Tickle Me Pony Parties and Traveling Petting Zoo

If I could give no stars…
I attended a party where this company was hired for a 2 yr old birthday. I was told they set up late and ended early. Also the lady who was in charge of the pony rides was extremely rude to my kid just because she ran up to the pony. Mind you my daughter is only 2.5 yrs old herself. She got excited and ran towards the horse… WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS! That was the response she gave to my daughter. I don’t care who you think you are but if we are paying you for a service don’t ever speak to my kid that way. If there’s an issue you bring it in an adult way, you don’t yell at a 2 year old. And to top it off you are doing a party for a 2 year old… What do you expect! If you don’t want kids to approach the horse then you need to set up accordingly and put up a sign so the parents know or some thing! Also not cool to let the pony go to the bathroom right where the line of kids has formed waiting their turn to ride… Gross. Too bad because they are reasonably priced and add a unique touch for a kids party but I would never hire them just based on the experience I had with them at this party. Rude to a 2 year old and sloppy in letting the pony crap right in front of the kids. Not OK.

We hired Tickle Me Pony for our daughter’s 3^rd birthday and son’s 1^st birthday party. They arrived early! The set up was quick and easy. We were very pleased with the animals they brought. The pot belly pig and baby goats were everyone’s favorite! They had several bunnies, ducks and chickens too! I would definitely recommend them!

My girlfriend loves goats so I asked them if they could just bring us all of their goats. And they did! Set up early, brought a whole lot of goats, and cleaned up afterwards. They put up with my need for flexibility on the date and time. Perfect.

2 years ago we followed this company around to every fair we heard they were at. My daughter loved their horses and everyone who worked there was so sweet. This year we finally have our house in Oakley and are thinking of hiring a unicorn from them for her big 5^th birthday bash! My daughter is now 4 ½ and takes riding lessons once a week on a big horse but I credit her love of riding to Tickle Me Pony. I’m not kidding, we must have rode with them at least 8 times that summer, never a bad experience.
This year for her 5^th birthday we hired them to bring a unicorn to or house. It was a huge hit at the party! 2 people came and walked the unicorn from our yard down the street in our neighborhood. They were on time and great with the kids. We’d definitely use them again! If we didn’t already have our own chickens and a bunny we may have gotten the petting zoo too.

Omiga best party evah. The highlight of the day, maybe even my life. It was so much fun seeing all these little animals run and jump and paly and sheet. Anyway i would recomend this to anyone wanting a birthday party yo.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
If I could give no stars I would.
Wish I would have read the Unilocal reviews first.
Poor business management. Not only late, but didn’t show up at all. Then Refused to answer her phone or respond to emails. She gladly answered and responded when taking our money, but when she made an error and ruined a 3 years olds party she had nothing to say.
Seems to me (for reading reviews on multiple sites) that this company has the same excuses and gets very defensive when she makes an error. There’s no way she gets lost and is late by accident. Maybe she should stop over booking herself to make $$ and having the customer pay for time they don’t even get.
Unfortunately, the only way to get communication from the owner was from posting reviews. It’s sad. But at least contact was finally made after 4 days.

I booked and confirmed my 3 year old’s birthday party on July 17, 2015 with Stacey Stockman Young, Owner. I wrote a $ 180 check which cleared the bank on July 20, 2015.
On the morning of the party, September 12, 2015, at 9:30 AM I spoke to a woman named «Anne». Anne stated she needed an accurate street address for my party, and had not seemed to have left Brentwood with the animals as of 9:30. Anne confirmed the address and directions and said she was on the way.
At 10:11 AM the morning of the party, I received a phone call from Anne stating the trailer had a flat on the highway in Concord, CA and they would most likely not be making it to the party. She said she was trying to get a hold of the owner, Stacey Young, to discuss how to proceed, as it was Stacey’s trailer. I offered multiple solutions and offered to meet her. She did not offer any leeway or solutions to the problem. The conversation ended with a request that I get an update as soon as she heard from Stacey.
I tried to call the Company’s phone number to get in touch with Stacey at 10:21, 10:27 (twice), and 10:28. I then tried Anne back at 10:35, Stacey’s office at 10:35, and Anne again at 10:36. I did not receive a call back. I sent Anne a txt at 11:06. We finally spoke 11:08 AM for 3 minutes in which she stated she would not be coming as they had a 3 hour wait for a new tire. I then called Stacey’s office phone at 11:13 AM and left a voicemail stating that I’d like to speak with her so we can agree on exactly what took place. I also stated I expect a refund to be in the mail on Monday.
I have emailed Stacey on Sunday, September 13 at 1:48 PM, on Monday, September 14 at 9:33 PM and on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 12:04 AM. I have also reached out to her on twitter and Facebook. My husband has tried calling her office on Tuesday, September 15 from his office phone with no answer. As of Tuesday, September 15 I have not received a refund.
UPDATE: I have received the refund in full as of September 16, 2015 with a handwritten apology for the incident.

