Bad Boy Cowboys

I am giving one star because Unilocal has this as open and the website also says they give horse back rides. When calling, you reach a cell phone and maybe this is how horse people talk to other people… sad…but whatever. I’m learning.
THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS CLOSED and does not start until April per owner who answered cell with «Hello». This is not a business at this time. If it’s an off season situation. This should be corrected on both websites.
Good luck!

I don’t know why people had a bad experience. I’m a very experienced rider. Maybe he liked that? We had a fun time, cantered along the beach, took some photos, talked horses, galloped up some sand dunes, and raced along the trail. Super fun experience. Would definitely go back. He was a very nice guy to me. Horse people don’t want you jerking on their horses. If you’re not a horse person maybe go somewhere else but for me it was an unforgettable experience!

My husband and I very much enjoyed the experience! I agree with the other reviews that I found him to the point and dry, but the name is Bad Boy Cowboys, not Gentle Soft Cowboys. I don’t think they can do much else but lead with the name. However I felt that it was because the experience I’ve had w most groups is not where I actually feel like I’m riding the horse. Usually I get a tired older horse that’s trained to go slow. I felt like I had more control over the horse, which made it more fun, and required to the point and blunt directions to make this process go as smoothly and safely as possible. I think because it’s a customer service business he could soften it a little, but I felt fine overall. You’re as on the beach as you can get, the scenery is beautiful, and we were both extremely happy.
Two things made me dock a star — the horses have a certain walking order, and he pairs the horses with certain people based on creating a good match, but that meant I was six people away from my husband. I would’ve enjoyed the experience that much more if I could have spent time w him. Secondly because we weren’t allowed to take photos. I get why (people can drop their phones, the reigns, not pay attention, etc), but would be great if we could take a group picture. I think to expand their business, his wife or a professional photographer should be waiting on the beach to take pictures and then can offer to sell it to us. I would’ve bought some pictures versus having only my memory.

I finally made a Unilocal account, and this place merits a 1 star review because my experience there (almost 3 months ago, around June 20) was THAT bad and I haven’t forgotten it!
I purchased two Travelzoo deals that were each $ 25 for a 75 minute ranch ride and I went with my boyfriend. Just like the other reviews below show, David can be a little rough around the edges. Unfortunately, my experience went another notch below the whole speech about how «this isn’t going to be a warm and fuzzy experience». David blatantly acted like a complete male chauvinist/​misogynist/​sexist jerk etc. He was SO RUDE to me and acted like I was a child who had never seen a horse before. He was so disgustingly condescending to me the whole time! I get that he wanted to teach me how to handle his horses, but he didn’t need to treat me as an inferior. I’m not stupid (I’m working on my DDS degree, thank you very much) and I didn’t appreciate his attitude towards me.
In reality, my boyfriend had never ridden a horse before and I have ridden them at least a dozen times; however, David kept singling me out with his condescending behavior/​comments. He kept saying things like «I can’t ride the horse for you» or snapping at me with impatient commentary. If I asked for a point of clarification on how he liked his horses handled he’d respond in a really rude tone, like he couldn’t be bothered to deal with me. Meanwhile, when my boyfriend was talking to him, he was much more civil and patient. We weren’t behaving very differently, the only difference there was our genders. My boyfriend also instantly noticed the change in behavior when David was dealing with me vs dealing with him and was also very displeased.
Additionally, the ranch ride kind of sucked. It was supposed to be 75 minutes long and I timed it, roughly – it was closer to 45 minutes, 50 at the MOST. See description of the trail below. The views were overall pretty lame and unexciting and even when David was talking to us conversationally it was mostly complaining about how hard it is for people in professions like his (which I did feel bad about, but he didn’t need to dump his grievances on his customers). Even if David wasn’t a complete misogynist I would have given this experience a 2-​star rating.
Booking the appointment is also a complete hassle, I would never recommend this place to anyone.

Well, after reading Sharon’s review, I guess I am not the only one who heard the first sentence out of the owner’s mouth to be «this isn’t going to be a warm fuzzy experience».
My question to that is «why the hell not?» Why would that be the first thing you say to your customers? I don’t get it.
The ride itself wasn’t bad but I don’t like giving my money to people with attitude problems. I still have no idea why the owner has such a bad attitude. You are in a beautiful place with beautiful animals with people who just want to commune with nature. Why? Are you afraid that if you don’t set some city slickers straight preemptively, they might do goofy things and ruin your afternoon? At least wait until the horses start moving before you go off on a rant.

