Portola Pastures

Nice place, i leased a horse here for about 6 months. People are pretty nice and trails at the nearby preserve (Arascadero?) are amazing. On trail rides I’ve seen hares, rattle snakes, bunnies (sitting on the lower branches of trees– how weird is that?), owls, deer, foxes, and BALD EAGLES! The horse boarding facility is large with many acres, runs with open stall shelters, and several large pastures. The owner has a cool vegetable gardens, and the place is pretty well managed in that horses are feed at regular times, water is checked, horses in pastures are well grouped and seem to get along. My only grip is no electricity, so no electric clippers for trimming bridle paths, running a horse vac or for arena lights for afterwork rides… not an issue in the summer, but during the winter months it’s a drag when its dark at 6PM :-(.

HORSE MANURE
I don’t have a horse I just came for the manure. Please tell your gardening friends that this the place to come. At the very back — they can see it on Google satellite — are huge piles of composted manure, or fresh if they want that.
Wish I had discovered this place years ago.
NOTE: The correct address is 1600 Arastradero Rd, Portola Vally 94 028. It is on the stretch of Aratradero between Page Mill and Alpine.

From what I hear it’s affordable clean fun ABD lessions are reasonable ($$$) I can’t wait to be part of the family

This place is wonderful. I have been boarding my horse here for a few months and have only had good experiences. Betty and Eric were very welcoming and accommodate anything you or your horse needs. Since coming to PP, my horse has really calmed down and is very relaxed now. The man who feeds is very friendly and always looks out for your horse. He actually takes the time to put the hay into a feed net, manager or set it on stall mats instead of just throwing it on the ground. The boarders are also really nice and helpful.
Sure, the facilities are a bit run down, but they are safe and they do their job. The stalls and paddocks are spacious and the horses are all friendly to one another. The lower arena is big and the footing is pretty good. Also the arena is never over crowded. The round pen and square pen are nice although they have some deep parts when they get wet. The jumping arena is amazing, with plenty of fun jumps.
This barn is overall affordable, friendly, and just a great place to be.

My last review was two years ago, and now sadly, I will be moving out of state and have to relocate my horse. My horse Loafie has been at Portola Pastures for the last three years, and the amount of care, camaraderie, and diligence is unmatched by any barn I have ever been to. Portola has become my sanctuary, with on-​property winding trails through the woods, to a full scale hunter/​jumper arena, beautiful round pen and fantastic dressage arena. All of these amenities are fantastic, but what makes Portola truly special is the people there. Betty and Eric are wonderful, and are always quick to help in any way they can. They always keep the horses safety and happiness in mind with everything they do. The other boarders always greet you with a smile and friendly hello, and we all keep an eye out for one another’s horses. I am going to miss Portola tremendously, but I think Loafie will miss it even more than I.

For the area, it’s a deal! The horses seem happy and well taken care of. The staff is very friendly and their is great access to trails and arenas. Two thumbs up!

I have been at Portola Pastures for 5 years. Eric and Betty do a great job. I love it here, and my horses are happy. The trails are simply amazing, the people are great, this is a great place to board a horse, or to take lessons from some of the trainers such as Pam from Shoestring Farms

I kept our pony here for 2.5 years and it was such a lovely place. The people are so nice. All the ladies who board here were very kind to me and my children, and very understanding and very good with their own horses. Very caring. This is mostly a natural horsemanship barn. We were always allowed into the arenas during lessons. Betty and Eric were very professional and nice and made sure our pony was safe and well cared for. Plus they are great all around people. The trails are amazing here! Liz was very professional and sweet, Pam has an awesome program at Shoestring Farms that both myself and my daughter rode in. I ride dressage now and have left this barn and the area, but I really loved our time here. I recommended it to a lot of friends and they were very happy there. It seems to stay relaxed despite the pressures in the valley around it – magical! I would love the chance to go back there and keep my new horse there. Its a good balance between natural horsemanship /​great natural setting and then good training and showing opportunities are available there and nearby. The arena footing was not excellent for dressage, but good enough and groomed several days a week– wish it was groomed every day. Another plus, it’s close to the Horse Park and Liz was always great about offering to trailer horses there (for a reasonable fee). Miss them all and hope to return someday!

