My Saddle Brook Farm

Horrible Customer Service. Over Booked. We first book are trail ride in March. They cancelled on us 3 times and they make it very hard to reschedule. They are currently booked up until sometime in August. When I called to reschedule they were extremely rude and had a bad attitude over the phone. II had to ask them to calm own and that I was simply trying to reschedule my daughter trail riding lessons. This was her birthday present and she was so upset to have her ride cancelled every time. They didn’t tell us until the morning of so it makes it hard to get a babysitter for my other daughter. The weather was beautiful the las 2 cancelations. I believe something else is Hong on at this horse farm. It doesn’t make sense. They are very Unprofessional. Do not go here. Who yells at their customers that are being nice by trying to reschedule, AGAIN! Thankfully, Groupon gave me a full refund.

Very poor customer service and professionalism. I took a trip to ny with some family and friends hoping to get some riding in. They cancelled the day before through email when we already made the trip over! I understand things happen nut after someone makes a second trip and you do the same thing dont you think a refund is due? Not being cheap i just cant go to this place because its sooooo far from me! So i have a package ill never use.
This place is terrible with keeping appointments. I booked twice only to get a cancellation email apologizing and trying to reschedule. You cam only request but so many days off! They refused any type of refund.

I absolutely loved everything about the experience. My friend, her kids and myself went and met Helen who was amazing. I fell in love with a donkey/​horse mix named Reeses after the candy. I will definitely be back for more lessons and to volunteer as Helen does all the care for not only the horses who are all rescues but other animals as well.

Saddle Brook Farm offered a deal on Living Social which I was trying to book out. The owner spoke to me via phone and promised to honor the offer. When I tried to book the package, suddenly the pricing changed and the other associates who were aware of my conversations with the owner refused to honor the package pricing. I made several attempts to contact the location using both email and phone and am now left with no package and a promise to never give this farm my business. What poor «professionalism».

I’ve gotten a Groupon for this during the holidays — ‘ride for 4 people + hot cocoa’.
Only the two of us went because we were unable to book it for 4 people. I also advice to book this ahead of time.
We got there about a half an hour early. So, initial reaction was pure happiness as we were greeted by the sweetest dog, Gandalf. Also, we were greeted by a lady, who told us to meet with a person in the barn so we can proceed to ride.
We signed the papers, and was instructed to grab a helmet. I suggest to bring your own helmet if you can. I believe that bicycle helmets are acceptable. (Helmets are a little bit over-​used, and no disposable protective covering for hygienic purposes.)
Since the weather has been unpredictable, and had recently rained, most trails were closed. She said we should’ve received an email; however, no email.
Pretty much, we just went around in circles, and went to the beginner trail.
All in all, it was an okay experience. I think it would’ve been much better during warmer weathers. The young trainer was nice and informative, told us some stories, and that the animals were rescued. I was happy and hoping that some or most of the money would go towards the animals.
We both love hot cocoa; however, no hot cocoa after the ride. We were looking forward to it because it was also about 30 something degrees outside.

The experience was a VERY TERRIBLE complete and utter travesty. February 28, 2016
10:51 am on Sunday. (appointment for 11 am)
A friend and I enthusiastically drove all the way up here from New York City, sitting through and sifting through traffic. We drove three and a half hour from bk and Brooklyn, just for them to tell me its was «closed.
I was completely dumb struck and SHOCKED because not only did we have a reservation for that specific time. We also reviewed an email confirmation of the time /​date. So I was thinking that it was a very sure deal, and that I will be able to go up there and ride the horses and ride the trail NOT!!!
When I got out of my friend’s car. I was met with very cold and unreceptive customer service.
To this moment I’m not sure exactly what transpired, but all I know is that the personnel was receptive to my friends who are Caucasian.
When I came out of the Car = They claim to be closed for business!
At this moment, I was way too devastated to make any type of rebuttal, was just really shocked and my friend did mention that we had an appointment/​receipt + voucher for the time that (we showed up early for.)
The staff claimed that All of the Horse were sick and not only is unable to ride but also with a CONTAGIOUS
ILlNess… If theyre letting white people ride, and not me. What am I supposed to think ?
Theyre handling Caucasians with standard customer care & completely Horrible to me.
The photos that I posted, are out on the grounds itself, but it’s not worth mentioning with the customer service being so terrible, incompetent and racist. It was very shocking to be turned away (went to celebrate my birthday) hear the news and excuses about the Horses being sick on the ranch not being open but after we were issued invite + after we paid in full. IN ADVANCE. Then drove 3 and ½ house on top of that.
. The whole bullshit excuses of the Horse being sick, did not sit well with me
, because A very young caucasian girl came after me & was issued a horse. I can always have the charges reversed to my card, which I likely will.
But I will not return there, I may be mistaken… But I have a hunch I was discriminated against. Because staff was nice and helped everyone except me.
Even for all of the malarky excuses that they were given to me why I cannot ride and lying and claiming that the Horse was so sick and that the place was allegedly closed (after inviting us there =via email)
THEIR WEBSITE NOR SOCIAL MEDIA MENTIONED «SICK HORSES» they seemed actually, happy and open for business and consistently inviting people down to ride the trails.
I will NOT return there if anyone paid me to because they treated me so badly and it was actually just a few days before my birthday.

