Chisholm Trail Rides — Local services in Wills Point

My wife and I were in the Dallas / Ft Worth area for 4 days celebrating our 38th Anniversary and Valentine’s Day. I booked us a 2-hr sunset ride. My wife and I like to ride horses whenever we go somewhere on vacation but it’s often difficult to find a stable that (a) cares for their horses; (b) matched horses to the experience level of the rider; and (c) doesn’t just have group trail rides on horses you could fall asleep on. The folks at Chisholm Trail Rides did a great job. Since we’ve ridden quite a bit previously, we were given horses that had some energy! We had a private ride (with our awesome guide Chelsea) and we got to ‘let the horses go’ at various times which was great! Chelsea was extremely personable and a great guide. I was also impressed that before our little group mounted an left, there was a group of four riders (obviously beginners) that were going out and Chelsey and the other guide took the time to tell them several things that I’ve rarely seen other stables tell new riders - all of which no doubt made for a better ride.

I also liked the fact that they had small packs on each horse with a bottle of water and also room for our coats (it was nice when we started but going to get cooler later) and a small pouch for phones (that’s a story for later); I’ve rarely ever had stables use packs like these and it is very welcome.

Our ride was through a 30 acre wooded area with ponds. The ride was great!

Just before we finished, my wife realized her phone fell out of her back pocket (she shoved it way down but I guess it fell out when we were cantering with the horses - not sure why she didn’t put it in the zipped pocket on the pack 😳). So, we got the horses in and then Chelsea took us out with the Mule (four wheeled utility vehicle) to search for it. We weren’t able to find it and it was getting dark, so we left. When we returned to our hotel, we used the ‘Phone Finder’ and located the phone. The next day we drove out and asked if we could walk the property to go to the general area - and they graciously said yes. Then one of the managers (she will kill me because I forgot her name - I’m sorry 😔) came out with the Mule and helped us look on foot. We realized we needed to go back and use WiFi and the earth view to get a better location. As soon as we did, she knew exactly where it was and she went out in the Mule, located it and brought it back. We had the chance to talk to Ashley (the other manager) and she was awesome as well. They gave up an hour of their time today and almost the same amount of time yesterday helping us find it.

The ride was great; the area is perfect for riding for all levels; the staff are all super friendly and helpful. I would absolutely...

No, I do not recommend this place. April 24th, 2025 My friend and I were visiting from Michigan and had booked about 30 days in advance (April 1st) paying a 60 dollar deposit each. After calling several times upon arrival we were not let into the ranch until 5 minutes after our scheduled time... noting that it recommends you to get there early, so we showed up 15 minutes before. On the phone it seemed like they were unaware we even had a ride scheduled and said they were stuck in traffic and would be there soon.

One of the other ranch workers that finally let us in sat us at a table outside the barn where we waited for 30 minutes for our guide to show up. She said the scheduler on the website is not that great and apologized and said she would get the horses ready asap. (nothing bad about this interaction, she was very kind) Setting the horses up was another 15 minutes... at this point we've pet the dogs and the goats and we have looked at the horses. Then lightning struck and we were told that we had to wait out the lightning for at least 30 minutes, pay the rest of the bill (another 65 dollars) to get a ride credit, or get our deposit back and leave.

We waited for another 20 minutes had a good conversation, but ultimately decided we would just like the money back because we are visiting from out of town, but we would be sure to be back when we visit again.

an hour later we get a call, it is the ranch saying they apologize, but unfortunately they cannot refund the deposit because "WE WERE ALL PRESENT FOR THE RIDE" I politely explain that we were not all present, you were 30+ minutes late and if it had started at the scheduled time we would have ridden for 15ish minutes and been completely happy.

She went on to say, but ultimately it was the rain that kept us off the trail... I said there needs to be an exception because being 30 minutes late was not at all our fault and I asked to speak to the manager above her. She told me she would have her call me. I never received a call back or the deposit. The lightning was unfortunate, but understandable, the lack of accountability that this place had was not.

BTW their response is a complete lie... clearly some people have good experiences here, but the bad ones are very bad and this company lacks serious accountability. Blatantly stating we walked off after five minutes is actually absurd, I have multiple pieces of evidence proving otherwise and to blame it on us is outrageous. If youre lucky enough to have a successful ride, good for you, but if something goes wrong, it wont be on them, it'll be on you and thats a risk I would...

We came to Chisholm Trail Rides for a 2 hour sunset ride for my daughter's early birthday present. We were greeted when we arrived and after we got our helmets on Sydney explained to our group everything that we needed to know while we were there as well as what to do when we enter the area with the horses and how to steer the horses. She told us the names of our horses and helped us onto them. She was excellent with my younger daughter who had never rode before and she was nervous when she first got in the saddle on Peaches but she fell in love with her right away. My other 2 children rode as well and they loved it. My older daughter rode Smarty and my son rode Doc. For me it felt so great to be back up in the saddle again and I really enjoyed riding Spirit!! They all got more comfortable after riding in the ring a few times. When we got out on our trail ride my younger daughter got so comfortable that she asked to trot and she LOVED it!! It was the best birthday present for her because she had been asking to go riding for her birthday. We had Chelsea for our trail guide and she was awesome. She made sure that everyone was comfortable and if we needed any help or had questions to just ask. She helped my kid's when they had a little trouble with their feet staying in the stirrups as well as when their lead ropes were falling down. She got perfect pictures that we will have for our memories of the kid's first time horseback riding. I loved that I could ride next to my kid's or they could ride next to eachother when we got further down the trail. Thank You again Sydney & Chelsea for being so kind, patient, caring, and fun and for giving us a great ride today. The kids loved giving the horses that they rode their treats before we left as well. Also, Thank You again Laura for making my daughter's horse special for her with a unicorn horn, she loved it so much!!!! It was a great time and we will definitely be back again for...