Koli Equestrian Center

Had so much fun here today! Was a friend’s daughters birthday and these guys are so pleasant and friendly! What a great experience. I can’t wait to go back again.

We are a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 children, ages 7 to 16). We had a fantastic experience at Koli. We arrived late due to our own mistake, but Chuck was so friendly and accommodating. We had an amazing time! The landscape was beautiful and Chuck was informative and very fun to ride with! It was by far our best riding experience as a family. The 1.5hrs just flew by and the kids didn’t want to leave their horses :) They’re asking to come back to Arizona again, just so they can go riding at Koli!

We went on a ride as a package deal from Aji Spa. One of the guests in my group had two awful experiences on horses in the past and was extremely nervous to join us. The guide did a great job selecting a very calm horse for her, and regularly checked in that she, and the rest of the group, was comfortable. The guide told us all about the history of the area and we got to see a bunch of wild horses — it was absolutely amazing and the highlight of our trip. Thank you!

Chuck was my guide for my ride this morning on Rosy. We saw wild horses even! I had an excellent time, and the scenery and conversation were outstanding. So pleased I did this today! Thank you Chuck for making my birthday so memorable.

It was a really wonderful experience. The weather was beautiful, the two wranglers were fun and informative and the ride peaceful and relaxing. Everyone had a great time. The horses were so well trained and I was paired with Rosie who was a perfect match for me. I spent time after the ride exploring some of the other horses. The wranglers knew every horse by name, their quirks, who their buddies were and and their personalities. I joined a group as a single and felt like part of the group. Just a perfect way to end my stay in Phoenix.

I wanted to take my 7 year-​old nephew on his first horseback ride and, based on all of the good reviews from this site and Trip Advisor, I chose this place. We opted for the a private Horsemanship 101 lesson. Our instructor, Blos, showed us how introduce ourselves to our horses, groom them and put on their tack. Then, we got a 15 – 20 minute lesson in the arena and we were off to the trail.
No nose-​to-​tail trail riding here. Blos only took lead of my nephew’s horse, Butch, when we crossed the creek because he thought Butch might be too interested in playing in the water. Butch still managed to stomp across the creek and splash all of us which was both funny and refreshing.
Blos was very attentive and patient with my nephew and the horses were beautiful and well-​trained. I had a great time, my nephew said it was the best thing he’s ever done and as we drove away, we were already planning our next visit.

I had booked a private ride. I have been on horses over 25 years, I own my own horse. I emailed the place before and told them I was looking to only trot the horse on a private ride, because I am an advanced rider, I prefer not to be walking the whole time. It is pretty, but it gets boring to me. I received a response of ‘Once you demonstrate your ability, the staff member will set the pace of the ride. We do not run our horses. You may be able to do light trot /​canter. This is due to our desert terrain and wild life that burrow in the ground.’ My wrangler was amazing (silvia), she was sweet and nice and from the Res. so she knew a lot about the land and horses and she was amazing. We went out to the wild horses and it was great and so neat to see. I got the impression that if I had asked to trot the horses then she would have let me, but I also got the feeling that she knew nothing about my email and nothing about the response. The horses were great, very nicely broke and not follow the leader type horses at all so that is great. I would probably go back, but it is not a place to trot your horse, because like the email said, there are a lot of burrows in the ground. But if you are looking for a chill and relaxing ride, with wonderful horses and great staff, then this is your place by far!

I had a private sunset trail ride with Roger. He was fantastic the ride was beautiful and nothing like any other ride I have ever been on. We rode next to eachother and he told me all about the land, the reservation and his life there. He was so happy to be there which made me enjoy it that much more! My horse was very responsive to my cues and was super smooth! I have been riding for 10 years and own my own horses. I can for sure say these horses are happy and well cared for! I would definitely go back again!

They were awesome. My girlfriend made a reservation in advance for their margarita sunset ride. Our guide was very helpful, as I had never been on a horse before. The ride ended up being just the three of us, and he did a great job of keeping us entertained. He knew a lot about the land around him and the history, which he shared with us. It was very interesting. He even stopped to take our pictures, which seemed like it was pretty routine for him. I’m not a big margarita fan so I can’t tell you if that was good or not, but the ride, facilities and staff were great.

Roger took us out during a dust storm and it was GREAT! Great Value ($ 50 each for a one hour ride) Roger told us all about the land, horses and the Gila people. I will go back!!!

Disaster… I opted for the horse back riding as part of our activity for the afternoon during a work event. To be clear, I have never been on a horse and had no idea how to control the horse. The workers did not give any good instruction, it was about 2 minutes of showing to pull — left, right, woah. Then they set us off on a trail that was hilly… with a group of 25 people and horses and all ranges of experience. I admit that I did not have a clue… but that being said, it would have been a better situation if they spent time for instruction and let you practice controls before sending you out the range. I got thrown off… yes. Scary stuff. Not pleasant, and never again. The good thing was that they did send someone to pick me up and drive me back, but I would have walked back if I had to.

I was here for a dinner party last week for the conference I was attending at nearby Sheraton Wild Horse Pass. To close up the mindfully enriching day of seminars, we had dinner at the Koli Equestrian Center. After a few hundred of us met at the meeting area at the hotel, we all hopped on horse-​drawn wagons to get to the Center. If you weren’t up for an adventure with sitting on a wagon, there were shuttle buses that got attendees there.
I was holding on to my dear bottle of Corona as I sat on a bail of hay for the two mile trek to the Koli Equestrian Center. It was a fun ride, everyone was feeling good and cheerful due to the effects of cocktail hour prior to hopping on. Cheers!
When we arrived at the Center, we were greeted with smiles from servers with trays of of margaritas served in mason jars. Nice, but I didn’t have any and kept to the beer… didn’t want to mix it up and regret it the next morning, y’know?
Before dinner, we were all given the opportunity to do some fun activities at the different stations set up for entertainment. I got to throw a tomahawk at a target, shoot a bow & arrow (which I sucked at), throw some horseshoes around, lasso a fake bull all the while listening to a live country music band nearby. We didn’t get to ride horsies, but we did see a lot on the way there just galloping around aimlessly in all the free space they had.
The food served here were all Native American-​inspired dishes. Game stew and corn polenta (that was purple, but tasty) were a few dishes I can remember, but there were plenty more. The dishes I did try were good, nothing I’ve ever tried before in my life, but glad I did, they were all really flavorful.
This place is seriously in the middle of nowhere, it was a lot of fun for our event and I had a great time learning how to line dance with my boss. We all took the shuttle back to the hotel a few hours later which was a good idea; who knows how many people would have fallen off the wagon after a couple of brewskis in them?
Side note: hosted bars are awesome.