Sagebrush Ranch Adventures

I recently took advantage of my groupon coupon for a 2 hour ride with Sagebrush Ranch in Las Vegas. Being that I haven't ridden a horse in years I thought this would be something to do while visiting here. Upon arrival we were asked to sign a waiver and then asked to wait for a couple of minutes as the horses were still being saddled up. I was amazed to see the work in progress. Rest assured there is a lot of work involved in getting horses ready for a trail ride. I really had no idea how much work it is. They loaded up the horses and we headed out to the trail. We were mounted up, rider and horse matched to ability. Our guide was informative and very knowlegable of the area. The ride was tons of fun for sure. After our ride we loaded up the horses, and headed back to the ranch and we were asked if we would like to participate in handling the horses. For me, personally, I jumped right on it, to get involved with the horses was awesome. I was in no hurry so this opportunity just made my day. The staff was funny and they all seemed so down to earth kind of people, they made ME feel right at home. All I know is that I had a BLAST that day and would do it all over again. Thanks Sagebrush Ranch for a wonderful time ! more

Page #1\r \r This is by FAR the worst experience we or you will ever have. Let's start with the online brochure:\r ""You get SPECIAL TREATMENT!!! Fresh Hot Coffee or Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream\r Served right in the van on the way to the Ride.\r Several coffee flavors, cream and sugar, served in your HORSE'N AROUND MUG; that you get to KEEP! Some delightful pastries too!""\r \r What this turned out to be was the rudest driver in a 8 person van (We had to make room for 9) drifting in and out of our lane on the freeway, being honked at repeatedly. I made it a point to deny my lovely wife her coffee in the morning so I could surprise her on the ride to the ""Ranch"". Not only was there no beverages of ANY kind, there would have been no room to drink them even if they were offered! \r On the way, we were told that there were ""No Available Restrooms"" at the ""Ranch"" so we would have to stop at a roadside city park. No one needed to use the rest room since we had all just left our hotel. As it turned out, it was just an excuse for the driver to get out and smoke while we waited. \r From there we went to the trail head at the ""Ranch"". It turns out what they consider a ""Trailhead"" is actually an abandoned construction site 100 yards off the edge of the freeway. When we arrived, we all took turns counting the horses. All 9 of us came up with the same number, FIVE. We were told that a truck had broken down and we would have to wait just a few minutes to get started. An hour later the rest of the horses showed up at which point I asked for our money back. The owner ""JACKIE"" said, ""Sorry, I don't have your money to give back. Just go on the ride."" I told her that this was not the experience I signed up for and this had already ruined the birthday surprise I had planned for my wife. She said ""That's too bad. I don't have time to drive you back to town and the other workers I have here don't even have a drivers license!"" (HMMM, weren't we just driven all the way here by one?) I suggested that she just give me her word that the charges to my credit card be reversed and we would wait until the riders had left and she could drive us back. All the while her staff were unsaddling our horses. She yelled at them exclaiming ""Oh! They will be riding!"" She turned to us and told us the only way we were getting back to town was to go on the ride first. My wife and I are now stuck at an abandoned construction site on the side of the freeway and felt we had no choice but to go along. The ""Trailhead"" was actually about 100yards down a garbage strewn dead end road. Once on the trail we were mesmerized by a never ending view of broken glass, beer cans, used shotgun shells of every size, old tires and the awe inspiring view of the water treatment plant. Remember the claim in the ad?:\r \r "" ...fun to ride where the wild country out west is untouched by man and the Native American is still here. This is a great day, one to remember for a very long time""\r \r more

