Arriba Vista Ranch

My horses and I have had nothing but excellent care by the staff at Arriba Vista Ranch. Run by «horse people» that care about the horse. Thank you for your care. All of the workers are kind and thoughtful. Arenas are groomed and cared for. Trail rides are a pleasure. My horses and I are very greatful to have such a beautiful place to come to. You are appreciated! Thanks for your hard work to keep the place sparkling!

Arriba Vista Ranch is a very special place for horses and for their human companions. I would consider this barn one of the best run and managed facilities in the Bay Area. Both Millie and Dina have put forth a great effort to keep this place great!
There is a nice balance and harmony in the place. The barn is well maintained, corridors are cleaned and clear of debris. The stalls are well maintained, the feed is of highest quality, the guys working there are great and work hard to give the best care to our horses. Miguel, the lead guy, is the best with the horses. He is kind and cares about how they are doing.
All the trainers are excellent. You will have a wide choice to work with… and they all get along!
There are so many arenas, covered and open with well maintained footing. Due to the drought, the outdoor arenas are not watered, so the two covered arenas are being used more and required more work to maintain (some good rain will change this back to normal); which is not an easy task. The crew has been working hard to do this. Of course there are trails around the 200 plus acres, with beautiful majestic views!
I regret leaving because of a job change. I have made great friends, both horses and people. I hope others will stop by to check this place out. I know why there are so many long term broaders here! All the amenities make broading there a great value!

Arriba Vista is such a fabulous place. It is very well maintained, clean and the people who run the place are extremely friendly. It’s a piece of heaven in the hills of Sunol!

Arriba Vista Ranch is a wonderful place to enjoy your horse. It’s a great boarding facility with clean stalls, good hay and super people.
Don’t be fooled by those who say «neigh».
Please come up and visit, you won’t be disappointed.

This is by far the best boarding facility I have ever boarded my horses at.
The owner and manager are very kind and love their horses. The boarders are the nicest people you will ever meet. Lots of friendly people to go on trail rides with, and there is a real sense of community at this barn. Just like any barn, there is occasional drama over turnouts and training, but everyone is always mature and friendly so there is never a problem.
Amazing facilities for every discipline of rider! TWO covered arenas, SIX turnouts, dressage arena, jumping arena, cutting pen, gorgeous trails. AVR offers a variety of boarding options, including stalls, stalls with runs, covered pens, large stalls with large runs, and fields. Dina even let me board my three goats with my horse (they are buddies)!
Couldn’t ask for a better facility and for nicer people! The workers are very friendly. The grass and alfalfa isn’t 100% best quality but is average. They also feed a three-​way. Very nice that turnouts are an option for an additional small fee. Full care board with feeding and cleaning.
People go out of their way to help others if their horse is injured, or just if you want to ask for advice. All the resident trainers are so nice and there is not drama amongst them (as often happens at large boarding facilities with more than one resident trainer). Western and English riding lessons are offered through these trainers.
Hope you get to experience the wonderful facility, people, and trails at Arriba Vista (or as us boarders call it, AVR)! :) I would still be there if I hadn’t moved out of the area.

I have boarded at this ranch for 17 years and love this barn more than any others that Ive been to. It is always clean and well maintained, the management is on top of all concerns, the horses are very well cared for, and the other boarders are considerate. There are two indoor covered arenas, and two outdoor arenas and plenty of open trail riding. Everybody is very friendly and supportive here! I definitely give Arriba Vista Ranch a five star rating!

The facility is well maintained. Can take trail rides on property. Views of the bay from the top! People are very nice who board here. I would highly recommend.

My daughter and I have been here at Arriba for about a year now after moving from 2 other western barns in the area. This has been the best decision to move here. There is plenty of room to ride, quality people and trainers, kept clean, and the most important, I feel safe and the hay is top quality! I give this barn 5 stars all the way!

I’ve been boarding 2 horses at Arriba Vista Ranch for over two years and could not be happier. This place has a positive vibe that is hard to find at a large barn. There is always a place to ride by myself with 4 large arena’s to choose from. The arena maintenance upkeep is handled professionally and on a timely basis. The ranch hands treat us as family and are always smiling even in 110 degree heat. The training staff is highly knowledgeable and willing to answer any question you have even if you are not in training with them. So happy to such a nice home for my horses.

I have been at Arriba Vista for years. I started training there when I was like 10, then boarded my horse there until moving off to college. Any area where you have a large number of people who are all doing the same thing will have some level of drama. Being there for so long, and knowing so many people, I can tell you that all you have to do to stay out of the drama is not train with a dramatic trainer.
All of the fellow boarders are very friendly and helpful, and the facilities are fantastic. There are two indoor covered arenas, and two outdoor arenas (one for jumping, one for dressage). I will warn you however that Saturday mornings in particular are rather hectic. Typically each trainer picks an arena to stick with, but it can get crazy during the muddy months. Go later in the afternoon, it’s much less crowded.
The staff are fantastic, and as helpful as they could possibly be. I see people on here saying that the ranch manager doesn’t know so much about horses, but honestly, she has always done what needed to be done, and it almost always works out perfectly. I would say 99% of the drama is strictly between trainers, although honestly there is not much drama compared to other barns I have been to.
When I got my first horse, everybody was so helpful. He was a rescue who had been dumped at AVR, and everybody helped me out with him when I took on his ownership to save him from slaughter. People do not steal, they are not snobby, and they are very friendly. I brought another horse here recently to train for a few months before bringing him back home. They really do all they can to accommodate people of all different disciplines. They made room for me to bring up a driving cart, and were very easy to work with.
If I continue to live in the area after college, I will for sure be bringing my future horses back to Arriba Vista. I would highly recommend it for riders of all disciplines.

