Spring Down Equestrian Center

 

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PA C.

Palo Alto, CA

WOW!!!  All I can say is ditto to Susan P's review.
    We most likely got the same loony instructor as well.  She pushed a horse in a head time and time again calling him bad names in front of my scared child.  After about four minutes with my daughter she yelled out to me that this is not a sport for my daughter, that she is horrified of horses, that we need to rethink this sport for her entirely and that it took her ten minutes to just get my daughter on the horse - again, this inappropriate analysis was made after four minutes.   My daughter has been riding since the age of three but about six months ago fell of a horse so she is a little fearful but has a desire to get back on a horse - this trainer most likely set her back another few months.
    I also found that the horses at Spring Down were well groomed and looked healthy, and the facilities are clean and well maintained.

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5

38

Susan P.

New York, NY

I've been riding since I was in elementary school, and I checked this place out while I was a student at Stanford.

WORST riding experience ever. The instructor was a little loony and the office staff was extremely unprofessional.

For the first time in my life, I felt unsafe on a horse. One, because the indoor ring was WAY too crowded, and two - the instructor hit / punched the horse a few times during the lesson, saying that the horse was behaving badly. I have never in all my years of riding seen anything like this. The horse obviously did not react very well to this at all.

The horses were surprisingly well groomed and looked healthy, and the facilities are clean and well maintained. It's a shame that the people who run the place and some of the instructors don't match up.

Some of the instructors who were in the ring during my lesson (excepting my instructor) seemed very professional and knew what they were doing.

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29

Angela W.

Saratoga, CA

For those looking for a more refined riding experience, look no further...

I've been riding at Spring Down off and on for the past 10 years and I wouldn't ride anywhere else.  

What you'll notice first are the immaculate grounds.  Next you'll see how well maintained the horses themselves are.  The tack room is filled with state of the art equipment, as well as a wide array of gear for students to borrow if they happen to forget their gloves or a crop.  But what makes this stable exceptional has to be the owner and staff.

Carol, the owner of Spring Down and my longtime instructor, is wonderful in every way, the most exceptional of any I've ever been taught by.  Lessons are taken very seriously by everyone.  Each instructor has years and years of quality experience and teaches only the most appropriate techniques to students.  

I have NEVER experienced a time when I felt that an instructor was asking me to engage in any kind of risky behavior or carry out inappropriate reprimands of the horses.  

In response to an earlier post which reflected negatively on Spring Down let me just say this:   I've ridden on extremely busy afternoons at Spring Down and have never been uncomfortable with the amount of riders in any given arena (there are three).  When you're aware of what you're doing and where everyone else is, and when you're confident in your own skill to direct the horse, there's really nothing to worry about.  I can only imagine a lack of skill on the rider's part causing a feeling of anxiety about safety.  

Overall, I would recommend Spring Down to riders of all levels.  I know I'll remain a loyal client for years to come.

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