I taught kid horseback riding daycamps here, thinking Id found a dream job, alas, no! All of us- the kids, horses, and the few instructors had no shade, had to bring our own water and lunch- for what she charged for this I personally would provide lunch, water, and shade! Even worse, we had to use this filthy port a potty that was embarrassingly gross! The owner enjoyed air conditioning and clean restrooms while the rest of us suffered for 8 hours in the full summer sun. If we were caught by her giving those poor horses and kids a break she got angry and would say ""butts in saddles at all times"" All of the horses were underfed, needed shoes, shaded stalls, a trim, worming- bless their hearts, they all seemed so beat down! I own my own horses and wouldnt think of being so cruel! Im shocked that she hasnt had a visit from animal control! Last, but not least, getting paid was like pulling teeth, everyone I met told me that they hadnt been paid in several weeks or even months, the trail guides lived off tips alone! I figured out quickly that I was probably going to get the same treatment so I quit after 2 weeks, it took her over a month to pay me. Parents, do not put your children in her daycamps, its a ripoff and could be dangerous for them, I got heatstroke the second day I worked there! Pros: working with the kids I taught Cons: everything else more

The short review:\r \r --Our ride was the first of the night & it started over 2 hours late\r --Not enough horses for everyone\r --""Trail Ride"" was just a dirt path on the side of the highway\r --Food was cold (and wasn't really that tasty)\r --Wagon riders had to sit on wet blankets (in 33 degree weather!!)\r --Farther away than advertised (1 hour from Vegas)\r \r The Long Review:\r Wow, this was really bad and I am a pretty giving person when it comes to reviews. This was advertised as a Christmas Caroling tour on horseback and Horse pulled wagon with hot coco and warm chili afterward. The reality was like something out of a sitcom it was so bad. \r \r First of all the map they send you says it's 30 minutes after exit #64 and it's not. It took us just over 40 minutes & we were going 80mph because we were worried about being late. We shouldn't have been. The tour was scheduled to start at 4:30pm we didn't pull out until 7pm - yeah, over two hours later, in very, very cold December weather with nothing to do but stare at the fire pit and wonder when we were going to go.\r \r They didn't have enough horses so some people who signed up for horses had to ride in the wagon but the blankets you sit on in the wagon were wet! It was so cold we didn't realize it until we got up to go and our bums were soaked.\r \r Well we pulled up to where there was supposed to be a roaring fire and hot cider and delicious chili - just be glad it wasn't you there. The fire wasn't lit, the food was cold and far from delicious. It was such a bummer. I picked this because it sounded like it would be a fun Christmas outing for my family but it turned out to be such a comedy of errors. My family is pretty easy going so I'm sure we'll be able to laugh about this in a few years but for now it was just a severe disappointment. more

The horseback riding portion of the tour was just as described and the horses were great and well trained and behaved for the most part. I would give that part a big thumbs up.\r \r The man who picked us up (and was the same man who took us on the ride) was weaving all over the road and had zero personality. He spoke constantly about his tips and even told us that the owners of the ranch were not paying him or the other people who worked there, he was living on his tips. He refused to give us his name. Then after the ride was over and he was taking us back to the hotels he stopped at a store very near the ranch and went in. He left us in the sweltering van with no windows to open and came out with a sandwich and a drink (you'll see why he bought his own lunch below). \r \r The worst part was the ""lunch"" we got. What was supposed to be (this is copied right off their website) A ""hearty cowboy lunch includes all the fixings: barbecue ribs, mesquite grilled chicken, hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad, and a slice of good ol' American apple pie"" was instead a cheap, thin hamburger patty cooked in a fry pan over a 2-burner hot plate, a bun, 2 store-bought containers of potato salad that were awful, some small bags of chips, and a tub of margarine. I am not exaggerating. We had no fixings for the burgers, no mayo, no tomato, no lettuce, no mustard, no other meat, nothing for our friend who does not eat beef, no dessert...it was AWFUL! The flies were horrendous and it was filthy dirty where we were eating and not indoors as depicted on the video. When we asked ""Mr. No Name"" about it, he said he tried to buy ribs at the store but they were out and that the apple pie was for the dinner ride only (the website and their brochures say otherwise). I would give everything else besides the horses themselves HUGE thumbs down. It was the worst. \r Pros: Horses were wonderful, scenery great Cons: Horrible food, bad driving more