Sun City Stables

I had a great time with the family. It was easy to call and schedule. The man on the phone was very polite and gave us all the information we needed. we did the ride for 2 hours get an hour free special because we were suggested that only an hour is too short to ride, which was true. We had an amazing 3 hours and enjoyed every minuet of it. Haley was our guide and she was very sweet and helpful, I liked that we had the option to go with out a guide but i haven't ridden in a while so it was nice to have one. We got to meet our horses right away and they were very gentle with us and seemed genuinely happy. The trails were well kept and very beautiful. There are a few different trails you can take through the woods and plenty to see because there is also a very cool petting zoo with some interesting animals! over all it was a great experience and very reasonably priced. more

I had not ridden in over five years and I was dying to get back in the saddle again. My boyfriend asked me what I wanted to do for my 22 birthday and I told him I HAD to go riding. I did not want to go to any old stables however. I was looking for a place that riders had the choice to either go with a guide or without. Other horseback riding places only give the option of ""riding"" when you sit on a horse in a line of other horses and they just follow each other and walk the whole time. Sun City stables has THAT option... As well as MORE. I finally found a place where I could go with or without a guide, and that caught my attention.\r We called the stables right away. The gentleman who answered the phone was very nice and PATIENT with us and our many questions. Not once did he get annoyed with us.\r We made an appointment without any problems and I couldn't wait for my birthday to come already!!\r \r Since we arrived when they first opened, (we arranged for the whole day riding experience) the staff was running around making sure that the animals were fed and watered and taken care of in order to get the day going. We approached one of the staff who introduced herself to me as Britney, and told her we had an appointment and we walked together to the stables office. \r Right away we were introduced to our horses and asked to make our way to the mounting block. She meets us At the mounting block and assisted us. My boyfriend who had never ridden before was being assisted by sally and she was so kind and patient. \r I was asking Sally questions about the stables and where the animals came from and just whatever else I could think of. She happily answered everything. I found out how some of the animals at the stables were rescues and how you can purchase a goat to take home and have as a pet. There is a program where you can lease a horse and after a period of time the horse is yours for free! We even spoke about things that had nothing to do with riding and the stables and she happily answered. She told us that when we felt comfortable we could let her know and she would let us go on our own. After about an hour of following her around the trails I told her that we were ready to explore the trails by ourselves. Let me just say.. My boyfriend and I had a blast. The trails were easy to follow. It's impossible to get lost however because the horses know the way home. For the most part the trails were in a wooded area but there were quick breaks where it was a clear patch for those who wished to trot and run. I took full advantage of that. \r \r Again Sally and I had a blast just talking about anything and everything. When we got back, I asked if I could ride blaze in the closed pen. They said of course. I loved being able to have the option to be in the large closed off pen or on the trail. \r The staff made sure to keep checking on us and rooted for me as I trotted and ran around the ring and as Corey trotted for his first time. \r So in other words, my expectations were exceeded by FAR.\r Customer service was perfect.\r The animals are well fed and loved.\r The staff is kind and patient.\r There are no hidden fees where they try to get more money.\r Many of their animals have been rescued. They take excellent care of them which is a major plus.\r There are options for experienced riders and beginners\r Not only is it an awesome place for riding, they have a fantastic petting zoo. You Must pet Ozzy the ostrich.\r I cannot wait to go again. Money well spent. If you want to take a leisurely walk through the gorgeous trails, with or without a guide, the choice is yours. If you want to trot or run, you can do that too.\r You have the freedom and choice at Sun city stables!\r Five stars!!!! more

Sun City Stables was amazing! I made an appointment and rode the same day! It was really beautiful with lots of trails. We had the option of getting a guide, super helpful. I was able to run a smooth gated \r horse, the best in the world as they say! All the horses were so well trained, sweet, and great with kids. After having a blast out on the trails we came back for the petting zoo! The kids couldnt belive that there was a real live ostrich! They had so many other animals. I was impressed on how well everything was taken care of, especially the fat pig! After shopping around the Tampa Bay area, this was by far the best choice! Everything from very professional/friendly staff to the beautiful scenery and fantastic animals. We had such an enjoyable time. I highly recommend you pack up the family and head on over. You wont be disappointed! more

This place is a rip off!!!\r \r I took my family in good faith and end up in the emergency room from a horse bite. The place is horrible. Be aware, they only takecash and once they have your cash, there are no refunds and you are at thier mercy. This is Disney World. They are so, so shady. This is more like scene from horror movie. more

