We just had an INCREDIBLE horseback ride on the beach with the Monterey Bay Equestrian Center!It was our honeymoon and the ride was both super fun and romantic.Our guide, Charlie, was friendly, informative and obviously a master equestrian.He made us feel welcome, safe and comfortable the whole time!He even took special pictures of us on the beach and holding hands on the horses - pictures that we will treasure for a lifetime!We would definitely do this again!Highly, highly recommended!!!!!

DANGEROUS! STAY AWAY. They put my wife on a horse with behavioral issues. The horse was very erratic and my wife (luckily) insisted on asking for a helmet. After an erratic ride, they had her dismount on the CONCRETE of the parking lot. The owner did not have control of the horse and my wife fell onto the concrete after the horse took off during dismount. My wife has ridden horses for 30 years so it wasn't inexperience that caused the accident. She spent 5 hours in the ER and was told by the Hospital she was very lucky. However we are waiting for a MRI to determine why her shoulder still hurts almost a month later. When I called this organization the day after the accident I told them the LEAST they could do was refund the rides ($350 - my wife and son) and pay our $550.00 deductible from ER. After being told they would take care of it, they aren't answering my calls or returning my messages. Shameful. Stay away or risk what happened to my wife happening to one of your loved ones.

The horses were poorly groomed. Several of the horses were jumpy and tried to bolt. The one my husband was on bolted after 30 min on a 1.5-2 hour ride, then when he tried to rein in the horse, it reared. He was thrown, broke 9 ribs and his scapula. The Center never called us to see how he was or offer us our money back. The other couple on the ride had to bring the horses back. They were our friends, but what if they had been strangers and wanted to go on while we waited for the ambulance? Because there was only one guide, the other couple had to also cut short their ride. No offer of refund to them either. Wouldn't go back!

I booked us for a ride on July 2 at 1:00 PM. It was a beautiful day to go horseback riding (not too hot/cold.) We arrived about 20 minutes early at the parking lot (despite taking a wrong turn per GPS & address given to me). There was indeed a white horse trailer in the lot with two horses in it, but no one was around. A little before 1:00 pm, the Guide and the first riding party returned. After helping everyone off their horses and switching a couple of horses out, he had us complete paper waiver forms (I already signed e-forms online). Next, he helped an 11 yo girl get on her horse, then me and finally my husband. My husband wasn’t able to get on his horse during his first attempt. The lady on the phone told me they have “stairs,” but it was just a two-step plastic ladder that went up to the stirrup! Fortunately, he was able to get on his horse on the second try. We rode out in a single file (can’t recall the official name). Most of the ride was through the sand dunes area. We spent about 30 minutes riding on the beach. Our Guide was friendly and personable. He gave us basic horse handling instructions in the parking lot. Later, he gave us instructions along the ride (how to turn corners and spacing between the horses). The total ride was 1 hour & 15 minutes. That was plenty of time in the saddles! I’d recommend them for anyone interested in riding. Just be aware that you do need to have upper-body strength to get on the horse! The two-step plastic ladder only gets you to the height of the stirrup. You have to be able to left yourself up and over the horse. Also, getting a hold of them to book a ride takes effort. I sent an email and called twice before reaching someone to book the ride. That being said, it was a very enjoyable experience.

Hello, My name is Jack Spence, I scheduled a horseback riding at 2pm today. The instructor was 1 hour late due to delays that were understandable but it ended up taking place from 3-5pm. In scheduling the ride for our 1 year anniversary I thought we would be able to ride side by side on the beach like the photos suggest but we weren't allowed to. Additionally, the instructor was extremely rude and didn't adjust my girlfriends stirrups correctly which resulted in her knees hurting the whole time. When she asks if she could readjust it doing the ride(she assumed that an instructor would do it correctly initially) she refused and said she couldn't stop the ride. The instructor was also very rude and used a lot of profanity which was a large downer of the whole experience. She also talked the whole time which disrupted from being able to experience riding on the beach with your partner. In one instance, there was a group of guys talking around their car whom the instructor had a previous negative encounter with. Instead of deescalating the situation, she provoked them and said she'd want to shoot at their feet. I understand that she was frustrated at them, but she easily could have provoked this guys to rev their engine causing the horses to spook which already happened at the previous encounter. Overall, just really poor judgment and puts unnecessary risks to people around her.It could of been a great experience but at this I can't help but feel buyer's remorse.