This is a farm which rescues abandoned animals, so we suppose to expect this place not going to be super tidy and clean? Sure, i can see that they are understaffed… needs more helpers, but this place is a mess, dirty and chaotic.
The horses seemed happy enough but they are not really well trained (Remember they are rescued horses… so they probably have some behavior issues). My recommendation is that the staffs would need to explain the nature of this facility by giving us more details, so the visitors can help out (either financially or volunteering), however, they did nothing to explain about the situation of this farm. They are not very patient with the visitors neither. We gave the staff a tip anyway, seeming her running around like a headless chicken with so many animals to take care of… feel kinda sorry for her. Plus her kids (i think its her toddlers are running around on the farm too), its a lot to handle for only two adult staffs.
But.pls remember that… Kindness goes a long way if you want more funding. (a good example is North Shore animal shelter– friendly staffs, clean, and organize).
Yep, the groupon deal is good, but they offered no hot cocoa. Need to take that off the fine prints.

The horseback riding experience itself was fun for us, total beginners!!! Horses were tamed and thankfully, no one fell off or got injured.
1 — Reservation — Bought my voucher from Groupon. Reserving the date on the website was a breeze; however, cancelling and rebooking another date was a nightmare!!! No one would answer the phone or email in a timely matter. We emailed them to change from Sat 10am to Sun 10am; a few days would go by before someone wrote back to say «Sun 10am is booked, what about 2pm?» I replied «OK» immediately. Then a week goes by and finally someone replied, «Sorry Sun 2pm is booked, how about another day?» By the time they replied, the slots were already booked. It was ridiculous!
2 — Day of Ride — Helen, the owner?, called us at 7am and told us that the trails were closed, because of the heavy rain the night before. I was offered to either to reschedule or ride the arena. There is no way I am going to reschedule, so we went. We arrived 45 min early just to check out the farm. There were 4 – 5 staff there; all young college-​like ladies, plus 1 – 2 older women. The farm was open, with cats and chickens roaming freely around. We signed the waiver form, grabbed our helmets (gross, small and dirty!), and mounted our horses.
3 — Horseback Riding — Our horses name were Aurora, Jupiter, Levi, and Lakota. The 4 horses trotted in a line; 2 staff were walking and leading the first 2 smaller horses my daughters rode. For an hour, we rode around the outdoor arena, and up and down the driveway path twice. My 10 year old daughter said «We were not really controlling the horse that much. It was boring, because part of fun was to learn and control your own horse the way you want, but that did not happened.» They did not offer any riding lessons or stories of the horses or rescue facility. No hot cocoa either.

Came here for a beautiful fall trail ride. The farm itself is beautiful, chickens of all colors roam, 3 lovely cats, alpacas and horses galore.
Like many experiences here, don’t expect a 4 star concierge service. This is a shelter for rescue horses so they will have an attitude. The horse handlers have a relationship with the animals that we don’t know about. Not everything we see in Disney reflects real life so if you see a hand being raised or shouting then that’s a life and relationships no tourist visiting from their sheltered lives in the city would understand. And most of the workers I see here are at most three young 20 something 130 lbs, under 5′ 7″ women dealing with twenty seven 2000lbs horses on a depleting budget every day plus farm animals. Give them a break.
That being said, the trail ride is becoming quite a business for them. Like people say, you can catch more flies with honey. So this place needs a little more refinement since they are promoting trail rides are 4 different coupon sites.
But for now, if you don’t mind a little roughing around or like a little trial by fire riding horses this place is good.