On Monday September 17, 2012, at approximately 5:30pm, I took a trail ride on the horse I was leasing at Portola Pastures. As we trotted along the trail we came upon a family, including a man, a woman, and two children, all of whom were off to the side of the trail while one of the children was being disciplined by the man. The child was screaming and the man was very loudly scolding the child. As a responsible rider, I was paying attention to the trail and noticed the situation ahead from roughly ten yards out. I raised my voice to say «excuse me» and proceeded to trot past the family. I did not want to walk the horse past them as I feared that this would spook my horse. Once we were at least fifteen feet past the family, I asked for a canter, as we normally canter over this part of the trail. The man of the family proceeded to scream obscenities at me and threatened my safety as well as my horse’s. He proffered the phrases «stupid f*g b*ch,» «you f*g wh*re,» and «I will find you, wherever you are» in his verbal assault. As I was scared for my safety as well as that of my horse, I proceeded as quickly as possible away from the man and back to the stables. When I returned to the stables I immediately gave a full recount of the incident.
On September 20, I was informed that the Management of Portola Pastures would no longer welcome me. I find that this was an extremely one-​sided decision which was made without any consideration of my side of the story, despite my honesty and openness regarding the incident from its onset. I also believe that the decision made by the Management of Portola Pastures is a strong indication of its complacency in the face of harassment. As a 27-​year-​old female who was verbally harassed and threatened by a middle-​aged man while riding alone on a wildlife preserve, I believed that I alone was the victim in this incident. I also have reason to believe that, in dealing with this man, the Management of Portola Pastures has further enabled my assailant to fulfill his threat to «find [me], wherever [I am].» Already the victim of harassment, I feel I am now under further persecution by the Management of Portola Pastures who have chosen the word of one disreputable figure over his victim without so much as a thought to her well-​being.
In general, I believe that the actions taken by the Management of Portola Pastures:
(1) display utter disregard for the safety of female clients of Portola Pastures;
(2) condone harassment by this man and by similar perpetrators in the future; and
(3) breed a litigious environment by buckling to the crazed demands of a disreputable figure who shows neither knowledge nor regard for the well-​established rules of the Arastradero Preserve (equestrians have the right of way without exception)
Though I would appreciate being welcomed back to Portola Pastures, it is solely for the close bond that I have formed with the horses and their owner in the short time that I have known them, and it is not for the business practices that the Management of Portola Pastures currently employs. Though I do not agree with some of the decisions made by the Management of Portola Pastures, I also do not expect a change in the outcome of this incident on the part of the Management of Portola Pastures, much less an apology for how I was treated.
I must end this review by stating that the trail rides I have taken in the past with the horse that I leased were some of the most memorable of my life. My horse was kind, spirited, and just all around excellent. The person from whom I leased the horses was kind and understanding as well. This review should ONLY reflect upon the management of Portola Pastures, not any of it’s tenants/​clients/​trainers. There are far more accommodating, trustworthy, and thoughtfully managed stables in the area.

I moved my horse to Portola Pastures in January. I cannot believe how nice the owners are!!! Before moving, I asked if I could take a tour of the facility and surrounding trails… on horseback! Betty and Eric were more than accommodating. They introduced my horse and me to everyone and took us out on the trail. I moved in a week later. I like the atmosphere… very casual and comfortable. The horses come first. There are several trainers to choose from if that’s what you want. My horse is a very happy boy here which makes me even happier!

I board my horse at Portola Patures and have been taking lessons with Bobbie Petrov, who owns Misty Ridge Farm for many years. Bobbie is a wonderful, patient instructor who can lead effective lessons for multiple riders that have various levels of experience.
She has done a great job getting me through times when I don’t feel confident about my riding and can turn up the training when I am doing well. Her horses are very well loved and cared for. I think they are suited for all levels of riders.
For the gal that didn’t like the cancellation policy, it is a business and time and a horse are reserved for every rider. We all have crazy work lives and for me, riding makes the work world seem very far away.

I boarded my horse here for a few months and really liked it here. The owners and boarders are VERY nice and everybody’s main concern is the horses. Everyone knew my horses name after only a few weeks and with 100+ horses boarded there thats pretty impressive. It was nice knowing if I couldn’t be out to the barn for a couple days somebody was watching out for my girl. Nice big arenas here and lots of trails. And her pasture was HUGE and not at all overcrowded. The only reason I moved my horse was the lack of winter riding adn instructors. I ended up finding an instructor that comes out to my current barn, as well as there, but I still love the indoor arena at my current location. Overall though, I give 4 stars because the people are SOOOOO nice and helpful. Its also very easy to get to from 280

I normally give very good reviews, so this is my «venting» review so to say…
I have taken two lessons at Misty Ridge Farm of the Portola Pastures. The lessons were with Bobbi Petrov. I am extremely upset with the outcome of the whole thing. I paid for 4 lessons: $ 230 and could not attend two of them due to a very rigorous work schedule. When I e-​mailed Bobbi to let her know I was not gonna be able to make it, I was informed that she needed a 24 hours notice if I wanted to cancel the class and then retake it at a later time. This was not explained to me beforehand and I am very upset w/​them, since I paid for 4 lessons and I only got 2 out of it. I wasn’t even given time to read over what I signed, because Bobbi was late to the first session and I was simply given a form and asked to sign it.
Now, in terms of the lessons themselves– Bobbi probably does care for the horses, since you’re given about 30 minutes to groom and tack your horse first and then almost 1 hr on the horse and 30 more minutes to untack and get the horse ready for feeding and bedtime. My problem with the lessons was that Bobbi didn’t actually show me anything. The more advanced girls were asked to show me things and then she was just yelling instructions from this little stage area next to the barn. I am very disappointed with the way lessons are taught here and I am also disappointed with the way they do business. I doubt I will ever take classes here again. Or at least not at this farm. Portola Pastures has a lot of opportunities for lessons, so I might end up choosing a different farm and/​or instructor.