Northwestern Lake Riding Stables, Washington, United States

5Amy S 5:00 PM Apr 2, 2016

Amazing experience!
We were able to make reservations the same day and received an email with tips, driving instructions, confirmation and receipt within minutes. The directions were so easy to follow. My 3 children and I took the Buckaroo ride (ages 14, 12, 9 years old) which is an hour long and perfect for beginners. My children had never ridden before but I have had some experience many years ago. The staff was EXCELLENT at giving my children riding instructions before we mounted the horses as well as tips about the quirks and personalities of each horse they were assigned. It made such a big difference! They were wonderful at keeping my sulky teenage boy engaged and the horse/rider pairings couldn't have been better. Knowing that your horse is prone to stop and eat everything green along trail and what to do when he does makes such a big difference to a 9 year-old first time rider or that your horse loves to toss her mane in the wind for the entire trek back to the stables (don't be alarmed she's not upset she just loves play in the breeze). The trails were alive with green, flowers, shallow creeks we crossed and even a small water-fall. The horses were well behaved but just enough personality and energy to feel like we were really riding and in control. Mike and Teagan were our guides and gave us lots of opportunities to ride a bit faster than a walk while checking to make sure we were comfortable with it. I have never seen my children smile and laugh so much! We will definitely be back in the near future!

5hw20142014 5:00 PM May 22, 2015

A great adventure!
Upon our full group arriving, we had about 10-15 min of instruction. Several of us had never been horseback riding and we took this info in to the full extent. Children are required to wear helmets, but our entire group decided to oblige. After our instruction and a quick bio on the horse we were about to ride, we were helped onto the horse and the fun began. It was clear that the horses knew exactly where they were going, which was nice as I wasn't sure how much instruction I would need to provide. A couple of us had horses that liked to "graze" along the way, and this also meant pulling off branches and eating them along the trail! Our main focus was making sure they stayed on track and I think for the most part, we did. We had an instructor in both the front and back positions with the horses going single file. The instructors were pleasant and always offered tips if called upon. The trails were well worn, some required very minor jumps and took a fair amount of coordination by the horses. They trotted and even galloped throughout. As a person who had never ridden a horse, the fast galloping was an eye opener and I did my best to maintain throughout. I rode "Cody" who was a sweet horse. He never led me astray and I made sure to praise him throughout. There were a few cleared spots along the way that we stopped to give the horses some downtime and for us to take in the amazing views. A couple of tips -- the website said to wear long pants, I wore running capri's because it was warm. Not the best move. The horses walk through alot of untapped forest areas and you are often getting hit with branches, foliage, & low lying tree stumps. My horse rode really close to trees on the trail for whatever reason (despite me giving him guidance to move the other way) and my ankle was often stuck between the horse and a tree. Long pants would not have prevented this, but would've given more coverage to my ankle area. My husband and I both agreed that we were happy we wore helmets because there were several times we got a low-lying small tree branch to the head. Our party had many instances where we had to duck under or shimmy to the side to prevent running into foliage. Once the ride is over, your are settled back to the horse feed area and helped off the horse. We were also given a treat to feed the horse. After our farewells, we were laughing at how filthy dirty we were from the dirt we trotted through. We actually had our hotel launder our clothes from that day as we didn't want them to go back into our suitcases. If you don't ride often, expect to have some sore butt muscles for a few days!! :) All in all, we would be happy to take this ride again and would highly recommend NW Lake Riding stables to anyone looking for an adventurous afternoon.