Roadrunner Tours LLC. — Attraction in Taos

I am honestly shocked that this business has any positive reviews at all. Poor planning, misinformation, rude management (to customers & staff), chaotic procedures, no safety precautions… I am a local in Taos County and wanted to take visiting family on a horse ride. I have been w/other outfitters and had a pleasant experience. Based on reviews and location of Roadrunner Tours, I chose this outfitter for our next experience. It was a whirlwind of poor encounters from the beginning. I made a reservation for the High Meadows Tour: A four-hour ride in the Carson National Forest, the High Meadows tour follows a gorgeous trail up to the high meadows above Angel Fire where our guests can enjoy a mountain-top lunch. Note it says “ enjoy a mountain-top lunch.” It NEVER STATES YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR OWN. I spoke with the owner twice on the phone, and she never mentioned the fact that we should pack our own lunch. The owner was thoroughly upset when we arrived “unprepared.” I went back over the website multiple times trying to figure out if I missed it. This was all I found: PROCEDURES: Please arrive Half Hour prior to your Appointment / Please wear proper attire / Bring water for your ride. / Customary Tip for our Guides (approx. 18-20%) NEXT- we go to the corrals loaded with apples and one lunchable (to share btw 4 ppl) she provided and our bottles of water. We stood around with no direction. She began yelling at the staff, openly berating them for their choices in horses for ride, moving horses, and having two novice riders with zero experience climb on a horse with no instruction or safety explanations. THEN THE GUIDE- the guide was experienced and kind, but again, gave no effort in providing tips or training to the new riders until we were 10-15 minutes down the trail. They were somewhat aware of our morning experience with management and continued to gripe about said management the entire trip. It is beautiful scenery and a lovely area to explore, BUT I had to help my family and worry about them riding all while needlessly hungry and listening to the expert complain about life, work, and love. CHAOS BACK AT THE CORRAL- when we returned, another ride was preparing to leave. The staff again argued right in front of us about who “had to take this one.” There were horses and people (including children) everywhere. I was uncomfortable pulling 5 more horses in while kids were mounting up, so I asked where we should go. Can you guess? Yes, they stuffed us right in there with the other families and children. We were literally leg to leg. Horses were moving back and forth and side to side. If one had gotten spooked, many things could have gone wrong and untold injuries could have occurred. I will never go back or subject anyone to such...

Beware that there will be an 18% tax applied. I couldn't find out why. I looked up the taxes that apply there and the rate was 7.7708%. The experience: We called and reserved a 2 hr ride for 3 adults. Nancy said to arrive 30 minutes early and we did. Then, there was some confusion over the reservation and she had us doing a 1.5 hour tour. So, when we corrected her, she took some time doing the math for our 2 hour tour and charged our card. No receipt. We went out to the horses and had a little wait while the cowboy picked ours and his horse and fit us. We went on the ride through the forest. It was ok. I did like that the horse I had would actual respond. Most trail horses I have been on are glued to the tail in front and that is it. The cowboy was friendly and had some good stories. We asked it we could ride faster at some part and he said yes, but we never did. That was probably because we were already not using up enough time. When we arrived back at the corral, we then had about a 10 minute walking tour of the storage area to see the coaches and sleighs. We were back in our vehicle and pulling out at just under 2 hours after arriving on the property. Seems like we still got the 1.5 hour tour minus the time walking around looking at things in storage. It didn't feel like it was worth even the base charge when we finished. It wasn't until after we left and looked up our credit card charge that we realized we paid such a high "tax" when the tax site doesn't list any extra tax for this type of business, only a 5% lodger's tax. That shouldn't apply, so why an extra 10%??? I called later to ask what the total would be for 3 to see if it matched and she could tell me the total right away. I asked about the tax rate and she listed off a few that didn't add up to 18%. It did match the $407.07 we paid (not counting the additional recommended 20% tip to the cowboy). It makes it seem like all the calculating and giving a wrong total and then changing it was just to cause confusion. Maybe not, but it sure feels that way. We'll skip this stop next time we are in town and wish we...

Took my family horse back riding for the first time (I haven't been in about 35 years, so kinda my first time, too) to Nancy's ranch - very easy to book (I recommend calling and not dealing with the online set up as it doesn't seem accurate. Come the 30 minutes before hand for paper work, etc. The cowboys/girls are awesome - all want you to feel comfortable and have fun and enjoy the time there. The animals are beautiful, amazingly calm and easy to lead, and well groomed and kept. Leland was our cowboy guide and he was super funny and personable. Z was our lead and helped with my 9 year old on his horse and was amazing. I have to say - it may seem that having no issues is the sign of a good business, but I disagree - the true sign of a good business is well-trained employees who know how to deal with any issue or problem that may arise, because they can and do arise due to no one's fault at all. That being said, unfortunately we've ruined Leland's run of having no one fall off their horse on his watch. However - it was no one's fault - not even poor Blue who slipped while going downhill on a little icy patch. Just doing her job her feet went out and, since it was on a hill my 19 year old just popped off the saddle and was totally fine. Leland zipped over to him, had poor Blue calming and controlled before I could even turn around and see who popped off. Leland was so apologetic and asked a hundred times if Jonah was ok - he was just fine and we checked and Blue seemed fine as well. I'm sure for those large animals that would be so scary. Jonah hopped back on and we were on our way back to the stables. It was a glorious day with great people. I would recommend them to anyone wanting to have a fun time in the beautiful area...