are very happy when we drop them off at Holly Ridge and they both are very happy when we pick them up!

Dude my dog is a princess and loves this place. She likes to go to the bamboo garden and do her…read morething. Fun people there too. Very friendly owners and dogs

Best dog park in Norfolk! We love coming here. The people are great and our dogs always have a…read moreblast. We have been coming here for about 2.5 years. It's a great place to bring the dogs on a hot day because of how much shade there is all over. The shaded area covers over half the park. The dogs/people who come to the park are always great! The community has really stepped up improvements to the park in the last year or so. They've put in mulch where the muddy spots used to be and vamped up the water station as well. There is a tiny pool area for the dogs to splash around in, plenty of tennis balls and rope toys, and benches and picnic tables for the humans! Must check this out if you're in the area with your dogs! Great neighborhood.