I got a groupon as a gift for my birthday and it turned out to be a total disaster. I’ve been having lessons and I thought it would be fun but I was wrong. First of all, booking with them is very confusing. Their online scheduling system is a mess. But after multiple emails with Helen and Kristina, I was able to set up the booking.
My husband and I came in for our scheduled date. The young girl (approx age 11 – 13) helped us and had us sign the waivers and instructed us to get our helmets. Shortly, we were instructed to ride our horses. My horse in particular is acting very strangely. They couldn’t even let it go as they have to walk my horse for the whole time. Before we even started, the horse would eat everything on the ground as if it hasn’t eaten for days. I was very afraid because it was acting strangely but having the girl walk my horse is a little relief for me. I have not experienced this before as I was taking multiple lessons in Long Island already. Before we even left for the trail ride, the other horses kept on walking off and the older lady who worked day is very rude and was screaming to the other riders. They often slap the horses multiple times when the animals won’t listen. Obviously, the horses here are not trained well and was mistreated.
When we started our trail ride, I was surprised to see that in a group of 6 people in horses, it was only the young girl who was walking with my horse who was with our group! Next thing you know, the horses are roaming off and was not following. Then, I heard my husband from the back screaming as his horse ran off and him just bouncing off the horse’s back. The horse suddenly stopped which caused my husband to hit a tree! It was a shocking sight!
After the incident, I thought the girl is leading us back to the barn due to what happened. But somehow, she decided to continue on. In less than 5 mins, the same thing happened to my horse! The horse that I was riding just suddenly ran off and I fell off the horse hurting my pelvis, my whole back, and my neck. I wasn’t able to stand up for a while due to what happened. No one from the barn even helped me after this. It seems like seeing people falling off their horse is something they see all day. No one even gave me an ice pack as per the young girl’s sister said, «they don’t have one». No first aid, no nothing. They were even rude when my husband asked them for any first aid.
So, if you’re looking for a fun and safe horseback riding experience, DON’T GO HERE! HORRIBLE! PEOPLE ARE RUDE AND THE HORSES ARE NOT SAFE. Total negligence!

Great experience. The farm is a rescue one for all types of animals. The instructors and volunteers are knowledgeable and extremely friendly. I highly recommend for anyone who would like to experience horseback riding.

My friends and I had a ton of fun at the farm. I got to ride Reeses and I’m in love with him. When I got on the horse the instructed told me all the basic commands so I would be alright while I waiting for everyone else to get on their horse. Everyone was so sweet and the horses are all gorgeous. I wish I could have taken him home with me. Haha thank you again My Saddle Brook Farm.
Those with groupon coupons– I went to the website and booked my ride and filled out the information for each rider on a Tuesday for a Monday ride for the next week. no issues at all.
I had a lot of fun and got to see all the horses and animals before we left.

My Saddle Brook Farm is a horse rescue and schooling facility — a great cause set in a beautiful location. As the reviews state, it is challenging to use your groupon to book here, and it does take the staff a long time to get back to you because they are busy running the farm during the day. Your dollars go to the care of 20+ rescue horses, so feel good about the cause you are supporting as you navigate the confusing booking process. If you cannot book your reservation online, use the email address on their website Expect a response in a few days and a reservation to take up to 2 weeks. Look out for an email the day before, instructing you to get there 20 minutes early and bring printed release forms. If you can’t do that, not a problem. (But do take the «20 minutes early «policy seriously so that you do not feel rushed.) Wear jeans that you don’t mind getting dusty, and ideally shoes that support your ankle (or sneakers.) They will provide helmets.
The owner and assistants are very sweet, accommodating people and this is a great option for beginners. It may be a bit slow-​moving for more experienced riders. The trail is mostly around the woods that surrounds the farm, and groups can be relatively large in the summer. However, the farm is beautiful, with chickens, alpacas, dogs, etc. All of the horses are well behaved and patient with young or timid riders.
We really enjoyed ourselves here, and could not stop talking about how beautiful the property was and what a positive experience we had. If you get a chance, ask the owner for your horse’s rescue story. Every one of them has one!

My boyfriend and I are from Yonkers, NY and we found My Saddle Brooks Farm on Groupon. We scheduled our horse back ride originally for Valentines Day but due to the freezing weather MSBF had cancelled and offered us to reschedule. We waited until the weather was nice and warm and we were easily accomodated for a new date. We corresponded with Helen and we’re able to easily book a new ride date for May 2^nd. The day of the ride we got there 10 minutes early and Helen and her staff processed our paper work quickly and easily. We started our ride on time (12pm) and enjoyed a full hour of riding. We did several laps around the in closed horse track to become familiar with how to command/​ride a horse and then we hit the trails for about 40 minutes. The ride was relaxing and exciting and my boyfriend and I enjoyed it very much. We went out in a small group of 4 adults, 2 kids and with 2 young adult staff. The staff members that lead our ride were enthusiastic, friendly, and knowledgeable on handling horses. In fact one of them lived on a farm and handles horses on a daily basis. MSFB is very kid friendly and definitely a great place to return with our 5 year old son. There are also other animals to enjoy after the ride. I would recommend this place for new riders!
Thank you, Helen & Staff,
Christina & Erwin

