Susie Q Ranch — Attraction in Murrieta

I want to give 5 stars so bad, but I can’t for a big reason. My tour guide was amazing! He was so lively and entertaining. The issue was with an unauthorized charge. I paid $120 for a couples ride which it stated on the website. I received 2 emails, one stating that I owed a balance of $120 after booking the couples tour and another stating that I had paid the balance. All was good. I did receive another email days before my tour of a balance due of $135, which is $120 plus taxes as stated in the email. I’m thinking, hmm this has to be a mistake because I already paid the balance. Long story short, we get to Suisie Q’d and no one is in the office to check us in. The tour guide mentioned waiver forms and a balance, but I told him that all was taken care of online and that I had a print out of everything. He said I’m just the tour guide and that he believed us. Again, he was super cool and made us feel confident while riding a horse for the first time. We get back from our tour and we asked if we could feed the horses. So our guide brought us some carrots and we began to feed the horses. In the distance I seen a women looking down on us from the top of the hill. I assumed that it was Susie and waved at her in acceptance of my fun experience. A big smile was on my face as I waved. She waved back and walked towards her house. My boyfriend and I had finished feeding the horses and left.

By the time we reached home after going to lunch we settled in and something told me to check my account. I had seen that $135 was taken out of my account for Susie Q. I called and we talked about the charge that was NOT authorized. I authorized the first payment on the website, but I thought it was against the law to charge someone card without authorization of a charge. Just because you give your card information to a company, they can’t legally charge your card without authorization. So of course I was upset, especially because the website said $120 for a couple horseback ride.

Susie kept saying that I should look at the website because it was supposed to be $120 per rider. She also said that I was not the ONLY person to think that it was $120 for a couples horseback riding experience. She mentioned that she was 60 years old and is trying her best. We ended the conversion on a good note. She understood that you can’t just charge someone’s card without their authorization and I learned that I will never provide my credit card info on websites that I am unfamiliar with.

I was puzzled as to why she kept mentioning the website after our conversation. To my surprise, she had updated the site and the price now had a selection for each rider at $120 each. It was clear to me that manipulation had occurred but at who's expense? She sent me a text stating that she refunded the money. Later on I seen a email stating that there was a refund, but with a balance due of $135. I shook my head and thought for a moment. What is $135 worth to me and what is it worth to her?

I felt bad for her being an older women trying to run a business and maybe she did mean to have the price listed at $240 instead of $120. I will never know. I texted her back and authorize the charge of $135. Does this mean I will...

The Good:

Staff we’re very polite and helpful Horses were well mannered

The Bad:

I made my reservation months in advance for my wife’s birthday. I had explained that we were planning to go wine tasting afterward so we wanted to start our 90 minute private tour at 10:00. Staff said that due to the heat they would need to start earlier so we agreed on 9:30. One week before our trip I get a text that they “need to change my reservation to 8:00” without any other explanation. I imagined it was due to the elevated temperature (they said in our text conversation that they don’t run the horses if the temp will be over 90*) that was expected that day so I didn’t ask for clarification. Suffice to say, the time change ruined our wine tasting plans because we aren’t locals and didn’t want to hang around the area from 9:30-Noon. After returning from our ride (which I’ll go into next) I noticed another party that looked like they just arrived. While we were dismounting the woman helping us said that one of our horses was going right back out for another ride. I was confused, because it was now 9:30 when my original reservation was supposed to start, but “had to be moved to 8:00” and now this new group was starting their trip in my previous time slot. I was going to inquire as to why this was so, but as mentioned in other reviews, all the staff had suddenly disappeared.

There are only two trail rides listed on their website. Both describe meadows and valleys and the scene you will be riding in. It also states that the 90 minute tour has a photo-op of Temecula Valley. Not sure, but our 90 minute tour seemed more like the 60 minute. We just meandered through the local neighborhood and hit a loop at the end and headed back. We were never told that we had reached a “photo-op” location and if we had, there was no Temecula Valley view to take in. We did pass by a construction site, an abandoned tractor tire and what appeared to be a condemned meth house surrounded by trash. There are pictures of a stream bed and people on horseback on top of a hill here on google maps, but we never saw those places on our ride and that was part of why we went with Susie-Q. I did read in someone else’s review (after the fact) a response from the owner that the stream bed trail option is available, however, I didn’t see it on their website nor was I offered that option.

So I guess I’ll say that if you have kids that have never ridden a horse before, then this is a safe environment for them to experience riding a horse. However if you’re looking for a memorable horseback riding experience, you’ll probably want to try somewhere else and find somewhere far removed...

After reading all of the great reviews online, I was really excited to go here. I took my little sister here for her birthday, and we were surprisingly disappointed. I really, really wanted to like it here...

No one including staff and guests were wearing a mask. While we were outside and distanced, I asked if my sister and I were able to take off our masks and she said “no... because one of us had to...” I was confused because no one else was wearing a mask. I wondered why just us? There are other guests around. Was it because we were both... Asian? I became uncomfortable but brushed it off.

It was only my sister and I in the tour group for the 90 min ride and it was our first time ever riding a horse. Our tour guide didn’t introduce herself, didn’t talk to us the whole ride, and didn’t explain anything about horses or the environment. She rarely checked up on us, and at the end of the tour, didn’t say goodbye and just left. Another lady who I assume is the owner came to take a photo of us, helped us get off the horses, and that was that. No other comments or even a good bye.

I was confused because all of the reviews said that the staff were friendly and informative... I thought maybe I missed something or if this was how horseback riding is supposed to be... In a time of a pandemic combined with the recent stigmas against Asian communities, I wondered if we were being treated this way because of our race even though we were born and raised in Orange County. It did not feel like a tour, because no one talked to us or even treated us with respect. Regardless, I did not feel welcomed. The horses themselves were well trained and wonderful, but the overall experience was a little jarring. I was confused because I had never experienced anything like this from anyone before, maybe because I am usually with other white folks... It was really disappointing, but had to share my experience to hopefully create change in the way they treat their...