CPonies

The sandbar fries were fantastic, fried green tomatoes were nicely done. Oysters on the po’ boy were slightly over fried, and served warm, not piping hot, but still delicious. Everyone was happy, no room for dessert!
Grouper sandwich *beer battered* was delicious!!!

CPonies was a magnificent experience. Both staff and horses were true professionals. Highly recommended amongst anyone living or visiting the St. Petersburg area!

We are always looking for ways to ride horses and experience something different. This did both extremely well. We particularly enjoyed meeting the Drum Horses, a first for both of us. We found the staff helpful, pleasant and accommodating. We will return for an encore.

I grew up in St Pete and have ridden horses the majority of my life, however I’ve never experienced anything like CPonies.
Equestrians of any ability can enjoy this «bucket list» adventure. It’s not any day you can ride gorgeous horses into the bay and next to dolphins (and sharks that want nothing to do with the horses).
Carmen sets up her horses on the north side of the Skyway and you ride into Tampa Bay. She gives you plenty of chances to soak everything in, including hand signs of what might be swimming by. She also takes plenty of pictures and video to remember your adventure. The picture package ($ 25 if you download the camera app beforehand) is worth every penny so you don’t have to fumble with your phone or worry about dropping it in the salt water.
The horses love their job and seem to delight in swimming through the bay with you on their back. Each horse has their unique swimming «style,» one bounded through the water like a dolphin and my mare Stella moaned with happiness when the water cooled her off. You can tell that every single horse is well taken care of and loved by Carmen. As a horse person, I love it when people in this business like Carmen do it for the right reasons and take care of their animals like family.
I’ve found a new favorite thing to do when visiting my hometown! Thanks CPonies, see you next time!

I don’t see how my ride could have been better. I rode Skittles. I learned a little about each of 6 horses on our ride. Skittles is a speed racer when swimming. She followed my directions to pose for pics. Remember that this is not a controlled environment like a Disney ride, it’s real. We saw small hammerhead sharks & sting rays. One horse tripped and fell, but all was fine; they fell in water, more exciting. I was kinda hot and would not have mined a misstep so I could go in. Carmine offers helmets, floatation devices, I think those r free. We walked in deep enough water to keep us pretty cool in blazing sun. The swims were amazing. You put the reigns on the saddle horn and hold the horses mane. One horse «snorkeled», put her nose in up to her eyes. Other horses purred and moaned cuz the water was so cooling. I think the challenge for Carmen and the horses are inexperienced riders who don’t follow direction. To slow or stop, pull back your fists towards you hips or lap. Some people pull up over their heads confusing the horse. I saw no danger. I had a bit of anxiety finding her. Exit on the North Fishing Pier & go opposite of rest stop at the stop sign. Look for a large horse trailer on the waters edge. Btw I did have the Platinum ride & postponed once due to weather. I do recommend a hat, something more than a swim suit as the sun is so intense on the water. Polarized sunglasses to see the sea life.

Thank you Carmen for an amazing experience to swim with the ponies on the beach! These horses are incredible and they so enjoy being in the water. Emma was a gem and she made my experience fulfilling and fun. If you love horses and are looking for something fun to do I suggest you put in on you bucket list. Thank you again, Livia

AWESOME!!! AMAZING!!! The most fun you can have in the water. This was an absolutely amazing experience. Carmen and her ladies keep their horses well groomed, well fed, healthy, and happy. The horses are beautiful and gentle. I have never done anything like this but I would most certainly do it again. I am not a rider of horses and I was fine and had a blast. I rode GYPSY. She was lovely and loved to play in the water. Splashing and snorting. My mom and I went out with Carmen and three other riders. Everyone stayed together. There were no issues. The horses follow direction well and so much fun was had by all. DEF do the photo package! Carmen has a neat recorder/​photo device and will take pics and video of you while you are out and then download all the pics to your smart phone, via Bluetooth, once you get back to shore. Make sure your phone has data space and download RE CAMERA app before you go. I took a water camera and got some great shots. Also brought along a gopro, just for fun. Carmen did not mind at all. You can wear bathing suit or shorts and shirt but you will be submerged. Do wear water shoes. I wore a hat. Some people had polarized sun glasses on and were able to see things swimming in the ocean that I was unable to see. There is marine life. But that just added to the experience. If I figure out how to upload photos and or video to this review, I will. DO THIS!!! you will not regret it and you’ll have memories for a lifetime!

