I very much enjoyed my experience at the Claireville Ranch. Though, it has been a while since I have gone back. The most beautiful experience, our one hour ride seemed short lived as I enjoyed it so much.
Our guide was great, she thoroughly explained the rules and tricks to each of our horses. I thought it was fun being able to get familiar with the horse you choose. We began our trail in the woods, mostly learning how to "walk" and "trot", then eventually we hit a open field where we "cantered" our horse down the path. Its a great escape from the city view for an hour. The most upsetting part for me in this whole experience was having to say goodbye to my horse.
What I found more beautiful than having experienced riding a horse itself, was being able to watch the horses be let free into the open field at the end of the day (We took our trail on the last hour of the day before sunset). These horses spend all day in the farm pen, mostly working, eating, or resting until dawn. It was such a beautiful experience seeing how happy and free they felt that their work day was finally over. I plan on taking my daughter when she gets older, for $20 an hour ($10 coupon on their website) its definitely something Ill have to cross off my bucket list more than once.