myakka river ranch - private rides

I purchased the 60min trail ride as a group deal. I easily contacted the owner and arranged a date and time out of several options. When the day came we arrived about 30 mins early and relaxed at a table until the horses were ready. Our guide gave us a few quick pointers on riding (it was my first time) and helped us up onto the horses. The ride circled the ranch and went through several pastures and around a pond. At the end we were helped down and were off on our way.

It was a perfect Saturday morning for a great trail ride and Dasha Cole delivered. With Hercules, General Lee, Princess, and Picasso we set off for a nice leisurely trot on this peaceful trail. The horses are stunning, friendly, spunky and trained. Dasha, the owner guides you and shares her 40 acre spread with you. Truly a magnificent way to spend an hour. There are other options available too. Like a perfect team building - horses and BBQ by a small lake that she can rent out to you. Extremely reasonable and given the love and care these horses have, there's no doubt the experience will be a positive and fun time. This is excellent for beginners and those who haven't been on a horse in a while. Great for teens, dates, and couples.

My husband and I went for the trail ride and had a great time! The horses were kind and beautiful. Dasha, the owner and her friend Jaro accompanying us were so friendly and full of information about the area and the horses. Since we're both beginners we enjoyed the slower pace on this trail ride. Thanks again Dasha for this great experience. I'm sure we'll be back! Conny

I am sorry to say this was very boring. Our hour ride was really 45 minutes of going in circles in a dead field and through some trees. The guide barely spoke and the horses were tripping over huge roots in the path. That could be very dangerous if the horse couldn't recover and broke his leg and tumbled with the rider. There were also a couple of holes we had to guide our horses around so they wouldn't get a leg in and fall down. Someone needs to fill the holes and either change the path or get out and remove the big roots above ground. I think the area may just be too small so they are forced to go in circles. For a first timer this might be okay because you don;t know what you are missing. I prefer the rides that takes you through nice wooded areas, streams etc with some nature to look at. On this trip we only saw some cows in a field and a couple in a small pen. No restrooms on site which might be a problem after a long car ride and then a horse ride. The grounds/barn were not nice. The owners were very nice and I hope they can fix this place up and make it successful. For now I would not go back,

So, the only reason I am giving the attraction 4 stars is because we had a 2 pm start time and they said they were overbooked and moved us to 3 pm. Since you are in the middle of nowhere, its kind of a tough place to find anywhere to spend a few minutes, but we made the best of it, went to Arcadia and had a quick lunch. So, the staff (that seems to be of Czech/Polish persuasion) is extremely helpful and nice and the horses are great. We rode around for about 75 minutes or so and it was a great time, riding a horse is one of those things that is awesome, because you make a connection with the animal and it takes some patience and a calm, cool demeanor to be good at it. We shared the experience with two more riders, who were terribly inexperienced and did not really know what to do or expect and acted extremely frightened and were not in control, which is OK, because the horses were pretty cool and laidback. As far as the scenery someone mentioned, its a farm, I am not sure if they expected Gone With the Wind and a beach front scenic ride, but that did not take from our experience at all, it was really cool. My only regret was that I wanted so bad to have the horse go faster and I almost did it once or twice, when we got into the big fenced in area (within the farm), but did not do that, for safety reasons. Overall, great experience, wonderful horses and staff. Recommended. Yes, they do not have public restroom facilities on site, once again, it is a farm. Pee before you get there people.

When you first pull up it looks like a rundown stable and farm,BUT the animals are very well maintained and the owner is very hospitable and knows all about her animals. She has only owned the ranch a short time and is working hard to fix up the place. Most of her animals are rescued and she has nursed some back to good health, she does not over work any of her horses and has retired a couple due to some health issues. So they have a good home to live out there days. Anyone who wants to gallop and over use these animals don't go here. She takes excellent care of her animals and if you listen to her talk you can hear the love she has for them. We enjoyed our leisurely ride and listened to her talk about all her horses. She has a Russian horse very rare that I was lucky enough to ride named Tika. If you have a love for horses and want to enjoy a pleasant ride take the drive to Myakka River ranch

This place is a joke! NO RESTROOMS. Horses dirty, poorly kept in old barn. The beautiful sandy arena, public stands for viewing equestrians events shown in the pictures, is not the same arena there. The pictures show beautiful fields with lots of wildlife to see with rivers and creeks to cross. Not so. Rode around for 90 minutes. Didn't see 1 animal, bird, water, or even cattle, etc. We mostly saw broken down barns and shacks. We also rode around in circles just to make the ride last long enough. What a disappointment! Don't trust the pictures or the video. Don't waste your money!

We used a Groupon and got more than our money's worth. Of the four of us, two of us were complete beginners and we were paired up perfectly with a horse that would gently lead us around the beautiful property. Our guide was friendly and helped give us directions when needed. The owner was kind and patiently answered all our questions about the horses, the business and the property. We happened to arrive back a few minutes early and, with some instruction and a guide, they allowed those who wanted to go a little faster to go for a spin around the field. One thing we liked about our experience was that many of the horses are rescues. We forward to returning sometime.