After being about one hour late, a pick up truck pulls into the parking lot. We were SURE another truck/​trailer would show up soon… nope. All the poor animals were crammed into the bed of this truck, with a hard cover over them! Out comes a goat, 2 pigs, some ducks, roosters, and bunnies. The lady got out and said that she didnt bring the mini cow (main attraction!) Ok. Show goes on. She then mentions that she was supposed to bring astro turf, but didnt. And that when the animals use the restroom, it will stain the cement… oookay… oh yeah. Didnt bring the hand washing station either… their website was right. I booked a party ill NEVER forget.

Great experience using Tickle Me Pony Parties for my son’s 4^th birthday. They arrived right on time, staff was great with children (some who were a little reluctant to ride,) and they were very easy to book and work with. Would definitely recommend for a fun and unique addition to any party!

I had a great experience with Stacey and her staff for my son’s second birthday. He LOVED the animals and the tattoos were a hit with the older kids. Everything was ready to go for our party’s start time. It was the perfect addition to our party!

Thank you to Stacy, Christina and Antonio for making my son’s third birthday truly one to remember!!! The mini furry zoo was so much fun — the chickens were definitely the highlight! The pony ride was a lot of fun for all the kids! Even an «too cool for school» 11-​year-​old boy! :) The communication, planning and pricing were all excellent. Thank you!

Sometimes you get one shot to make a little girl’s dream come true. And this was my shot. I was late in deciding to provide ponies for my grand daughter’s 5^th birthday party. I received an email from Stacey stating that they were available on the date and time I needed. Perfect. She was wonderful via email. UNTIL… she asked me if I could move the time up by ½ hour to accommodate their next event. I responded with «sure, no problem.» Arrival time was set for 12:15. 25 5 – 6 year olds running around the forest in a state park picnic area. I start getting calls from the girl who is apparently bringing the ponies. She had a «barn emergency.» Leaving late (as in approximately 11:30.) Says her GPS says she will arrive at 1:10. Says I can call her back but no need to, she will see me soon.
We rapidly re-​arrange things at the party as this is THE big event. The party is a dual party for two kids. I get another call «I’m on the Bridge. Just to let you know.» I call her to insure she knows once she gets past the check in gate at the STATE PARK how to get to our picnic/​party area. Goes to voice mail after 3 rings. Leave a long message. Get another message at approximately 1:38 she is lost. LOST. A state park? There are signs all along the way. How incompetent and unprepared to you need to be to not be able to find a state park? How do you leave the barn without having directions?
I then get another call, this one from Stacey (but the number is blocked so I cannot call back) She says that Christine has been frantically trying to reach me and I have not called her back. Says that she is now out of gas and somewhere on a mountain top and she is going to go find gas and go to her next event.
By this time the kids are tired/​upset and I am beyond livid. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
How easy it is for these people to ruin dreams, smash plans and disappoint young kids as well as people like me who are trying to make a dream or two come true.
I left a scathing message for Christine. She at least had the confront to call me and sincerely apologize for not making it. She had the cajones to listen to my ranting and upset over this ridiculousness and total unprofessionalism. As I told her, if you cannot do the job, then don’t accept the job. Ruining something like this is a big deal. This is not like having an appointment to get your lawn mowed. This matters. It MATTERS.
Stacey will take your money. I was going to pay cash at the time so I was not out any money, but that is so not the point. If you are going to play Russian Roullette with this business, do so advisedly. Use a credit card that you can cancel and dispute the charge easily. And do NOT get anyone’s hopes up, do NOT trust this company, do NOT tell your kids about the pony party because there is a strong possibility that they will not show. Do NOT introduce that kind of disappointment and upset into what was meant to be a dream come true kind of a day. Just don’t do it.
Note: Stacey NEVER called me or emailed me to apologize. I did get home to an email repeating the same line” Christine had been trying to reach me, I had not gotten back to her… blah blah blah.” I fired off a scathing email. NO RESPONSE.
My husband and I own a business. If we failed one of our customers like this we would be all over the place trying to 1.) FIX IT and 2.) make up for it.
Nothing at all from the owner. That speaks volumes. Do NOT kill your kids dreams and do NOT allow yourself to believe that you will be making dreams come true using this company. Just do NOT do it.
Laura Schneider
San Jose, CA

My daughter booked these people for my grandson’s birthday. had not booked pig or goats, but they had them on the trailer for a later event, along with two ponies, bunch of young rabbits, bunch of chickens, ducks, two large guinea pigs. Two chicks and two ducklings. They volunteered to let out the two baby goats and the baby pig, which was a big hit.
Set up folding cage and let the children in with the animals. Pony was very well groomed and docile. Other critters were obviously used to being handled. The attendants were watchful and helpful.
Cute overload.
I don’t know what the unhappy folks saw, but I grew up with 4-​H and all the critters looked fine to me. Kids loved the animals, but an hour was enough for most of them. Age range was four to ten, mostly six or seven.

