Cedar Grove Equestrian Center Inc

I thought it would be a great idea to purchase two living social vouchers for horseback riding for my kids. However, this is not the place that you want to go to for any experience.
I made an appointment a week in advance to redeem these vouchers over spring break, because the women I spoke to said they were really busy and she only had week days available. She stated that that she only had Mon or Thurs available at 6:00 in the evening. I chose Monday at 6:00pm. She told me to arrive fifteen minutes beforehand so that my kids could pick out boots and helmet and to ask for Maria.
Monday evening at our scheduled appointment time we show up and there is a barn full of people none of which smile and say hello. We go about picking out boots and helmet and then my husband asked someone if Maria was there and she replies that’s my Mom and goes to get her.
I introduce myself to Maria and tell her we’ve purchased living social vouchers for two kids and have an appt for 6:00. She then turns around walks into the office in front of all of these people and says oh I talked to you and your appointment was at 5:00. I said no I made the appointment for 6:00 and as I’m explaining this to her she goes back into her office leaving me and my family standing there.
We stand there for about five minutes waiting for her to come out. I told my kids to get in the car and the next thing you know here comes Maria. I ask her where she thinks the miscommunication happened She tells my husband that another employee scheduled me at 6:00 and she was supposed to get off early for her birthday. She says she didn’t mean to take it out on us. She says they have two horses available to ride. My kids are with me and they are really excited to ride horses, and have completely dismissed the fact that this woman has been extremely rude and unprofessional, unwelcoming etc. and has not apologized to us. I have not but I am trying to be the bigger person and salvage something from this disasterous moment.
My kids ride the horses around the arena for 45min not an hour as stated and there is still no apology afterwards.
Please save yourself from thinking this will be a great experience and great deal through living social. I’ve now learned to read the reviews before blindly purchasing what I thought was a good deal.

Wonderful place! Caring people who love their horses and the people they teach. They are genuine, friendly and have a passion for what they do. As they say on their webpage, this is NOT a pony ride. They are into horsemanship and safety. A great family business, a good fit for someone who really wants to learn to ride and horsemanship. Ignore the negative reviews, this place is wonderful!

Bought a Groupon for my daughter, she loved the horses and I was thinking of signing her up for regular classes, but the roughness of people there put us off, also, their times/​dates were very limited (there was only 1 day and 1 time slot available), we’d better give our business to another equestrian center.

OMG! I wish I read reviews here. Note to self, always check Unilocal before buying living social deals. There are so many bad businesses out there and this is one of them. I have been trying to schedule for a month, called three times on all 4 numbers and left message. No response! Today I wrote to living social asking for a refund.
What a waste of time and energy. Spend time buying from them, then keep tabs on the expiry date, then keep calling them to get an appointment. These people advertise wanting more customers despite not having any ability to keep the customers once they get them. Why advertise?! Clueless business with no regard for the customer.

