Bear Creek Stables

We booked the trailride for 45 USD.
We walked back and forth on one trail. Not a great experience and we were expecting a lot more for 45 dollars. Trail boring and full of stone.
Good for children under age of 6 and elderly people over 75 years old that have never been near a horse before.
Wonderful kind and VERY helpful staff.
But the trail was extremely boring and I would never pay to do that again.

We had a bachelorette party of 15 girls booked to go on a trail ride. All the girls flew in from out of town, spent money on ubers to get there, and when we arrived we were told there was no reservation made. We argued that they took down our info, and took our credit card to hold the reservation, and we were still told they didn’t have anything on the books. Well, my friend went into their office, and when the lady Catherine was flipping through their schedule book my friend noticed all of her information and credit card number written down on aa piece of paper and clipped to the schedule book. My friend even confirmed with them a few days beforehand. They are so incompetent, and they never made any step to make it good with us. Only argued that they wouldn’t have made the appointment for that day for so many people, even though they had our credit card info and the reservation clipped right in their book. Total incompetent liars.

This camp was the biggest waste of $ 540 that we have ever spent. If you are thinking of trying it, know this:
1. The whole week started on a negative note. When I paid for the camp and filled out the online paperwork, I assumed that was all I needed to do. I received a «confirmation» email that I assumed was a receipt, and didn’t open. I received a call a few days before camp was to start saying that I needed to print out the paperwork, get it notarized, and get my children’s shot records, and bring them to the camp before my kids could begin. Being a working parent with little time, this was frustrating, because nowhere on the online paperwork did it say I needed to do this. She said it was in the inconspicuous email that I had assumed was the receipt. I told the lady that I would just get my money back. She said that I could do that, but I would be forfeiting over $ 100 in application fees and deposits. The woman that I spoke with had definitely not been trained in the art of customer service. I told her that I understood the need to go through these steps but that it was frustrating that their communication was so poor. Took an afternoon off work, spent the $ 10 to get paperwork notarized, sat in the pediatrician’s office for 30 minutes to get the shot records, all in the hopes that this camp was worth it. I was sorely disappointed.
2. The kids are outside in the heat all day long, with no reprieve. The counselors are provided with popsicles and eat them in front of the campers, while the sweating children watch and salivate. That is just cruel. For as much as this camp costs, you can’t provide the campers with popsicles? Either provide everyone with one, or nobody.
3. There is ONE lifeguard for over 30 kids in the pool. The owner said that this is all that is required, but I looked up the Texas Department of Health Youth Camp Matrix and it states: «For every 35 campers, or fraction thereof, engaged in waterfront activities, there shall be one certified lifeguard and one additional person (either a certified lifeguard or trained adult lookout) on duty.» In the pool area, there was ONE adult (I have the photo to prove it). There were some counselors-​in-​training in the pavilion area, paying not one lick of attention to the children in the pool. I asked the owner if the lifeguard had to jump into the pool to rescue a camper, who would watch the kids still in the pool? She replied that he could yell to a counselor-​in-​training, who would come and get the owner from the office. I don’t know about you but this doesn’t make me feel very comforted.
4. The paperwork clearly states that you can drop off when the gates open at 7:45. For working parents, dropping off early is important. My husband got to the camp at 7:40 one day and the gates were open, so he drove in. He was told by one of the employees that if you drop off before 7:50, you will be charged $ 5 per kid. For one thing, this isn’t consistent with what the paperwork states. For another, really? Way to earn repeat customers! To be honest, they don’t really seem to care about keeping the parents happy.
5. This camp consists of minimal crafts, 45 minutes of horseback riding, and 30 something kids crammed into a tiny pool, the rest of the time waiting around… all day long. My kids were so bored that they begged for me to pick them up early every day, and wanted to leave right after the horse show on Friday (10:00 am). Really? I paid this much to have to sign my kids out early and find a babysitter? kids said they spent most of the day sitting around waiting for their turn, or for the counselors to finish with the horses. Can’t you fill the transition times with singing? Games? Doublecreek Farm has activities all day long, plus horseback riding, plus talent shows, singing, archery, REAL swimming lessons in a gigantic pool… kids are entertained every minute. And they provide ice cream… and not just for the counselors.

We had my daughters 9^th birthday here and I wouldn’t recommend it. First we signed up for a trail ride but because the weather was a bit drizzly they decided to just let the girls ride the horsed in the stable. My daughter was upset but I don’t blame them for the weather. What I am most upset with them about is their poor customer service. When we arrived we didn’t know where to go or what to do. We walked over to the stable and after waiting for 15 min. with 7 excited girls they sent a girl over to them not to welcome them but to ask that they keep quite. Really? It’s a birthday party for a 9 yr old. That really set the tone for the next hour. I felt like none of the people that worked there wanted to be there and they did nothing to make it feel like we were celebrating a birthday. No smiles and the girls felt they needed to keep quite for the next hour. I had friends drive up from San Antonio and felt this experience was not worth it. So maybe they shouldn’t do birthday parties for kids and just keep their business to riding lessons which looks like they got good reviews for.

