Liz Sanchez Training Stable

Granddaughter has been attending lessons for over two years. She loves the lessons and the camps. Liz is wonderful with our granddaughter and has always been very attentive to any questions we have asked. COVID 19 guidelines have been followed since the outbreak began. This is very important to my wife and I as we happen to be in a high risk group due to age.

My daughter is 7 and began working with Liz July 2024. She started with her summer camp & then began weekly lessons. We have been extremely loyal clients - never missed a lesson & Liz even had my daughter help new students from time to time. Everything went well for the past 7ish months but things changed on our session (Feb 8th), & we unfortunately experienced the side of Liz that other negative reviews have mentioned. We arrived to our appointment about 10min early as usual. Liz was not there yet but like normal my daughter went to the tack room and got all the supplies ready for the horse she has been riding for the past few months (Brick.) Once Liz got there, I said bye to my daughter & went to my car (Liz does not allow parents to watch their kids.) About 5min passed and my daughter ran up to my car sobbing, I thought she was injured (she has NEVER cried the way she did that day, and certainly never acted this way during a lesson.) She explained to me that Liz was demanding that she ride a different horse than her usual horse. Liz wanted my daughter to ride a horse named Sonata & my daughter has ridden this horse in the past but has expressed very clearly that this horse makes her uncomfortable/ scared because it gets spooked easily. I got out of my car & went to talk to Liz (who was clearly annoyed and upset with my daughter.) I told Liz that my daughter (7YO) is nervous with that horse, can we try a different horse. Liz proceeded to belittle my daughter in front of another student and told her "a real horse girl can ride any horse" and "you are making me very cranky today." I was shocked!!! I didn't know what to say or do, so I insisted that she let my daughter ride a horse she was comfortable with. It states on the website that riders are matched with horses for a comfortable and enjoyable riding experience, why would my 7YO be forced to ride a horse she was afraid of when their were so many other options!? So finally Liz agree's to let her ride Bonnie, and my daughter feels much better about this horse. After this situation, I decided I'd sit on the benches near the tack room, rather than go back to my car incase my daughter needed me. Liz gives me a nasty look and tells me "you need to leave my property, bye now!" - keep in mind, I've sat at those benches countless times with other parents. I went to sit in my car, & during that time I saw Liz leave my daughter/ the other student & go talk to her staff multiple times! It is now 40min into the lesson and they are barely getting to the arena to ride. The lesson ran almost 30min overtime & caused the next group of kids to be late for their lesson. Liz blamed my daughter & told her that they were running behind because of her "bad behavior." My daughter left this lesson in tears & it took so much reassurance for her to understand that this was not her fault. If a child is uncomfortable they should feel safe to express their feelings & a good teacher/ instructor would have the patience and compassion to help the child feel safe. Liz did the exact opposite, blamed my child, and made her feel horrible. Let's get this straight - my daughter was not crying/ upset because she wasn't able to ride the horse she has been with for months (Brick). She was crying and upset because Liz was demanding and angry that my daughter was fearful of riding Sonata, (but she was happy & willing to ride Bonnie!) I knew after this experience I would never return & risk my daughter being bullied/ treated unfairly especially when I am not around to defend her - she is a little girl! To top it all off, Liz (without my consent) charged me an extra $10 for that lesson because of "my daughters bad behavior and for putting her behind schedule for the rest of the day." Be very cautious taking your child here, as Liz has a tendency to switch her emotions quickly. This leads to fear, anxiety, & major damage to a child's confidence within this amazing sport. Luckily there are many other stables who focus on child safety, comfort, and even allow the parents to watch their kids ride!