Running Horse Ranch

We had such an epic experience driving ATVs with our 14 year old son. Super recommend this location, Daniela is awesome!

HAPPY HORSES KEEP YOU SAFE !and they give you so much enjoyment. I needed much recovery from the trail ride from 2 days ago at one of the trail trails rides at Griffith park, which was the worst experience. The experience with Running Horse Ranch and the trail ride in Griffith park ( I had the worst riding experience. Pls see my previous review if you like ) was like Day and Night. Daniela and her daughter Ichella are great. Daniela is from Germany and They know their horses. I see their tremendous love and passion in the horses when I talk to them. Well loved and taken care of horses are reflection of what they do to their horses. And it shows. This is not your drugged up nose to tail ride. These horses are astute and well mannered and still spirited which my husband appreciates. Their riders (guests) are their primary concern.Daniela and Ichella took time to walk us through with tips and instructions. They let us practice with handling horses and trotting in the arena to make sure that we understand fully at mental, emotional and physical level before we went for a trail ride. Our horses were MUSTANG and ARABIAN. I know both were hot blooded and sometime can be hard to handle. But I always wanted to ride Arabian horse. Surprisingly they were both calm and very well mannered. It was such a pleasant ride. The ride was on terrific single track trails with steep up and downhill sections. Longer rides would put you up on the ridge on the pacific crest trail. Wow. I would recommend this to anyone who is experienced and wants a real ride.

If you have experience in riding and want to sharpen your skills, while challenging yourself and having fun, this is a place for you. If you want a trail ride with a automatically trained horse, this ride is not for you. Daniela was EXTRAORDINARY. We did a little 101 in the arena before we hit the trails so I would feel comfortable back in the saddle. She stresses the bond between the horse and the rider be formed before you commence. Once you going though, get ready to dodge and duck some serious branches! We chatted the whole ride; she's super knowledgable about horses and her dedication to their wellbeing shows.This trail was an experience where I actually felt in control of my horse and felt challenged along the trails, navigating different types of terrain and climbing steep cliffs. This is not for the weak! Bring a water, she'll make you break a sweat.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and so worth it. I absolutely want to stay for a visit and make a trip out of the ranch itself instead of the 2 hr ride.

Daniela is such an amazing host. I went quad biking with a group of 12 and she gave everyone coats and gloves! She made sure we were all comfortable and ready to go! Make sure you dress warm. It gets very cold up there.

If you are an experienced rider and looking to have an exciting trial ride without contributing to the abuse and neglect of horses, this is the place for you. I must warn you that if you are not an experienced rider, you may not have the best time since the trails are steep and challenging (one person in my group underestimated her ability to ride and had to get off and was escorted back to the barn because she could not navigate her horse through low branches and got scraped up). However Daniela was very patient and understanding, making sure that the rider was ok. Daniela was very cautious and made sure that everyone in our group was comfortable before going out on the trail. She puts the health and safety of her horses and their rides first which is the reason why I chose to come here. I will definitely be coming back for more rides. I would love to try the 5 day camping ride when I can get enough time off work. If you decide to book a ride I guarantee you will be satisfied if you are knowledgeable with riding.

HIGHLY recommend!! I can't say enough about Daniela, her horses, and the experience out in the trails. The bond that Daniela has with her horses is incredible, and her horses treat her and all visitors so well in return. I went on the Full day ride, and it was truly unforgettable. I live nearby in Los Angeles, and had the option to sleep at the property or commute to the barn the morning of the ride. I chose the latter, and it was very easy to find the stables in the morning. I met Daniela at the barn, we met the horse I would ride (Pia) to get to know each other and develop a bond with that horse (this I really appreciated and made me feel very safe!). Daniela tacked up Pia, talked me through how Pia is to ride, and we took Pia into the arena to get to know her and warm up with walk/trot (note: I have many years of riding experience, and ride regularly). Daniela tackle up her horse, and we took to the trails. We rode for hours and had SO MUCH FUN!! The trails were technical and for intermediate/experienced riders. The horses are so safe. I can't say enough about how kind/friendly Daniela is, and can't recommend this experience enough. Safe to say, I will be back soon!! :D

My husband and 2 son's had a great time driving ATVs to celebrate a 21st bday and 2 graduations from college and high school. Thank you so much for making a great day a lasting memory for my family.