I am 25 and take Western lessons here. I rode some as a kid and wanted to get back into it and learn real technique. I thought maybe I’d just «try it out» for a month but I’m totally hooked. I take private lessons and group lessons and couldn’t be happier. Barbara is my instructor and she’s fantastic. Can’t recommend this stable enough.

I took English lessons here, when I decided to ‘get back into’ riding after a decade away from the sport.
Plus side, it is affordable. Downside, the instructors are not very skilled. Some of the riding I saw being promoted was not only poor, but also dangerous. Instructors were more concerned about getting riders to the ‘next step’ quickly than instilling good riding habits. For instance, if a kid or even adult rider cannot keep their heels down and get a horse to go in the correct direction at a walk, they should not be asked to trot or canter. Riders should not be asked to keep reins so long that a horse is ‘strung-​out’ when jumping.
This place has potential, because it isn’t a show barn (so it doesn’t have the attitude), but they seriously need to reevaluate their staff and the priorities.

Great place to horseback ride. Horses were nice and calm, went through the woods and a little through open fields. Just walking the horses, no trotting. Staff was friendly and helpful. Not too far out of the city which was nice.

Forget that cowboy stuff, come learn how to ride the way REAL men (and women) do: in *REALLY TIGHT PANTS.*
Okay, I think they’re actually called «breeches,» but whatever. It’s a known fact that learning to ride a horse the English way increases your coolness quotient almost as much as having a British accent. Fortunately for you, Bear Creek is an excellent place to learn this coolness-​magnifying skill. Paulina, the English instructor here, is totally fantastic. She is upbeat, encouraging, knows everything there is to know about horses, and doesn’t make you feel like an ass (even when you are riding like an ass). Having had only a handful of riding lessons in my life, I attribute entirely to Paulina the fact that I have managed to jump a horse at a trot (okay, it was a SMALL jump) without falling off and cracking my head open. Those who know me know I’m not the most GRACEFUL person alive, so me managing to stay on top of a trotting, jumping horse is just short of a Christmas Day miracle. Thanks Paulina!
They do classes through UT Informal, but it basically costs the same to sign up for classes right through their website. It’s a great place for kids to learn as they have fantastic beginner horses, but it’s also a great place for «adult amateurs» to play around in an environment where nobody seems to care that you haven’t been riding since you were 7 years old. Bonus: keep at it and be prepared to show off your new *THIGHS OF STEEL.*

This is going to be short and sweet, and my review is based on my experience over 10 years ago, so let me preface with that.
I used to come here over 10 years ago to take horse back riding lessons, they do both western and english style. I chose western because it’s casual and fun. I loved trail riding and meeting all the horses, I learned how to jump ramps. It was a cool experience I will never forget. I came back to visit the horses and some of them were still around. The staff is friendly I will never forget the great experience

This is a great place for taking lessons. They just about turned a city gal like me into a cow girl. After I finished reading the book Half Broke Horse and my fiancé got a little part in the re make of True Grit, we decided it was time for a little saddle time. We took a beginners western riding class. Our instructor Paulina was fantastic. She brings multi tasking to a new level. Always smiling, never condescending and full of energy. She manages to keep an eye on everyone and holler praise even to dummies like me. This is a great place just outside of Shady Hollow. I was tempted to take a star of for Alli, a horse that gave me the stink eye a couple times when i was grooming her, but you can’t blame an old gal with a bit of arthritis for throwing a little attitude around. I plan on going back for the next level of classes when the weather cools down a little.

Ahhhh Bear Creek Stables! You want horses? You got em. You want to learn how to ride em? go there. I have known Linda and her loyal gang of horses and helpers for years and they are all great. Linda has something for everyone there. Horses and Kids rule, but if you are a «kid at heart» grown up that «always wanted to learn to ride»…well…giddy up friend… they have a great program here and really good horses and instructors. Take a deep breath, prepare to spend some time… time suspends as you drive down that hill, get used to it and love it. Breathe it in, it doesn’t get much better than this. For real.

Bear Creek has a really good instructive program for kids. It’s so cool to see the self-​confidence that kids get from learning to maneuver beasties 10 times their size. It’s also cool to see the variety of horses, many of which graze freely on the property.
The location is a little difficult to find, tucked back in a neighborhood: use GPS or call ahead for directions. (Don’t rely on the map on the website.) But it’s like stepping out into the country without going too far out of Austin.