MAGGIE M.
The cabin and setting were lovely, and we really enjoyed the other guests. But I left Circle Bar Guest Ranch feeling humiliated and let down. I booked three nights in mid-August with my boyfriend, paying $3,000 for meals and activities, because the website advertised fast horseback rides across the plains. The historic cabin was huge, rustic and cozy, and I felt comfortable in the peaceful surroundings. The first rides, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, were pleasant and fairly simple. I understood the wranglers were watching to gauge our experience, and I was given a wonderful horse after signing a waiver that said I was an advanced rider. I was looking forward to riding faster the next day. Instead, I learned I had to pass a test in an arena near the ranch. They switched me to a different horse, one I didn't know as well and found much less responsive. A wrangler even called it “stubborn.” I grew up around horses and rode for a couple of years when I was 15, though I don't ride every day and knew I was rusty. The wranglers decided I wasn't ready for the fast rides. They treated me like a beginner and didn't give me another chance to try the test. The guests who passed went off to ride fast, and when I asked for another go, I was told they “didn’t really have time.” I was sent on a walk instead. For what we had paid, I felt they could have spared a few more minutes. I felt the way they handled it was indifferent and unfair. Angela, the owner, came over afterward, apologized and offered to arrange lessons. By then it was too late to help much, since we had to leave the next morning and head home. I might have taken lessons if we'd had time, but I also didn't like how I'd been treated. The other guests were lovely, and their warmth helped make the trip enjoyable. At the communal meals, several of them said they'd also felt the staff were cold toward them. Angela greeted us in a distant, impersonal way and didn't seem keen to give us information. The other wranglers weren't very communicative either; the cook was perhaps the only staff member who was somewhat friendly. The ranch has a nice location and lots of potential, but the people managing it don't know how to deal with their clients.