I don’t suggest this company! The pictures look great of the animals online but that’s not what we received. The animals that came to our party were filthy and poorly taken care of. They looked sickly. My SIL is a vet tech and even commented to the owner who didn’t seem to care. There was a cloud of dirt around the horse whenever someone hopped on it. It was definitely not worth over $ 600 for 90 minutes. The kids loved the animals in the petting zoo until the bunnies left scratches on every child. None of the bunnies wanted to be near the kids. I can’t blame them but it’s not something that should be at a kid’s party. I agree with the other reviews that they are poor on communication and they were late to our party. They did make up the time for being late. I will not hire them again.

I wouldn’t even bother with them. Very unprofessional over email and lacks communication. They don’t respond to emails. By the time they do, the date and time you’ve requested is supposedly no longer available. When you reply requested another date/​time, you don’t hear back for another 3 – 4 days. The communication flat out sucks and the tone of the one email I received was rude.

Just had a party with Tickle Me Ponies. Staff was great. Arrived on time. Tried very hard to accommodate reluctant 4-​year-​olds who were intimidated by pony to try a ride. We reserved last minute and so were very grateful that they had an opening within 48hrs. Staff were very nice and gentle with the animals. They brought ducks, chickens, rabbits and a little pig.
I did get the idea that they were not great at communicating by phone or email. But everything worked out great for us.
Our guests had a great time.

I would never use this company again. I am not one to ever give a poor review on anything but if my review can help even one family and not use this company then this is worth it. to start off, I tried to get this company to confirm my party for a week. Naturally I was a little nervouse since I had booked and paid back in May I beleive, and my party was in August. I left messages, and emails just to confirm they would be there andon time. I had a tight schedule with them (the 3 ponies and the petting zoo) being one of the biggest attractions. Plus they were also written on the card so the kids were expecting them. I recieved no email or phone call, until 5PM DAY OF THEY PARTY which they were suppsed to be at my home 5:45PM only to learn they were running late and wouldnt be at my home till close to 7… not only was this one of my worst nightmares about them, but I also had a magican (also who I already paid) set to go on at 7 and about 30 anxious kids. They finally show up and to my horror they have an 11 year old running the petting zoo. She also by the way, was where my 50 dollar upcharge was for face painting– which FYI is her with a spray bottle putting on temporary 10cent tattoos. She must have been applying tattoos and had had her back turned and the goats got very aagresive, and started charging at each other. when I asked the little girl if this is safe she said, yeah, they are just tired, this is their 3^rd party of the day“
What kind of company would have a sweet little girl running anything is beyond me, I am pretty sure thats illegal, not to mention ridiculous. I will never ever use this company, and i will make sure ot hit all our social media accounts to share our experience. The most upsetting part is that I had about 200 people total in attendance at this party, and its not even the 650 dollars, but just how embarrasing for me, their lack of professionalism was.

We used them for my sons first birthday! I could not have asked for a better party!
The staff was amazing and the animals were great.
I wish they had a few bigger animals, lots of ducks, chickens, and guinny pigs. I would have love some sheep or peacocks or something different like that.
I would highly recommend using them! The price if very reasonable and the staff was so friendly.
They exceeded my expectations!

What a great party! We just had our daughter’s 3^rd bday party and Stacey and her staff went all out! It was a princess/​unicorn themed party, so we got 2 adorable friendly and well dressed unicorns with a mini petting zoo. All the animals were very friendly to the kids and were all so cute!
The petting zoo had miniature pigs/​piglets, ducks, fluffy bunnies, a mini/​baby goat and fluffy chickens… all mini sizes. They brought food for the petting zoo with mini lounge chairs for the kids to sit on. They fenced up a section of our front yard for the petting zoo. The staff also cleaned up the yard after the party.
The unicorns were all decked out with pink hearts, braided tails, and had pink tipped hair. Just adorable! We bought them a bag of carrots and the kids enjoyed feeding them to the unicorns & farm animals.
The staff was very friendly and curtious toward all of the guests. We couldn’t be more happy with the result of the party and they definitely made it memorable for our little girl who’s obsessed with unicorns. Unicorns really do exist :)
Stacey was easy to contact via email. After I got confirmation that they were free the day that I wanted, I placed the order online and they accept credit cards.
Thanks so much for a great party!!! We will treasure it forever.

Hired Tickle Me Pony Parties recntly for a large corporate event (over 1,000 people). They brought 7 ponies and the biggest petting zoo I have ever seen.
Stacey was great to work with. A very genuine person who cares about the people she works with and most of all her animals. You can tell they are treated well and the animals are great with the kids. We have hired pony and petting zoos in the past and a lot of them you can tell are just there to make a quick buck and the animals suffer as a result.
Our guests had a great time. Stacey’s staff was great, no complaints. Was punctual and cleaned up after herself, even stayed a little over the contract time to accomodate some late guests. Very thankful we chose her this year.