Hillcrest Ranch Boarding & Riding Lessons - Granada Hills, California

Oleg

Had an unpleasant return of my call from Shelly, who did not introduce herself nor listened to my voicemail. She asked me what my training goals are, ignoring my unfamiliarity with their capability. I said that I'd like to learn how to ride and possibly gallop. She immediately gave me a guilt trip that if they gallop the horses daily, their horses will die. This is illogical nonsense I should not be exposed to. She expressed no interest in my business and started categorizing me as a stuntman. Shelly made illogical conclusions without any inquiry into my situation. My understanding that a healthy horse would run and enjoy it in the wild daily. Perhaps, they have old or sick horses, however, the rider should not be at blame for this hypothetical death of their horses. A very unpleasant conversation with Shelly. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

dayna holiga

Very very clean facility, excellent pricing, wonderful turn outs, multiple round pens, excellent trails. Boarders have fostered a strong and helpful community with each other. Very accommodating owner! My horses are very happy and relaxed here.
Also very wonderful family atmosphere, kids welcome.

Vivian Arriola

My 10 year old is taking horse riding lessons and she loves it. The ranch is beautiful and peaceful. The people and atmosphere are lovely. It's the best!

Solenn AHMED

My daughter loves coming here every weekend. The teachers are amazing. The price is very affordable. And the horses are amazing.

iris james

This is a 5 star experience!
My daughter who is 6yrs old took a lesson just to see if she liked it. She didn't like it, she Loved it! The trainer explained everything about the actual care of the horses in language that was fun & functional for her age. The owner was personable, kind, flexible with times excellent with booking and all around so professional without being stuffy. We are 8 lessons in and not only is she progressing as a proper pony rider, her confidence and joy has increased exponentially. We've already booked for the next month! This place is the real deal.

Alex Partida

I was looking for riding lessons for my daughter and a friend recommended this ranch. I called Shelly a week ago in which she put us on her schedule for a week later. We arrived and she had no record of our booking. We drove from OC to take lessons at her facility and there were better ways of approaching this than completely disregarding and yelling at us as new customers. I cannot believe she operates business this way. My young daughter was terrified by the way she treated us. Really disappointed with the way the owner handled the situation. Poor communication and professionalism on her part as the owner.

Tevafukcuk Hayat

What an attitude! It had been a long time since I talked with such a rude person. If you hate people, don't work in customer service. It would be a great place to learn, but I won't try it again after this experience.

Horselover

My experience at Hillcrest Ranch proved to be a horrendous one. The Ranch was gorgeous and was well-maintained, friendly and professional Ranch hands, and exceptional trainers. However, the Ranch owner, Shelly, was an entirely different story. She was the epitome of cruel and irrational behavior, and her antics led to a high turnover rate among boarders, Ranch hands and trainers. Shelly had a reputation for frequently changing her mind and was known to be mentally unstable. She would yell at all her workers, from Ranch hands to trainers, causing numerous complaints from clients, boarders, ranch hands and trainers always quitting. Shelly has nothing but harsh words for people she comes across and would often speak poorly of them behind their backs, thinking they were unaware, but word gets out, everyone knows.
She even monitored her clients and workers with cameras, which was disturbing. Everything done was watched on camera. It's creepy, and no one goes to work happy. Everyone walks on eggs shells there, waiting for her to yell at them. Her reputation is well know around Granada Hills at this point. After visiting several other ranches I learned this quickly. I am much happier at my new location and have seen several of the people
who left Hillcrest here also.

Her behavior crossed the legal line, and I strongly recommend keeping a safe distance from Hillcrest Ranch.