I went horse riding here a few times during my vacation and had a wonderful time. I found that the horses were treated with a lot of love. The people there knew every horse personally, could tell us about it's personality etc....You could tell that the horses were happy and well fed. They were not overworked. They were given time to rest and drink. And if a horse wasn't feeling 100% that day it was given a day off. The guide was very helpful. The guides (Jeremy and a few others) were good with the horses! You could tell they had a lot of experience. I rode on a couple of different horses there. My little boy was given a big gentle horse (Apache) with buddy stirrups. He loved it. The horses have a place to shelter when it rains. Their stalls are clean. There tend to be a few more mosquitoes this time of the year. You need to take that into consideration when you plan to go horse riding. Take along bug spray. Spray it all over yourself and you'll be fine. I'm sure there are stables that are fancier, but if you are looking for a good, fun place to ride for your dollar then treat yourself to Sun City stables. My family and I had a wonderful time here and we'll definitely go again when we come back to Florida next year! more

We had a number of great rides. Staff was helpful and friendly, guide knew his stuff and was great horseman. Bring your mosquito repellent. more

I went riding this past Monday with my own children and elderly parents. We did the 2 hours and 1 for free. The staff was great help from the time we arrived at the stables. We were on our horses swiftly and were off to the trails. All 7 of us had a wonderful time and the ride itself was extremely relaxing and peaceful. There were a couple spots in the trails we were told we could run if we wanted ( Of course we ran...i have 4 children eager and ready)!! I myself didnt want to go too fast nor my parents so we directed our horse as told to do so and they picked up the pace as much as we let them, on the other hand my kids were ?Gone with the Wind? \r Afterwards we stopped by the petting zoo and it was enjoyable for everyone as there is shaded areas with benches for the adults and open area to browse and chase the animals haha.\r Great place i would certainly recommend and there prices are very reasonable. We will be going back shortly! more

To begin I started off my day at the stables by arriving with a group of 8 close buddies of mine craving the experience of riding a horse for the first time. From the moment we arrived and had gathered all our necessities out of the car within moments we were greeted by a very friendly woman and the cutest little puppy ever! She asked us how our day was going and what brought us to the stables( highly outgoing) then we proceeded to the office and paid for our ride and within a few moments of wrapping that up we were on our way to meet our horses for the day!! almost all 8 of our horses were saddled by the time we got to them and in just a couple more minutes we were on our way to the gate to mount up and enjoy the ride. we got on our horses 1 by 1 and were on our way.. My group was riding for 3 hours and guided for only the first hour so we could get the hang of things and be properly instructed on what to do once the guide left. Our guider was so kind spirited and funny as well as informative, also sharing some funny stories about each horse along the way.. we decided to have the guide stay out a little longer because we were all surely enjoying her company very much and felt like we actually knew the horses a little bit by the time she departed. the trails out there were so peaceful and calming and it really allows you to enjoy nature as well as new experiences with peers. one thing I really enjoyed about the trails is that the nature out there is extremely diverse so one moment your in a nice sandy field where you can pick up the pace /trot/run your horses if your feeling comfortable enough to do so, then you head to nice shady green areas where you can relax and go slower enjoy the weather and talk amongst friends.\r Oohhh and of course I wont forget to mention what a variety of wildlife you will see out there on the trails)..to mention a few I have personally seen, deer, giant tortoises, raccoon s, bald eagles, giant owls, baby armadillos, wild hogs etc....NOW I KNOW some of this may sound a bit startling at first, however none of the animals came too close for comfort and the wild hogs most definitely keep their distance, as they are afraid of the horses ( you will not be mauled I promise!) but I don't want to fail to mention all this because as I said initially u might b wary if u have small children but I myself have been out several times even with my sisters (ages 4 and 7) and they cant stop talking about how cool all the animals were and how fat the hogs were HAHA.. after we got back from our ride we ate lunch on a picnic table right near the petting zoo they offer to riders for free..Boy when I made my reservation and was told there was an EXTENSIVE petting zoo I was expecting maybe 15 animals..man was I wrong! my friends and I thought our fun with horses was over until after lunch we walked inside the petting zoo and were approached by so many cute & friendly animals...I even pet Ozzy the ostrich(little scary at first because of the birds size...totally harmless and adorable, he also gave us a show by dancing...which we later found out its a mating dance, too funny! All and all everything was amazing and the group I went with cannot wait to go back..the employees were so helpful and all of our horses besides being gorgeous and very well groomed, were wonderfully behaved and rode well for us! we cannot wait to go back again!\r P.S. this is a great place for family/friend/group photos and all of the staff helped us with getting all of the pictures we wanted and more. more

