Mountain View Ranch

I really hate the negative comments below. This place was beautiful if you’re a fan of horses, love nature and like supporting small businesses, it’s well worth a trip. The ranch is owned and operated by John. He’s very personable and made us feel very welcome right away. There was not a big line (and I can understand why a big line would bother people. But again, this is not a bustling business. It’s a family owned and operated horse farm. If you have to wait, pet a cow or talk to the people in front of you.) John asked us about our riding experience and set us up with his daughter, who would be our trail guide. She was very talkative and within a few minutes we were talking sports and she was telling us about her life growing up here. A very nice girl, we were shocked to find out she was very young. But that isn’t really a big deal. She asked us a little about the type of riding we’d like to do, and we were cantering and trotting for a very decent portion of time on our 1 ½ hour ride. We cantered through forests and fields and found ourselves on a beautiful scenic outlook where our guide snapped a few pictures for us.
Overall we were very happy and would definitely come back. If you want people to do cartwheels for you and sing a song and dance every step of the way, this isn’t exactly the place for you. If you’re easygoing, love horses and can talk to new people easily; this place is an excellent way to spend your afternoon. We can’t wait to visit again next time we’re in VT.

So I’ve been dragged by my hair to horseback riding lessons for the better part of a year. Recently bought land with my lady so that she can own her first horse and we took the lessons together so that we would be able to care for and at least have some concept of how to ride well.
This ranch, the people & the experience they offer was the best equine experience I have ever had. We rode for an hour and a half through woods, fields and horses out to pasture… The whole time engaged in conversation about the ranch, donkey basketball and my beloved Boston Bruins. Our guide was the owner’s daughter who has stories about every horse & can tell you about the land & growing up on a ranch.
I could say more, but I’ll leave it there. Before this experience, I was just going through the motions to learn how to help care for a horse because frankly, I’m about to be put into a situation where I have to. Trotting and cantering through the woods and fields, losing my glasses… It was awesome. Now I know why people ride horses. Great time!

We have really enjoyed our rides both times we have been here. The owner is a nice guy, the guides are great, the horses are well taken care of and the scenery is beautiful. It has been organized both times we have been. We will be back.

We have been riding here twice now. Once on a group ride and once on a private ride. The guides are amazing, the owner is a nice guy and the scenery is absolutely beautiful! We will be back for sure!

Terrible. Avoid it. We booked weeks in advance, called ahead of time, and here is what we found when we got there: a line of clients waiting for over an hour and underage trail guides that were upset with being there. And upset at the owner (John) who does not seem to know how to organize the place. They then took us for a 1 and ½ hour ride, which was not what we had signed up and paid for! Bizarre. The «cowboy up» ride promised in the website and arranged in advance was NOT available and we only learned about it when we were already on top of the horses!!! Oh well, we tried to enjoy it. Now here is the cherry on top of it: at the end of the ride we met John who had the nerves to make a sexist joke about blondes when we gratefully praised our trail guide. Really, an offensive joke to our guide after her effort to make the for us and her boss. Bizarre.

Very disappointing. This ranch is poorly managed and unreliable. I would avoid it. Vermont is beautiful and you don’t need an unprofessional business ruining your experience.
I’d reserved a private ‘Cowboy Up’ ride to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday weeks in advance: $ 100 for 3 hours of private lessons. Confirmed on the phone and via email.
When we got to the ranch, there was a long line of customers that were at 1.30pm for their noon ride. Immediately, we knew this didn’t look good…
We had arrived 15 min in advance for our ride as requested but couldn’t get any service. When we finally checked in, we were quickly handed off to a trail guide. It wasn’t until a good 30 min into the ride that we realized this was nothing like what we’d signed up for. Instead of private lessons, we were getting a basic trail ride (took us a while to realize this because we’d assumed we were riding to the ring). When we told the trail guide about the mix up, all the owner said was to add a 30 min trail loop to our session, which meant bushwhacking just to add time.
Ultimately, we ended up paying $ 70 for a private trail ride that was less than the 90 min specified for that $ 70 and NOTHING LIKE WHAT WE’D RESERVED! Not how I had planned to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday.
To top it off, when we finally got back to the ranch, the owner was barely apologetic and just said the next time we were up here, he’d treat us to something special. (1) this is what he’d said in the original phone call when i made the reservation and said it was my boyfriend’s birthday and (2) why on earth would we come back to such an unprofessional ranch?!

We went to E Dorset, VT for a guys weekend away and came across this ranch. John and his family were amazingly accommodating and super friendly. The ranch was very well kept. The horse ride afforded us some spectacular views of nature. I highly, highly, highly, recommend going riding at Mountain View Ranch. This is a true gem amount the majestic beauty of the Green Mountains.