"The horses were perfectly suited for the hack, and I was riding Jethro - a large white male described as being so laid back he was almost ‘narcoleptic’."
"Our horses were calm, had lovely characters, were in a very good shape."
"The horses were lovely 'Ollie, Harry and Quinn' and we were looked after all the way round by a fantastic young lady called Scarlett."
"Jeff was the most relaxed and friendly guy ever. He got us set up with boots and helmets then introduced us to our two beautiful horses, Quin and Tahi."
"Joe was absolutely spot on with his help and advice. His knowledge and love of the horses made the experience so much better."
"We had a group walking hack at Coombe Stables. The horses were very well behaved and the staff were very friendly."
"Our hack with Joe was fantastic! We took a riding hack on Tammy and Sugar Bear who were both lovely horses."
"The horses are well looked after and clearly loved dearly. We loved Leo and Quinn!"
Cons:
"The parking was limited, but we were greeted by friendly staff, all of whom seemed to be young teenagers."
"Their hats were not in a good state of repair, unfortunately, with scrapes/dents and worn chin straps, and I did not feel safe wearing them."
"I had my own hat, but after a Google search by the staff (!!) they deemed it wasn't safe to ride in and started questioning how long ago I bought it."
"One stirrup was missing a tread, which affected the use of the stirrup somewhat."
"The hack was also supposed to be an hour long, but we mounted at exactly 11am, but were in the car leaving by 11.50am!"
"The only criticism I would have is that, if we book a ride with cantering - and actually had to pay £5 extra per person for the privilege - we do expect to canter."
"As the previous reviews are so good I can only assume this has something to do with covid."
"We were greeted by friendly staff members and felt safe throughout our forest hack. We would thoroughly recommend anyone to take part if they like horses and enjoy the outdoors."
Staff and Service
Pros:
"The staff were helpful throughout and really looked after us."
"Everybody at Coombe Stables was very friendly and helpful."
"I found all the staff to be very polite, not at all patronising, but helpful & friendly."
"The staff leading the hack chatted to us all throughout to make sure we were all OK, and were very friendly."
"The staff here are passionate about their horses and talk about them as if they're family."
"The staff greeted us by our names and gave us the information of our horses."
"We were greeted by a friendly warm personality and all staff we met had smiles and made us feel very welcome."
"The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful as soon as we arrived."
Cons:
"Adding to the feeling of poor organisation, the lady leading the hack said she had only been asked to do so the night before, and that she wasn't a horse riding teacher."
"It was only when I arrived that I was told the instructor had called in sick and my lesson was cancelled."
"The next day I phoned to get my refund for the cancelled lesson which took several calls before they picked up."
"It took 15 minutes to get a form sent across, when this could have been filled in beforehand after the lesson was cancelled."
"We were complete novices (my wife and I, plus two young boys). We had a really fun afternoon. We’ll defiantly book next time we visit."
"But we mostly walked the whole way with very little trotting, which was a bit disappointing given we were both able to trot."
"No tips etc. The kids (teenagers) leading the ponies were silent and not engaging. They said nothing to the kids to encourage them. It’s like they didn’t want to be there!"
"The staff were very friendly and nice however it was all quite disorganised."