My sister, daughter and I went to the Sun City Stables for my daughter's 7th birthday. What a phenomenal experience! My sister and I had horses growing up, and all three of us had recent experience riding horses. I have done trail rides in NH, VT, MA, and CO so I'm familiar with assessing the condition of the horses and tack and how the people treat the horses. In CO, the horses were standing in mud, weren't brushed before being tacked up, and were not in the best condition. I often find the tack to be in very rough shape. Not so at Sun City. The place was clean and the staff really cared about the horses. The horses were in outside stalls that had canvas overhead for shade. We watched them tack up the horses; they brushed them and weren't heavy handed putting on the tack. The tack was in good condition. \r \r For each horse, the staff reviewed what the horse was like, and what to watch out for. For example, my horse liked to take a left at a certain point in the trail because it led back to the stable. Knowing that, I was able to pre-empt any attempts my horse made during the trail ride to turn back. \r \r A young man led us out to the trails and then gave us instructions on riding on our own. Being from up North, it was really nice to experience the Florida forest. The horses were wonderful. At a few places, the trail was more open and wide. This was obviously where the horses were accustomed to trotting and even cantering. It didn't take much to get them to trot here. They even went into a smooth canter a few times; my daughter was so proud that she cantered for a moment on her old, reliable horse, Danny.\r \r I will return to Sun City on future trips, and I recommend that if you haven't ridden, or if you haven't ridden recently, do a guided ride and listen to what they say about your horse. Be gentle with the reins because any horse develops a sensitive mouth with many inexperienced riders. Western reining uses one hand but if the horse tries to turn toward a direction you don't want, take the rein in the opposite hand and pull his head in the direction you want to go. Also, be honest about your riding ability and experience--the horse, for one, will appreciate that. more

Great riding. Wonderful people and great price. I rode at a place near Ocala and it wasn't nearly as nice as this was. There, the starting point was dumpy looking, we had to drive behind the horse trailer to a remote area and ride there. Sun City Stables is much nicer. There is a petting zoo, outhouse, nice area to ride. I read some negative reports on some of the sites, but none of what was said is abnormal when you deal with horses. You can't control the weather. Horses eat grass. Never met a horse that didn't try. You have a choice of being guided or not. Outdoor activities all have their set backs, but, usually that is the fun of the experience. The horses are well cared for and just typical horses. If you expect a perfect horse, good luck, you will never find one anywhere. Animals are animals and you can choose to make the best of the experience or enjoy it for what it is. Crazy Fun. more

i had a vary fun time at sun city stables. the horse are nice. i was talking to some of worker their and they said that the bug were vary bad bc of all the rain that has been hitting. i put on some bug spray and i was fine.i have rode be for but not in a log time and i took a guide i had a vary fun time with the guide he was vary nice. i asked him if he know why their are so many bad review he said bc people that have said that they know how to ride so they put them on a harder horse then some of the other horse some they can use the for kids and other riders that don't no how to ride and we find out that they have not rode in a long time then they get mad at us. then i asked him if they are in their pens 24/7 he said no and that they are out when they are not open and that mad me happy. i also said that the best way to keep safe and have a good ride is take a guide.my guide name was josh he is vary good at what he does and like what he does. more

The owner of this place is a thief and a fraud who steals money from people and claims that ""there are no refunds"". \r \r On a Sunday afternoon my mother and I went to go see the horses and when we arrived we were greeted by a young lady who said it would be 5 dollars each. Since my mother had no interest in horses she was going to wait in the parking lot until I was finished. Then the owner came around in his minivan and said that my mother had to pay $5 just to wait in the parking lot unless she waited by the road! Unhappy with his ridiculous request I asked for my money back and he wouldn't give it back! Claimed that ""there are no refunds""! Mind you that at this point I didn't see anything and was still at the entrance! \r Do not come to this place, if they are this rude to paying customers, imagine how horrible they are to their animals. Will never come again. more

I am a highly experienced rider, I lived on a horse ranch my whole life. I moved to Tampa FL because I am in the military. I wanted a place to ride with my mom who came down to visit. Sun City Stables is the worst place I have ever been to and would never recommend this place to anyone! I paid more for two gaited horses (paso finos). The lady on the phone told me that all the gaited horses she had were all paso finos. When we got there, I knew the horse that my mom was riding was not a paso fino, we later found out that it was a Missouri Fox Trotter. The Australian man who was walking us to the point where the trails started told us he was scared of horses and had never even been on one before. Once we got on the trail, it was fine for the first five minutes and then my horse started bucking and rearing. I walked the horse back and they gave me a non gaited horse and even that horse was not well behaved and didn't want to listen to what I was trying to make him do. We felt like we were trying to train these horses more than having an enjoyable ride. We paid for two hours but we only rode for about 30 minutes. I walked more than I rode. When we went back I demanded that they give me the extra $20.00 back for what I paid for the first horse and they refused to refund me the money. We also saw a very inexperienced rider approximately 10 years old on a guided tour and the horse in front of hers bucked and kicked that one in the face and the little girls horse started to freak out and she didnt know how to get the horse under control and all the guide did was tell him to stop like he would another person. Overall, this place was a scam!!!!! These horses were not well trained what so ever, and I have never had someone who had never rode a horse talk to me like I was a beginner rider. Customer service is non existent with this business! Save yourself the time and the trip and go somewhere else!!! more