Travelzoo fans, beware!
My husband and I have been on some excellent trail rides in Northern California — this was NOT ONE OF THEM.
Sadly, the owner of Bad Boys is suffering from a pretty serious case of SHORT MAN COMPLEX in addition to FRAGILE MALE EGO.
He starts off his spiel by saying «this isn’t going to be a warm fuzzy experience,» and then goes on ranting about «DON’T JERK MY HORSES» and «ARE YOU AFRAID YET??» He did this for about half an hour before we set off on our ride, which consisted of going up a hill, then back down the same hill, then around the perimeter of the small field that they lease from the hotel next door.
A couple nice views and a few good pics for facebook, but really when this guy starts ranting, you are just gonna want to sock him in the mouth and ask for your money back.
David: Chill out, no one is jerking your horses. Good luck growing your business while berating your paying customers. I saw a few good reviews on Unilocal,and I’m willing to bet that you wrote them yourself.
*****Here’s my best advice: If you are looking for a truly fabulous trailride, continue up the coast to Fort Bragg and look up Ricochet Ridge Ranch. What a beautiful ride that was (
)*******

Enjoyed our beach ride immensely! Dave was knowledgeable and informative. He was very straightforward with my teenage daughters when it instructing them, much like a sports coach. As he led he checked back often to make sure that we were comfortable handling our horses. He gave very clear instructions and expectations. This made my daughters understand that they were each responsible for handling their own horse.
The ride itself was beautiful through the dunes and on the beach. I was surprised that the horses were like little kids. They would get close to the water as the waves went out and then run away from it so as not to get wet.
Make sure you wear long pants and closed toe shoes as brush and berry bushes are right up to the trail.
To make this a 5-​star experience, Dave, get some more help. You deserve it! Trade riding time with someone that will always answer your phone and schedule your rides. Also, if your customers can prepay with credits cards on your website, that would be awesome!

Ok first I have to tell everyone that the phone reception in this area is really bad. I also got lost finding it, just put the address of Sonoma coast villa and spa it’s just at the back of the hotel.
We bought the deal at travel zoo for 25 $. We had a good time riding our horses. David was very precise with the instructions on how to ride the horses. He will make sure that you know how to handle your horse before you leave the ranch.

I am giving David and Julie of Bad Boys Cowboys a mixed review. Myself and two girlfriends went for the 75 minute ranch ride. Two of us were experienced riders but one was a novice with a previous bad riding experience to overcome. When we headed out for the ride, our novice friend could not get her horse to follow, and she was almost ready to give up before Julie took her lead rope and led her horse onto the trail. David was leading the ride and seemed not to be paying much attention to all his customers. To Julie’s credit, once she took our friend’s horse’s lead rope, she stayed with her for the rest of the ride and things went fine. But initially, our friend felt all alone in her predicament. Also, Julie’s very young granddaughter was sitting behind Julie on her horse, hanging on for dear life. It looked unsafe and was a distraction for Julie, who needed to be paying attention to the clients. I was also disappointed in the length of time of the ride. Rather than 75 minutes, it was about 45. I guess the prep time and riding tips were part of the total package, which was not made clear. The good stuff: the ranch is very scenic, the weather was beautiful, they do know their horses. I am glad to see the good reviews and hope they do well as a new business, but I was a little disappointed in the level of professionalism and attention to detail on our ride.

Bad boys, indeed! They took our money, and we got nothing! We had a difficult time finding their place, and we couldn’t reach them by phone. We got directions from another business in the area, but they were gone when we arrived. Unable to schedule another ride during our trip, they refused to refund us since we didn’t give «sufficient notice.» Well, when you don’t answer your phone, the address isn’t recognized by GPS and website directions aren’t listed from area we were staying in, what do you want me to do? I’m sure the ride was beautiful, but we paid $ 130 and we’ll never know! Please think twice before patronizing these bad boys.

Very friendly and informative staff. Went with my gf for a weekend getaway at Bodega Bay and they helped to make the experience an enjoyable one. My horse acted up a little bit during the ride (didn’t like the horse in front), but nothing serious and it wasn’t anything the guide (David) couldn’t handle. The horses, all in all, were well behaved and easy to ride. We did the mountain trail and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a relaxing, horse ride.

I took my husband for his 32^nd birthday this past weekend and he loved it. David and Julie were awesome… you could see the love and knowledge they had for these horse’ was beyond astounding. We asctually found a great deal on travel zoo for this experience. It was by far very pleasant and just an overall amazing experience that I would definitely do again.

