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617eileend
We had a wonderful time on this trail ride down to (and including) the beach. The horses were well behaved, and our guide was friendly and engaging. The location was hard to find, but worth the extra effort! Our kids said it was the highlight of our trip to Puerto Rico.
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2ndchances2013
Our future daughter in law and granddaughters (ages 10 and 16) went on a ride 2 weeks ago. They absolutely loved it! The tour was well done, safe and scenic. They already knew how to ride , were well matched to thei horses and enjoyed every minute. This was definitely one of the highlights of their trip!
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LovesPR
Imagine riding horses through groves of tropical trees and flowers, on a golf course and on the beach. It was not just a dream, but a reality at Palmas del Mar! My daughter and I had a wonderful 1.5 hour trail ride thanks to Yoeanna at Rancho Buena Vista. Yoeanna is very knowledgeable about the area and we learned a lot about the resort, the scenery and of course the horses during our ride. We hope to return to Palmas and go on another wonderful, picturesque ride in the future. Thanks Yoeanna!
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Headk70
Joanna takes your personal safety seriously. We both being experienced riders, opted to fore go the safety helmets. Our horses were matched to us, and we were off. We chose the shorter ride, as we had dinner plans with friends. The local fauna and Joanna's informative banter made the ride very memorable. There were several opportunities for pictures, and the views were spectacular...the stretch along the beach was amazing. Having ridden there before, I knew what to expect, but this was no "canned trail ride". Thank you Joanna, we'll definitely be back!
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223darlenen
This was my first time riding a horse and I loved it. Before getting on the horse Joanna was telling us the personality of each horse. I decided to pick Napoleon because he always wanted to take the lead. She gave us instructions on how to steer the horses. Rody who was our tour guide was very nice. Even though I fell off the horse by accidentally giving Napolean the signal to run. Rody was very concerned for my well-being. Once I got back to the stables Joanna heard about it and immediately asked me if I was fine as well. I loved how they were genuinely concerned about me. I'll definitely do this activity again. I enjoyed the part when we were riding on the beach. Falling off a horse isn't as bad as everyone makes it seem.
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SusieH755
The is such a wonderful dinner spot on Lagos dos Boca! We were met at the ferry dock by our coordinator who got us on the right ferry boat right away. Our reservation was for 3:30 p.m. It was a beautiful, short ride to the restaurant. The atmosphere at the restaurant was amazing. The sun was going down and it was absolutely beautiful!! We were greeted right away, by name, as we got off the boat and taken directly to our table overlooking the water. We all were intrigued by the house special, Rancho Sauce. We had a great variety, fish, chicken, pork and beef, between the four of us. The flavor is very asian inspired. It is good, but it was a bit over whelming. I wish we would have thought ahead and ordered a bit of variety so that not all of our dishes had the sauce on it. I think the other dishes would have been cooked well as well. Other than the Rancho Sauce, most everything else looked like more traditional Puerto Rican cuisine. We would definitely go back again . . . mostly for the experience and atmosphere!!!
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NancieBaker
On Wed. November 25th, our 3 pm group ride was well instructed, excellent debriefing, and fitted properly gear with our horses by very conscientious and caring staff manager Johanna. I was asked did I want a helmet and agreed to size medium. I rode Robin nice little 9 yr. old bay and my friend rode Pinto well mannered paint horse in the lead. All calm rode 3 times per week horses very responsive, well mannered, and I easily settled in within 15-20 mins. into our ride being able to see how sweet Robin responded with simple single reining. Before we began we were informed due high waves are ride time on the beach would be brief which was for our safety and the horses. Going over water on trails not one horse balked same on golf courses and Johanna's instruction on narrow beach due to high water absolutely no problems occurred. In fact, I was told by Johanna to ride closer to water shoreline vs. deep sand easier on Robin's steps not sinking which I greatly appreciated being an average rider. Fantastic views, fair price paid and no regrets. As far as this biting on the trail listed on 11/23/14 review never saw any except 2 horses Bambi and another wanted to munch along the way only if passive inexperienced riders let them. Johanna does not ignore her group nor take your last dollar is a bunch of horse pucky. No one was in any danger and her staff assistants made sure saddles were secure before we mounted. For this person to write what they did obviously didn't specify exactly what they wanted prior to beginning their ride. Shame on them for writing such hogwash as NONE of what she wrote happened nor true. I would return again for the 2-hour ride in a heartbeat! In a word: SPECTACULAR!! Take a bow Johanna. Submitted by Nancie Baker from northern California.
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Iga1996
I have some experience in horse riding, but for my friend it was the first time trying (and yes, we said that a few times before starting our ride). Let me say, there is absolutely no introduction how to handle a horse from the guide, because I refuse to describe "pull left if you want to ride left" and "he (horse) knows where to go" as an introduction... No one explained how to behave safely on a horse, general impression was that after they took your money they couldn't care less if you died. The worst part was that my friend's pony was constantly trying to bite and kick my pony, which I could handle if I was following him but at least during the first part of the trip I was made to lead, so instead of enjoying my ride I was sitting scared if the crazy pony was going to bite my horse again. I have some experience in trail riding and THIS IS NOT HOW A TRAIL HORSE FOR BEGINNERS SHOULD EVER BEHAVE. Even after a few crazy situations like that we were not allowed to stop to catch our breaths. The only good thing about this trip was that that my pony remained calm and was mostly ignoring the bad pony (otherwise it would be extremely dangerous). To sum up... If you are an experienced rider, this is not any fun for you, if you are a newbie, this is definitely not a good way to start your adventure with horse riding.
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cannonballrun12
My wife and I were looking for a place to ride paso fino horses while on vacation in Puerto Rico. We researched several ranches and decided to ride at Rancho Buena Vista because of the way the horses were being taken care of, the facilities and the staff which I would say were excellent. My wife and I were greeted with respect and were paired with a horse compared with our riding ability. We have both ridden horses our whole lives and own horses in Colorado. We had the opportunity to ride with Jo Anna and a ranch hand and just my wife and I. We had a fabulous ride through the resort, down to the beach and back on a different trail to the corral. We had the freedom to gait the horses and we did get to gallop along the beach. I would say it was the best trail ride at a resort owned stable I have ever had. It was not like some trail ride with a horses nose in the horses butt in line the whole time. The horses were beautiful and well behaved. Fabulous staff and experience overall.
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D308XTkatieh
I am an experienced rider, and they offer trail rides that are for beginners up to very experienced. I went on the two hour ride, that included some GORGEOUS views you can't get any other way than from the back of a wonderful horse. The ride on the beach was like out of a dream, and the guide let me "go a litte faster" because I asked. We also saw a group that was beginners, and they were on the beach enjoying themselves as well. I HIGHLY recommend this stop when you are in PR if you love horses and beautiful scenic views. The two ranch hands i interacted with were wonderful and knowledgeable. visit them :)