I just finished my Groupon lessons (4 hours worth) and will definitely continue. I’m a novice and have only been on a horse several times before.
The environment
This place is tucked back in a rural suburban setting with a pretty meadow and singing frogs — now that it’s spring. I appreciate that it’s basic, simple, practical, no nonsense, and down-​to-​earth — all good things because the focus should be about the relationship between you and your horse.
So yes, there’s no «reception» with «office staff». It’s a well-​used stable with a phone, a large covered riding arena, a port-​a-​potty, a small viewing corner, and a fenced paddock or two. Parking is restricted for safety reasons, so if you go, please park away from the arena and be considerate about making noises outside during lessons. Horses have better hearing than we do. :)
I didn’t try to call after reading the reviews, but I got almost the same day, next day response by email. Understandably now, they’re busy people tending to their riders and horses!
The experience
I appreciated being matched up with an appropriate horse for my level. I was pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of horses because it’s a chance to work with different personalities and types. Though honestly, I like gentle, calm, and quiet. :)
At my lesson, it’s usually Maria (owner/​trainer), her daughter, a more advanced student, and maybe another student. Even with a small group, it can still get confusing sometimes when you don’t know you’re being addressed (because you’re focusing on what you’re doing), and it’s sometimes hard to hear in such a big arena.
Other observations
Horses cost $$$$ to have, and they have quite a few. So I understand how a no-​frills environment keeps lessons reasonably affordable for more people. But likewise, this means less income for frills.
They have loaner helmets and boots, so you don’t have to buy gear, especially if you might not like riding. But the loaners are also well-​worn, time-​consuming to keep clean, and expensive to replace. So if you continue, get your own helmet and boots. I chose to do this for comfort and to save time finding loaners that fit before every lesson. I’d rather spend time with the horse. :)
Starter gear doesn’t have to be fancy. Riding helmet (not bicycle!) starts around $ 50 at Western Wear in downtown Redmond. Ankle riding boots (flat sole, slight heel — for safety reasons) start around the same price at Issaquah Grange (Western Wear has mostly cowboy boots). Prices go up depending on materials, comfort, and style.
I’ve always been curious about horses, though never had much opportunity to learn much until recently. My short experiences are spurring me (haha!) to learn all I can.
So, if you’re a newbie like me, be prepared to observe, learn, and participate. Come with an open mind about caring for, working with, and building relationships with large, living, and feeling beings. Treat them the way you’d like to be treated, hopefully with respect, consideration, patience, and kindness. Because your mind and emotions affects your experience and the horse’s.
Horses survived and evolved by keenly sensing threats and running from them — fast! Training hopefully removes most of that fear. But they sense things that we don’t, so if they think they must react, they sometimes fall back on their instincts.
Move confidently but not aggressively or unpredictably around them because they look to you for leadership. Learn how horses interpret body language and what looks like predator behavior to them. Rent documentaries and get picture books about horse behavior from the library. I recommend «Buck» and «Wild Horse, Wild Ride».

Let me start by saying that overall, it does not average out to be that great because the complaints I have read on here are valid. Let me get into that later (listed at the bottom of the review) but first, why I enjoyed this experience.
This place is small and «real». I respect and enjoy the fact that they are a real down to earth barn with horses. Sure, they are not the renown best horses in the world or anything but, true to life, good horses and they seem happy there with the people who know how to care for and keep the horses serving a purpose in life.
That being said, a genuine little place like that will not have the proper space for parking and/​or have a reception staff to answer phone calls. When you get there you will see that it is an actual country life. Leave your city thinking behind on expectation and embrace the adventure and relax in this country atmosphere.
I found the trainer and staff helpful and I would rather have the staff that she has on hand keeping an eye on customers and their children than to be sitting somewhere answering phones. I enjoyed the fact that they not only gave me a lesson in riding, but showed me and experience with the horse as well.
Here are the difficulties I had (which you should be aware of and have proper expectations) other than a great experience otherwise:
The phone. I realized that while I was there waiting to see if I could talk to someone about the parking situation, the phone rang where the boots were. Aaah, I see now. The phone is at the barn as stated literally on their website. That is why they have cell phone numbers for direct trainers for direct contact if required.
When I got there, there was parking for 5 cars but only 3 SUV’s parked by soccer moms could fit since no one seems to know how to park considerately. With lessons being back to back and at 4~5 people at a time, having a lot that can’t fit that many cars to be logistically swapped out is not ideal. They should either schedule accordingly so we don’t have to deal with the swap logistics on parking spaces or explain to the people who are parking that they should make room for others. I can’t blame or rate the establishment based on their customers lack of IQ so I did not take this out on the rating.
Conclusion, as people said here, this place is «no frills», very genuine, great people, great down to earth training, good instruction, and feels real with lots of info and anything you want to know. Think «Laid back» and relax when trying to experience this place; it will help. It is difficult to hear in the barn so don’t be afraid to ask or say you didn’t hear. This will also help you.

Once we were able to schedule lessons (after 3 months of calling), my daughter really enjoyed them. Very nice instructors, and the lessons were good. Definitely a no-​frills facility.

I think they may be hard to get on the phone (you are dealing with customers, horses, and lessons… so answering the phone may not be a priority) but they usually respond by email within a day or two. This is a no frills barn that is perfect for a beginning rider. Most riders begin trotting on their first lessons and soon progress from there. It is the cheapest barn I have found in the area, for what they offer. Their horses are old but well cared for and I think they are caring folks. Be sure to pet the mini goats and bunnies in the barn when you visit. My daughter has been riding here for 5 months (1x a week) and she enjoys the lessons and her instructor. I like that they ride different horses and develop skills controlling and riding different horse personalities. I would recommend Cedar Grove for the beginner.