We have been here for over a year and I am really happy]. The stable manager has always been really responsive via email. The guys that work here are polite and friendly. As far as any drama between trainers, I have seen none. I have met all the trainers and all of them have been professional and nice. Even though I am affiliated with one trainer, at different times three other trainers saw/​heard that I needed something and offered to lend/​give things to me. (Buckets, boots, etc.) I try to stay away from drama and try not to talk smack about people, and so far I have never experienced any of the trainers talking bad about one another or fighting for space. Yes, sometimes things get a little crowded, but everyone seems to earnestly try to work things out. I will say that I wish we could again turn out in the covered arena, but hey, that is a pretty small issue for me, overall.

My satisfaction level hasn’t really changed. Though I do see that some people have had issues, I honestly have to say I can see where they’re coming from. It’s true that the ranch manager isn’t very horse/​ranch knowledgable, but she is responsive and she does make an effort to resolve issues.
I wasn’t affected by the grass hay issue but hey, sh*t can happen to anyone. I think the prompt response speaks for itself.
Maintenance is still well done here. I love the new footing in the barn arena. My only gripe would be that they’ve eliminated turn outs there. It makes winter really difficult. It’s damn dark in the evenings and when it’s raining forget turnouts all together. I understand why, I just don’t appreciate having one less space. Especially when we lost the large round pen.
No place will be totally drama free and without some drawbacks, all in all, Arriba Vista is still a great place with wonderful people.

First of all, would someone please let Cindi K. know that slander isn’t using a public opinion forum to simply give an opinion. It’s obvious that commenting on barn management is a direct and relevant contribution and, Cindi, just as you’re entitled to give five stars, others are entitled to give less.
The facility itself is nice, but unfortunately there’s a lot of unnecessary drama with owners and trainers competing for space, getting catty with one another, etc. If you’re going to be there during off hours, you’ll be fine to enjoy the arenas in a peaceful manner, but during peak times it can get heated. The inside stalls around the indoor arena are nice, the outdoor stabling area is cramped and chaotic. Finally, if you’re considering boarding here, I would watch the hay quality, it went down drastically throughout my time here and made my horse very sick.

Let me start this review by saying I am not a horse person.
I have been here quite a few times with a friend who has a horse here. I don’t know what makes a good horse stable place, but I do have ideas on what makes a good business.
I like that the place doesn’t smell like horse crap.
I like that there isn’t horse crap everywhere.
I like that I am always seeing the ranch employees around, cleaning up, helping out, etc.
I like that they have 2 little mini horse things. They are super cute.

Its sad when one individual K.V. who only leased a horse from a trainer who is no longer at this facility does’t follow the guidelines set forth by Unilocal.
Relevance: Please make sure your contributions are relevant and appropriate to the forum. For example, reviews aren’t the place for rants about a business’s employment practices, political ideologies, extraordinary circumstances, or other matters that don’t address the core of the consumer experience.
As you can read from others post over the years Arriba Vista is an excellent location providing a safe, friendly, well maintained facility with excellent trainers, where the horses are well fed and cared for.
I have been here for 13 years along with many others who have been here longer than I. Management has always been supportive, very versed and knowledgeable, fair and very professional. One persons bad experience who’s only intent was to rant or slander is inexcusable and disappointing.
I am certain K. V. would not want others to follow her example and lack of guidelines posting their personal opinions where it could leave a bad review for others.

Ditto on the review from KV. Very noisy barn with loud music blaring all the time. Boarding area for horses is cramped and small unless you are lucky enough to get one of the 4 outside paddock areas. Couldn’t wait to move out!

Rode here for over a year and encountered nothing but drama from the barn manager who has NO background in horses, riding or running barns. She chooses to create problems rather than solve them, talks to others rather than the person she should, and changes the «barn rules» when it suits her.
The owner listens to suggestions but just lets the barn manager handle things (poorly) and doesn’t really want to be bothered.
Be warned the footing in the lower outdoor arena is bad and their solution was just adding more sand. In fact it was so bad that one of our horses fell over at the canter because she lost her footing! There was also a problem with the grass hay and they were extremely slow to remedy the situation, boarders had to buy their own hay to stop their horses from being sick.
There are nice people riding here and some very good trainers but you better like it «as is» and hope you don’t have to deal with the manager too much.

This is a nice place to board. Friendly boarders and helpful staff. The board is really reasonable. The are always things you can do with your horse here so you are never bored. Weather was never a problem since there are two covered arenas. Footings sometimes are not the greatest but the staff is always willing to work with you.