They expect you to go through leaps and bounds to make a reservation once their online registration system doesn’t work for you (i.e. you purchased a groupon and their system doesn’t recognize it (common problem btw). I called 3 times and emailed 4 times. Still not one human response. Terrible terrible. I feel bad for the people who own this place. They’ve lost their way.
Thank god, though. To be honest. After reading others reviews, I’m gonna get a refund. Sounds pretty terrible. Groupon needs to borrow Unilocal ratings. Otherwise people like me are gonna get screwed. I only wish I could do more to urge others to not be fooled by this place. Its a total scam.
If you’re reading this before you made a purchase, you’re lucky. Put down your credit card, open up google, and pick one of many other better places on the internet to have a good horseback riding experience. To be fair, I can’t say how good the riding experience was cause I never went thanks to the gracious, honest people on Unilocal who helped me not make the mistake.
Trust me, this is a one start place masquerading as three star place, which isn’t really saying much.
Don’t go. Period.

Might be good for someone’s very first ride…
My girlfriend and I had purchased a groupon to go riding here and were expecting scenic trails and exciting trots through the countryside. What we got was an hour of horseback WALKING while being led through circles in the woods by 16 year old girls ON FOOT.
When I asked if there was any part where we could go faster, they said they weren’t allowed to do anything but walk :/.

Groupon. 4ppl. It took 5 days to make a reservation with everyday phone calls and emails. Got YELLED at by the owner. People cannot keep track of emails/​voicemails and constantly refer you to the broken website. Missed the desired date due to late reservation, had to go a month later. Shit show continued.
2:00 Only small size helmets. Feet keep sliding out of BROKEN STIRRUPS, which lead to our group member FALLING OFF the horse upon mounting.
2:15 Group goes in circles around the training ring.
2.25 Instructor ON FOOT walks the group in CIRCLES in the forest the size of a football field. UNBEARABLY SLOW & BORING. Horses keep jamming & get nervous, which lead to one HORSE KICKING the other one and a rider nearly FALLING OFF, for which she got YELLED at.
2.50 Finally, got out of the small forest to make yet another CIRCLE around the farm and come back.
3:00 Group dismounted and held horses (turned out to be hungry). Due to limited space, HORSES STEPPED ON THE FEET of 2 members, who instead of getting assistance got YELLED at once again for trying to push the horses away from their feet.
RESULT: Out of 4 farms, we’ve visited, this was the worst experience from the beginning to the very end. Have not seen members of my or two other groups thanking the farm stuff for the day, which was mutual. 1 member fell off the horse. 1 nearly did. 2 members got horses step on their feet. 3 members got yelled at. 4 members had the shittiest experience. There are plenty of friendly and professional farms out there giving you a safe NON-​CIRCULAR ride through a picturesque countryside, so STAY AWAY from this one.

I read all of the other reviews and was a bit worried. But the ride was perfect for my children a 4 year old and 6 year old. They had a great time learning how to ride for the first time. The added plus was all of the other animals — pigs, llamas, and even a baby deer that they got to touch. For the groupon price it was a great deal and well worth it.
Now for me, I’m an experienced rider myself, so it was extremely boring and slow. You just walk, but that’s what I expected. If you are looking to get an introduction to riding, it’s a fine place to go. If you are looking to do real trail riding and cantor or gallup this is not the place to go.
As others mention it’s not that scenic, you are riding in woods, but they are pretty woods.
Overall gave it 5 stars, b/​c as a kids destination its great for the price. The guides were very nice and considerate with the children.

I had great time here for my birthday last weekend. My boyfriend bought a Gilt City deal for horseback riding. While the farm didn’t look like what I expected it to look like (just animals, no crops or food), it was pretty open and you were allowed to roam around and see all the animals on your own. They had horses, llamas, chickens, pigs, everything.
The trail ride was fun, but a little short (only a half hour out on the horse while the other half hour was spent getting training on the horse). The people here were very nice as well, and explained to us about the horses/​farm itself.

I got a Groupon for this stable a while back. Unfortunately, weather and other things lead to us postponing out rides until winter. I’d say the grounds would definitely be more beautiful in the fall. But the horses are well trained and very easy to handle. I do think, however, that their regular prices are a little too much for what they offer.