Had SO much fun on a trail ride with these guys a couple weeks ago. I was out in South Bay working for four months and drove up to Sonoma County just for the night to poke around and explore. I went to the coffee shop in Bodega Bay, asked about things to do and ended up here at Bad Boy Cowboys. It sits behind a small (and quite adorable) Inn so it may be a little hard to find at first. Basically when you see the Sonoma Coast Villa Inn… turn into their lot and continue down the smaller road to the barns.
We pulled in basically as David and his wife were putting horses in the trailer and loading people into the car for a ride. They asked the group if they could hold up 10 minutes so they could get us in! It was extremely nice of them. Oh and their girls were super nice too. The whole family were all excellent horsemen.
We did the beach ride and it was AMAZING! It was beautiful (and windy) that day but riding through the dunes and seeing the bay come over the horizon with all the ice plants in bloom… there was no better introduction to the pacific coast! It was unspeakably beautiful.
I want to mention too that its so nice to find people who love and respect their equine partners so much. All too often on the east coast you will find trail ride horses in public stables (ones expected to carry many different novice riders) that are in their 20s and/​or totally over their jobs as trail ride horses. In the worst cases I’ve seen, they are tranquilized before saddled. I’m a totally novice horseman. The husband stables a racer and ex-​racer thoroughbred upstate but they are just way too nuts for me to get near — so while I have a little horse sense I don’t really ride. But I would rather get thrown off a fractious trail ride horse than sit atop a once beautiful animal that now acts like a zombie. Horses are truly incredible animals that deserve to be loved and respected. And just the way David and his family are with their horses, you can tell the horses are very well loved and respected at Bad Boys Cowboys stable! They are gorgeous horses, they know their jobs and they will give a novice rider and excellent and easy ride. (I rode Harley.) David and his family did an amazing job training the workforce. If you want to support people who do right by their animals and will take you on a beautiful trail ride… call up Bad Boy Cowboys and head out!

David/​girls are great. They know the ins and outs of the experience quite well. Most importantly, they know their horses’ personalities, and can quickly assess the group of city slickers in front of him to pair everything correctly.
Enjoyed our time for sure and it made for a great escape the city excursion. Great reason to start a fun day in outer Sonoma county.

I called for information and was met with an attitude of «why are you bothering me?» When, despite the attitude, I inquired of whether my wife and I could bring the dog with us riding, as we have on rides elsewhere, I was met with a gruff, «that’s not happening.» I don’t mind being told we can’t bring the dog, but but a little politeness wouldn’t kill them, even if they do fancy themselves a bunch of bad-​ass, laconic cowboys.

This was by far the BEST paid experience we have had! David was very knowledgeable and friendly. The horses were beautiful! I recommend this place to everyone!!! We will be back! I cant wait!!! The best prices in all of Bodega! We have been to many other places and this one is by far the BEST!!! thank you David

Very good experience with David and Bad Boy Cowboys. David and his daughter Amber drove his horses to the beach, where they guided us on a very beautiful and scenic stretch of the California coast. We called David after receiving his information from the Bodega Bay visitor center, and were riding less than an hour later. Price was good, service great, and I highly recommend.

Wow what a great ride I experienced with David on Monday afternoon at Doran Beach. David selected Harley for me and he rode Profit. The ride was delightful — all beach. I was lucky to be scheduled for a later than normal ride time so we watched the sunset over the ocean! I was happy that I wore layers of warm clothes and had gloves as it cooled off quickly after the sunset. David offered to take pictures with my iPhone — unfortunately my battery was dead. So I will have to make another reservation — soon — to capture the magic of horseback riding on Doran Beach with Bad Boy Cowboys. If you go, you will have a memorable experience! p. s. Harley is very huggable…

Both of us decided to go horseback riding and we saw Bad Boy Cowboy horseback riding’s business cards at a shopping center on a Bodega Bay beach. We were so glad to have found it. The service was very exclusive and the horse trainer was very attentive. We are beginner riders, so we needed attentiveness, patience, and easy-​to-​follow instructions. An hour of riding was an adventure and I would highly recommend Bad Boy Cowboy horseback riding to everyone, who shops for exclusiveness, good price and awesome services while taking horseback riding lessons. However, one needs patience in finding way to the ranch destination as the place is remotely located and the routes to get there are circuitous.