Rolling Hills Ranch — Attraction in South Fayette Township

I'm not really one to write reviews, but this time I just couldn't help the urge to do so. I am writing simply for the sake of potentially warning somebody, particularly with kiddos, who may need to hear this...

I have ridden horses and participated in equestrian care/activities at many different stages of my life and have seen the consequences of somebody not taking riding seriously or safely more than once. This also goes for a foolish younger me.

I currently work professionally as a registered nurse and have seen plenty of terrible accidents as well as health crisis, not to mention I have also lived through my more than fair share of life vs death situations personally.

All that to say, I hope you take this review as credible.

Now, I also want to mention that I do love riding horses when done properly and in the safest / most prepared ways possible. It's a thrilling activity and an experience like none other!

However, my story at Rolling Hills Ranch essentially goes like this...

My group of mostly beginner, young adult riders, set off into the woods with minimal training, no safety briefing, no equestrian education, just: "Pull left to go left, right to go right, and back to stop".

A few of our riders horses got startled by a rabid raccoon, that the staff was semi-aware of, while in the woods. One of our riders got thrown off their horse and suffered minor injuries. One of the beginner riders was trotted through the woods completely out of control and alone. The guides were under trained for the encounter. There was clearly no significant medical knowledge or emergency plan if the injuries sustained were worse (which they could have been very easily in a multitude of ways). And, it was all handled pretty immaturely with humor. The only good things were that some riders were driven back on an all terrain vehicle afterwards and that we were given a full refund after the ride was cut short.

Though I understand horses can be unpredictable, and situations are sometimes out of anybody's control, I just hope the staff learned from the experience and that they have taken steps to make a plan to better their overall ride safety, to be more prepared for emergencies or other medical issues, and to avoid/deal with diseased/horse startling animals or events in the future...

And maybe it was just a bad day and a fluke encounter... so if you do go to rolling hills ranch to ride, I'm sure it can be fun, but wear a dang helmet. Also do some education/training beforehand, be prepared for emergencies, speak up and challenge the staff to be responsible and accountable when things aren't going fun or don't feel safe to you (regardless of your age) and probably don't take any children under 12 or anybody with physical or mental deficits that could put them at even more risk...

I hope this review...

An amazing experience!! 💯🤗 When you arrive, you're greeted by horses in their stables. They're not horses to ride. They are actually someone's pet. (Horse owners pay to house their horses here.) They were pretty friendly as they stuck their necks out to be nebby and for a quick pet. (You're aloud to pet them. Right next to their stables, there's a sink with soap and towels to wash your hands.)

First, they'll have you sign a waiver and you can choose to wear a helmet or not. You don't get to choose your own horse, the staff does it for you. The stable handler looks at you; looking at your height and weight. Then, they select the appropriate horse for you. In fact, one of my friends who went with me is a big dude, mainly weight wise. (He's slightly heavy but solid). The horse selected for him came out and stood next to my friend. This horse was built bulky, solid and thick. You could see muscles on his body. He was beautiful and dark brown! This horse was a great match for my friend.

So eleven of my family and friends went. Each horse had their own personality and they were gentle for the most part. My girlfriend's horse got a little temperamental with another horse in our group but nothing out of control and it was funny! It made my friend a little nervous but we were cracking up laughing!

The horse I had rode was graceful, gentle and beautiful (white)! Out of the bunch, he was the only one who stopped, stayed behind and ate leaves from a tree. (He took a little snack break). Him and I were the only ones at the top of the hill as the group left to head back to the stable. I stroked and patted the horse and told him to take his time. I didn't mind him eating nor was I scared that the group had left. It was pretty interesting to see him eat up close and personal. (I saw all his teeth). I didn't even panic when I was left behind because it wasn't for a long period of time. Actually, I n could see the instructor at a distance and he saw me. After my horse finished eating, he then gallops quickly, (not fast), but he did pick up his pace to catch up with the others. He's my favorite horse!! (I won't mention his name because I don't want too many others to ride him. I don't want him to work too hard. I'm trying to preserve and keep him all to myself). Lol 😏

The ride was a little more than an hour, (maybe about a mile away.) Besides the horse in front of me walking and pooping at the same time, which was disgusting, yet interesting to see! (Their poop is huge and a lot of it comes out). However, it was a pleasant and perfect ride! What a relaxing and fun experience!!

Last but not least, the staff were welcoming, friendly and visible. Todd, the instructor, was super entertaining and funny!

I'll be going back to the...

My family went there for a fun thing to do on the weekend, we have been horseback riding multiple times in different states, and in Costa Rica, and this was by far the worst experience. When we got there we checked in good, and the main lady was nice, they gave us beginner/intermediate horses. The people who gave us our horses didn’t know or tell us the names of our horses. We started off with this very nice young woman who was talking to us and being very friendly, my family really liked our experience with her, she had medium length brown hair in a bun. But the group ahead of us had very skidish horses, I don’t know why they had those horses because they had clearly expressed that they were very scared and first time riders (I felt bad that they were given such skidish horses especially for being first time riders). The guide we had previously switched off with another guide so that she could guide this group back. I believe our new guides name was Dakota (he had blonde hair that was slightly long). I did not like him, he introduced himself and then trotted ahead, when he thought we were going to slow he would yell to kick our horses. I understand you have to kick the horse sometimes but he was so impatient that when my horse was drinking water he was yelling at me to kick it. He was constantly on his phone and could care less. We wished that we still had our old guide because she was wonderful. When we got into the woods he left and we were on our own which I genuinely appreciated because his attitude was just getting to be too much. He said to keep to the left but the trails were very poorly marked and were not explained well. The horses did not follow commands and would stop whenever you tried to steer them a different way. They also never trotted and would get upset when being steered. The horses will go the way they want to go and that’s that. I felt bad for the horses though because I don’t believe they were treated super well, but they were overall nice horses. The difficulty of the horse does not mean it will trot more, it just means that it has a harder time following directions and is more dangerous, especially when you are on a trail by yourself and the horse won’t move. The ride that was supposed to last a minimum of 1 hour only lasted 35 minutes. Not worth your money and it’s a ripoff. I recommend really doing your research and hopefully you can find a better place to...