This was the worst place I've ever been to. Me and my boyfriend went here and not only did the employees not care about anything but i had an appointment at 1 didn't get a horse till 2:15 when we finally got a horse to ride there was no short lesson or rules for the horses just get on and go. After riding around for 20 min our horses decided they want to go back. So we ask the employees what to do and one employee starts hitting my horse to ""discipline"" it \r anyway the horse freaked took off and bucked me off and I landed on my back. I payed for 3 hours this all happened in an hour. The manager wouldn't even give me half of my 120 dollars back?!? They didn't even ask of I was ok. They dont care about there customers or horses This is a low life place with low life management save your money!!\r more

AVOID AVOID AVOID\r This place is the biggest scam. I was injured there and still recovering due to the negligence of the employees here! I was shown annoyance afterwards and no compassion even though an employee scared our horses and had me bucked off. THese horses are miserable!! Don't support it. There are way better places to ride than here. Trust me on this. Don't waste your time and money. You're supporting mean, dishonest, hateful people who abuse their animals. more

I went there yesterday Monday Feb 18, 2013 with my 3 daughters, I made a reservation for 2pm and also called while I was on my way to confirm (50 mile trip one way)\r \r When we arrived it was difficult to determine who worked there and who was waiting, nobody had logo shirts on or any identifying method of employment.\r \r We tracked down the ""manager"" after walking around with no signs or directions anywhere. There were many people waiting. 1 couple had waited an hour and fifteen minutes already and there were 8 more of us with a 2pm RESERVATION.\r \r A group of 5 walk-ins had just been sent out and a group of\r 7 with reservations had also been just sent out leaving only a few spunky horses that required good riders, not us beginners.\r \r During the three hours we waited for our 3 hour booking, I discovered I was the only one who was charged $40 per hour while the web site CLEARLY says $30 per hour- pay for- 2 -get one hour free) at least 17 other people paid $30 per hour. Anyway as I said I waited 3 hours for 3 horses, of the ones who had horses 2 people were thrown after around 20 minutes and no 2nd hour refund, many of the horses would not move or returned to the stables on their own from the trail and 1 saddle slipped to the horses belly.\r \r While some of these issues are from non riders like us, even experienced riders were struggling to control some animals. Sun City Stables is supposidly set up for novice riders. \r \r There appears to be no organization at all, no clippboard or program showing reservations, who is out, when they left and when they will be back etc, NO REFUBDS AT ALL. Theoretically at $80 per child I should have had the all day rate and ended up with 2 hours as my kids returned it was by flashlight in 60 degree weather.\r .\r The animal watering trough is full of green mold. This could have been an excellent day, but at best was dissapointing and frustrating BE CAREFULL this is a cash cow organization more

Terrible! I don't know why it has so many good reviews! Maybe they were better when they started but now- DO NOT GO THERE. All they want is your money, when me and my 3 friends got there one of them decided to back out before she even sat on the horse. all they said was no refunds! after that we decided to go on the trail with our remaining hour and as soon as the guide left (which if you get one costs $20 more per hr!) they started acting up and just ran back. after that they didn't know any basic commands and when you got them to move it was only for a minute. No one cares or tries to help you out. While we were there another group (probably beginners) were on horses galloping back to they're stall and they looked terrified! she had no control over the horse as she repeatedly tried to get her to slow down. Like i said before I don't know why there are so many good reviews but dont go there you pay and thats all they care about! more

\r Run from this place. The good reviews on here must be from the owner. The place is a dump and the horses are not trained. I knew I was in trouble when they didn't have the reservation, we stupidly paid for 2 hours, you get the third free. It took almost an hour for the staff to saddle the horses and walk us to the trail where you can ride unguided. This was after swapping out a horse who was bucking and only wanted to go back to the stable. As soon as the guide walked away from the trail, my horse refused to do anything but go back to the stable as well. I got thrown and luckily came out with just a few bruises. These horses are clearly not treated well, trained well and the staff does not care. When they tell you, you don't get your money back no matter what, it's a good sign you're in for a miserable experience. Miserable doesn't begin to describe it. Based on other guests we saw there having a similar experience, this place should not be in business. Stay away from horses named Blaze and Clyde. We tried a third hose named Starbuck who also only wanted to be in his stable. $120, no ride and no refund. Run! more

We had a birthday party for a pre teen and the kids said it was the most fun they have ever had. Everyone was so nice and helpful. Rita shared much information about the animals and knew all their names. That really impressed the kids as well. Doug was very kind to the kids and made sure they were safe and at the same time allowed them the freedom to have fun. All in all it was worth the money and it left a lasting impression on all the kids. more

Thank you! more