Zephyr Cove Stable — Local services in South Lake Tahoe

I’ve debated what to say if anything, but I think I have a responsibility to advocate for the protection of others, so please read our terrifyingly disturbing experience. The trail conditions were not safe. The horses were not in good health and seemingly overworked. My dad’s horse fell on a rocky area of the trail because it was too narrow and too difficult to navigate. This spooked the other horses. My mom’s horse bucked in circles. My sister’s horse was super unsettled at the ledge so she dismounted to safety. My horse reared and lost footing causing me (on the horse) to fall off the side of a mountain. (This is not an exaggeration.) We literally fell off the side of the mountain. When I hit the ground continuing to fall, the rolling horse came straight at me. I am thankful I found a tree to roll under. I am alive today by the grace of God and nothing more. That accident very easily could have been my death without the miracle protection I received. My family having witnessed the entire trauma, my dad cried the next day stating he was sure he lost me. My sister said she knew those were the screams to my death and that I would not come back up. My mom, so mortified she could barely speak for days. My sister and dad both sustained injuries from trying to rescue me due to the trail conditions as well. Please read additional reviews of similar stories here and on google. I wish we read them before we went. Two weeks later, I am haunted by this traumatic event, every time I move my body there is pain and every time I close my eyes it replays. My children were nearly left without their mother because a business chose to run trails that are neglected and unsafe. Owners of this place need to take responsibility and correct this or close down due to hazards. It’s not safe. If you are the owners reading this, I would love to see your plan on correcting the matters listed. Your customers and your horses deserve that. We walked back on foot, after being thrown off a rearing horse down a mountain, we were reminded we signed a waiver when asked for a refund. The waiver doesn’t excuse you from common business practices of safety and maintenance.

It is so hard to even depict how intensely terrifying this activity turned out to be. Check out your other options.

(For the animal lovers: The horses were all fine, not any injuries that I am aware of. My horse was “May.” The one that...

The guides we had were very nice.. let me say that first before I get into my review. 10 minutes into our ride the guide's horse starting bucking and spinning on the mountain trail and the hourse threw her off and then tried heading back down the trail and spooked our horses. 3 out of 5 of our horses started clambering backwards, bucking and spinning and it frightened us. One of our girls had an anxiety attack and our guide was clearly hurt. She called to have another guide come and take us back.

When she arrived we told her that we wanted our ride to be done and we didn't feel safe. My back was sore from the horse jerking and one of the girls knees hurt. We were told we had to go up the mountain more and then we could come back.. which we understood. But the 15 to 20 minute ride back felt like it took forever. We were sore and tense.

When we returned the lady in the office, who i assume is the owner was very rude to us. She was rude amti us when she asked for our credit card numbers. Then blew us off and never apologized for what happened our explained what kind of refund she was giving us. I waited for her to finish with other customers and then asked her if they was a receipt for the refund. She acted put out and said she'd try to make one. I said that I was just wondering if it was a full refund because she never specified and she snapped back that it was.. but we were gone for an hour and we shouldn't get the refund. I was flabbergasted! I explained we were only 10 minutes in the trail before everything happened the rest of the time we were waiting for the 2nd guide and trying to make our way back in pain. She said "that's why you sign a waiver" and then claimed that I had attitude when I had been very pleasant with her up to that point

Would not recommend this place. As I said.. the guides were great and I hope ours was not hurt badly. I tipped both of them for their time. But the lady in the office is terrible. Akdi they don't give you a copy of the waiver.. they don't ask your weight to match you with a horse and the horses seemed tired already and it was a morning reservation.

We have rode horses in South Dakota and Wyoming and that experience was much...

My two friends and I went on an hour long ride. At one point, the guide stopped us to take a photo. My friend's horse was too close to the edge and my friend and horse fell down the side of the mountain! She was fine thank goodness aside from some scratches and bruises and horse was slightly injured on his leg. Our guide was amazing, tried her best to calm us down, take control of the horses, and keep this other horribly rude lady in our group in check. But the reason for the one star was the older woman who runs the place. Unclear if she's the owner or just the manager, but when we got back, she didn't even care that my friend was hurt. Didn't ask if she needed medical care, nothing. We asked for a refund for my friend only and she argued with us saying "that's why you sign a waiver." She did finally give a refund, but her attitude was horrendous. This place had great reviews but be careful if you want to try this place. The trails are a little dangerous for horse riding, the management is terrible, and honestly, I'm not convinced that horse just fell being too close to edge. That horse should have been able to pull himself up, I think he was tired and dehydrated having worked all day in the heat. Be careful with this place and definitely don't let your horse stand too close...