This place is fantastic. My wife and I went for the Beginners riding experience and Daniella and her daughter took great care of us (and the horses). We were introduced to the horses and spent some time earning their trust - and vice versa - before getting in the saddle. We learned a lot about the foundations of riding, and got to see some lovely sights. Don't let the lack of reviews scare you off - Daniela didn't ask us to write a review and I think a lot of her visitors are international. You can find more reviews on Google. The horses seem happy and very well taken care of, and you can be confident that you'll be taken care of as well.Can't wait to return for some riding lessons!

I just got off of the phone with Daniela. It was not a pleasant call and I think we both may have lost our cool a bit but I will try and represent it as fairly as possible. My partner and I booked a horse riding trip with Running Horse Ranch a few weeks ago as we were coming to Los Angeles to visit family over Christmas. Daniela asked us to make a 50% downpayment for the Pacific Crest Trail to Bear Camp half day ride (which includes accommodation). We did so and were excited for the experience. After booking we found out that we were pregnant and went online to see what that meant for horseback riding. Most info seemed to suggest that it was not a major issue, and not wanting to be alarmist, we thought that this probably meant it was fine. Plus we were really excited to go riding.However, on the day of departure to LA, two days before our Friday booking for the ride, my partner had her first ultrasound. Talking to the doctor afterwards we found out that we had twins. Which was exciting. We also found out, after asking, that my partner was NOT to go horseback riding. Which was a bummer. We were surprised, but it seemed unwise not to heed the medical advice of our doctor. I immediately called Daniela to explain the situation. I acknowledged (and still do) that this was very short notice and put her in a tricky position, but asked whether, if a refund were not possible, if she might have the flexibility to hold the refund until after the birth and we were back in LA when we could complete the booking. She said that she would need to discuss with her husband and to call back on Friday. Which I just did.During this call she said that she was going to keep the deposit, but that we could go on an ATV ride instead. This didn't seem like a solution as it seemed that if the doctor was ruling out horses that this would probably also apply to ATV rides. Plus, neither of us has interest in ATV rides. But it was nice of her to offer. I then asked whether this meant postponement was off the table, as we would still really like to ride, and if possible not lose the downpayment. Then things took a bit of turn. First Daniela said that their prices would probably go up next year. I said we would be happy to pay the difference. Then she said that we could book for next year if we chose a date right now, which I simply could not do as we both live over 2000 miles from LA and do not know our work/travel schedules a year in advance. When I asked if it were not possible to leave the date open (our original hope) she repeatedly said that we were costing her $300. At this point I became a bit frustrated. Honestly, if Daniela had simply taken a compassionate approach/tone and said sorry, but that's the rule, I would have been fine with that. Sometimes things like this happen. Instead, however, it was a complaint about how much we were costing her. And when, annoyed, I pointed out that since we had paid half she was only losing $190 (and plus we would not be using horses/instructor or the room) she claimed that we had only paid $90 (which was false). There was no acknowledgement that we were both 'losing' $190 in this transaction. At this point it was clear that the conversation wasn't going anywhere and so I told her that I was going to go, but that I would leave a review that reflected my experience with her business. That was probably not the best comment to make at this point, and Daniela became angrier, saying that I had 'no experience with her business' and that I was threatening her and that she would contact Google and knew how to get my comment removed. To be clear this is not a comment about a riding experience. I'm bummed that it looks like I won't have that experience. But it is a comment about how rude and unpleasant my interaction with Daniela was.

Our party of 5 was at least 20 minutes late, our never mentioned it! We had an amazing time, the course was great, it started easy and ended difficult. The view was breath-taking. We definitely enjoyed ourselves. See you soon.