Beavers Bend Depot and Trail Rides — Attraction in Broken Bow

Overall the guides were friendly and the trail was nice and easy for beginner riders. It was fun to see deer along our ride, and my kids loved it! From the start time to finish, it was 45 minutes.

However, there are some major SAFETY issues that need to be addressed. First, they had an eight year old give a 2-3 min lesson on how to ride a horse. As a parent, it was nice to see a kid taking leadership, but she rushed through the lesson so quickly, I could only understand about half of what she said. Definitely not adequate for someone who was riding for the first time.

Second, this was the first place I’ve been to where they did not require (or even provide) riding helmets for children or adults. I was surprised that after the very brief lesson, they just started putting people on horses. I’ve been on many beginner trail rides before, and they have always required helmets for children and either required or offered them to adults. It caught me off guard, so I didn’t get a chance to ask before we were up on horses and waiting for the ride to begin.

Third, they accidentally placed my 10 year old nephew (who has never ridden a horse before) on a horse in the wrong order, and didn’t catch the mistake. While we were waiting for the rest of the people to get on horses, his horse charged and attacked the horse beside it (because they were out of order), throwing him off. Thankfully, he wasn’t trampled...just a little sore and very shaken up. The man who loaded us on the horses said that my nephew had gotten out of order, but he hadn’t...I have pictures showing the order the guides placed him in. This was a very dangerous situation compounded by the fact that he wasn’t wearing a helmet and that he had such little instruction on how to turn a horse in the first place to get it back in order if he had wanted to.

We could tell the guides felt bad about the situation, but instead of apologizing and moving on, they spent much of our ride talking with us about other horse accidents that were worse (like my horse kicking the guide in the shins because it didn’t like the horse behind it, or a man being thrown off the horse my husband was riding). It ended up being more awkward and uncomfortable than enjoyable.

Overall, unless these safety concerns are addressed, I cannot in good conscience recommend this trail ride for children or beginner riders. I know horses are not robots, and they can do unexpected things, but that’s why things like riding helmets and adequate instruction up front are so important! I hope they learn from this situation and make changes to provide a safe trail ride experience...

Making Pregnant Women Cry 😢 September 2023 We went twice. The first time we only rode the train and had a blast. We have had really sad things going on with extended family at home, and we really needed to just enjoy some fun together. The man that runs the train is the kindest man we ever met, no lie, think Mr. Rogers kind! The second time was a disaster. The “owner” a short man with a real bullying mentality who runs the horse riding aspect was so rude and literally picked on a pregnant woman with two toddlers. It was shocking. My daughter has a very soft heart and she wanted to make sure and not be late to start the horseback riding so she kept telling everyone we have tickets for horseback riding at noon is it okay to ride the train first? Everyone assured her it would be fine. The train wasn’t quite the same, because it was crowded, but still fun. The conductor told the trail riding folks, “we have riders on the train,” and they acknowledged with a shake of the head. After the train ride the short man (we never got his name) was literally yelling in a very ugly manner who’s riding, hurry up, get over here. My daughter who was juggling the children pulled the tickets out of the backpack, and he said who has the tickets. When she said I do, he literally grabbed them out of her hands. At this point she was frazzled and said to him, “You’re welcome.” She went over to the front desk to let them know what had happened just so they would know and it wouldn’t happen to anyone else. He followed us over there and then came after her, yelling and screaming at her. He would not listen and just kept saying, “ if you don’t like it leave.” He even threatened to call the park rangers (I wish he had). I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. I kept sayin, “Sir, please, will you listen, please?” He did not, he kept saying, “I’m the owner.” The rest of the employees kept saying he has kidney stones. I hope he feels better soon. All he had to do was to say, “I’m sorry !” A real bully who picks on pregnant women with babies in...

Absolutely horrifying experience! I went there and was scrutinized by the staff because of my weight. Now before we made this 5 hour venture to their ranch, I went to their website and confirmed all the necessary requirements; including the weight limit. I weighed myself -numerous- times before leaving and I was well below the 250lb limit every time! However, when we arrived the gentleman with dark grey eyebrows kept looking at me up and down. He waited until everyone else had gotten on their horse, then pulled me aside, and asked "How much do you weigh?" and I answered honestly. He pulls out his scale and I get on. Next thing you know this scale is saying I gained an extra 20 lbs IN A SINGLE DAY! That just isn't probable! What's more likely- is that this scale was tared to scam people out of their money, because (you guessed right) NO REFUNDS AVAILABLE. They do a weight test after the customer has already paid. Then had the audacity to tell me "You should've made sure!" Not only did I weigh myself multiple times, with an accurate scale, but my significant other could attest to this as well. When we got home, I weighed myself three more times and wouldn't you know- I "magically" lost the 20 lbs this ranch claimed I had. This was entirely frustrating and emotionally scarring. I advise you not to waste your money here. Not only were they insensitive, but his treatment of me since he saw me was nothing short of his sizeism. And I'm not saying they should allow people past the weight limit, but I am demanding a truly calibrated scale be put at the front prior to payment. If they have nothing to hide, let the next person they weigh keep their dignity. If you aren't a more socially conscious business, you won't be around for long. Times are changing and so should...