I am an equestrian and have ridden for years and found CPonies to be an out of the ordinary ride but not the crème de la crème of riding experiences. It was fun to saddle up and head into the Gulf off St. Pete Beach near the north end of the Sunshine Skyway but I felt that it was a bit overpriced for what we got.
On our platinum ride, my girl, Jewel, was a bit obstinate which I’ll readily admit may jade my opinion. It took major effort to get her to go. She responded more readily once I had a lead rope Carmen handed off to me during our ride. My daughter’s steed, Guiness, was a much better ride and once he knew who was in charge, responded quite well to the aids my daughter gave him.
It was a beautiful 85+ degree day and the water was warm and the sun shining. I loved swimming but felt that there was too little of it.
The photos and videos we purchased for an additional $ 28.99 (the app, RE was $ 3.99; download of photos and video was $ 25) were a nice touch but the videos are jumpy & bumpy and understandably so given that we were in the Gulf and Carmen was shooting video while dismounting and trying to keep her horse nearby. Perhaps an option for the future is to have a grip or handler on hand to hold the lead horse while videos are being shot.
For me it would have been a better ride had we had an opportunity to walk, trot, canter on the beach before heading into the Gulf. And had we done so, I’d say the price was fair. I think it would also have been better to have either bareback pads or go saddle-​free. Dealing with stirrups and a modified English sponge-​like saddle seemed to me to be a bit too cumbersome in the water.
But I commend Carmen for her care, concern and treatment of these beautiful creatures. She and her grip, Briana, did a fine job in prepping and caring for each and every one of the horses. Overall it was an enjoyable ride and one I recommend to those of you wanting to enjoy the Gulf in a new and different way while on horseback.

My mom and I Had a fantastic day with Carmen, her crew, and beautiful horses. Swimming on horse is an unexplainable experience. It’s absolutely AMAZING! If you’re a horse lover like I am it’s a must do!

I signed my sister and niece up for this today after googling and looking for horses on the beach when another company fell through. Needless to say it was the experience of a lifetime for them! They are both frequent hunter/​jumper riders so they’re used to being around horses, this is something great for anyone who loves horses beginners or otherwise! Carmen was generous, kind, and easy to work with, texting and emailing and also sending all the photos/​videos after since we purchased the photo pack. Amazing not just walking on the beach with horses but getting on and swimming with them out in the sea amongst stingrays and wildlife; not many other people can offer that! A great day and I would definitely recommend this to anyone! Definitely use CPonies over anyone else in the area!

We wanted to do something special for our 11 and 9 year old granddaughters when they came to visit. They talked about riding horses on the beach. I checked out the ones in our area (Palmetto, Florida) and really liked what I saw on Carmen’s CPonies website. After talking to Carmen I was sold. Wow! Best decision I ever made! The girls had the time of their lives! Carmen and her companion guide were awesome! The horses are beautiful and you can tell loved and well cared for. The girls got to go out to the sandbar and collect shells. They also saw a hammerhead shark and after the ride got to feed the horses treats. Neither girl had ever been on a horse before, but I felt they were totally safe with Carmen. You can tell not only is she great with horses, she knows kids! After all was done we got pictures and videos directly downloaded to our phone. What an unforgettable day! I can’t recommend CPonies enough. I think my husband and I will be riding very soon!

C Ponies is by far the most amazing experience offered in all of Southwest Florida! Carmen, the owner, is not only real and down to earth, she went out of her way to ensure we had an amazing unforgettable experience. We got to ride the horses into the ocean to a sandbar where the scenery couldn’t be beat, and looked for one of a kind shells. We saw puffer fish and stingrays up close all while Carmen captured video and photos of our experience that she loaded right to our phone at the end of the ride. Carmen was so accommodating and of course the horses themselves couldn’t be sweeter! We are already planning our next Florida trip and C Ponies is on the top of our to do list. Its worth every penny (and probably more because the rates were beyond fair and reasonable) and its something everyone needs to experience!