The Dancing Horses Theatre — Attraction in Town of Delavan

The Good: There are 13 mini performances that make up the show, 6 of them are pretty cool with unique tricks. The trainers were very knowledgeable. The horses seemed very well cared for.

The Bad: The ceilings are low so the barn smell lingers in the air. No assigned seating so if you have a big party you better come early so you can sit together. The show started late. The seven performances that are not interesting have very little variety. The transitions between performances are filled with a very archaic slideshows that looks like it was made 20 years ago. Two of the performances don’t even have horses, just some very standard dance and hoop routines. The handler was getting noticeably frustrated with the horses that were not following her commands. During the behind the scenes tour I was under the impression we would be able to let the horses, because the worker said we could, but the tour ended quickly and we were ushered out before we could pet any horses.( The BTS tour was also extremely short, but it was also only $5)

The Ugly: There were kittens for adoption in the main lobby, there food and water were filled with litter, I pointed this out to an employee and the cleaned the food dish, but not the water dish. During the behind the tours tour, the main trainer made a passive aggressive snide comment to another employee in front of everyone. There was a crying baby during the behind the scenes tour, and yes the parents should have taken it outside, but the main trainer was making more unprofessional passive aggressive comments about the baby in front of everyone. It costs $2 for MAYBE a handful of animal food for the petting zoo.

What’s most frustrating was the state of the other animal exhibits. There are exhibits with more exotic animals behind the horse buildings. ALL of the exhibit’s outdoor water bowls were empty on a hot day, and I don’t think any of them had any enrichment items. The company uses interns, who I assume are unpaid , to provide free labor for the petting zoo, but still don’t take very good care of some of their animals.

If you’re in the Lake Geneva area and need an animal fix, try the Geneva Safari, just try to go earlier in the day so the animals aren’t full by the time...

I live 3 miles from their location (here only 3 years) but never heard anything about it. We went there today to celebrate my BD and Valentine's Day. And OMG! What a remarkable experience. We went to the bird show first, which was definitely worth seeing if you love animals. But the grand performance- oh my! The visual effects and music were a wonderful backdrop to these endearing and beautiful horses. The riders and trainers obviously love these animals. An addition to one feature was an aerial artist who could be a quality act in any major circus. By the end of the show the audience was in love with the horses (who stepped up on the platform right in front of the audience)- they were beautifully groomed, sleek, and all the costumes were exquisite, at times breathtaking. Is it a bit pricey? Yes, but many of the staff live onsite and these are mostly Arabian horses, and many different venues within the extensive grounds (we're going back in the summer to see more). The remarkable person whose vision resulted in this truly amazing undertaking was sitting quietly by the door. In this quiet, little town is not the place you'd expect to find an offering such as this, which would be welcome in any larger venue. It is first class and the animals are lovingly cared for and trained. Please visit it and spread the word to everyone who appreciates not only first class entertainment but loves and appreciates working animals (and of course, horses). Children in audience loved it as well, and the performance went non-stop. They could have a pony ride around the arena (extra fee) prior to performance; he is 26 and a sweet love with beautiful garments. Grandparents, spend the day here with any age grandchild; they'll never forget it. And look for adorable "Harley," a mini with his own act. Please help these dedicated people spread the word of this more than...

The horses and their trainers were fantastic. You can really see the bond between them show through their work. Unfortunately that is the only good part. The mother and daughter owners were unbelievably rude and were fighting in front of guests. The show started with the daughter telling the "completely true, absolutely real " story of her mother (it was the story of a girl and her love of horses. It wasn't that unbelievable). There was a lot of video in between acts, which in itself isn't bad; the performers need time to prepare in between the acts. However, the videos looked like they were made in the 90s with low quality footage of horses running, the narration was super cheesy, and it was riddled with typos. The venue was small and run down, the building smelled of urine, and the various other attractions were in great need of restoration. And please, don't ever use "God bless [tragedy], [tragedy], [tragedy]" during your speech to make you feel good about yourself. Bringing up the Vegas shooting and California fires at a family friendly horse show? Completely ridiculous.

The work of the horses and trainers is the only saving grace of this show. It was entertaining, but not worth going back unless the mother and daughter can figure out their priorities and leave personal...