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July 2024 by Shannon Knapp
Would not recommend booking a birthday party here.
We arrived for a (2hr) 3pm birthday party about 20 min before to set up as invited by the owner. By 3:10pm I emailed the owner a picture of the bounce not being inflated enough to use. At about 3:20 pm a woman on a gator showed up to work on the bounce.
when I this woman if anyone was coming to the barn or if there would be pony rides she literally shoo’d me away with her hands and said she was there for the bounce and the ponies were busy in a lesson and would get down when they were free. I paid $900 for 2 ponies and a bounce. The bounce was usable after 3:30 and the first pony arrived at 3:25 and the other around 3:35. For a 2 hour party of 18 kids in the 100degree heat that feels like a lifetime to wait. But you can betcha the woman on her gator was chasing me down at 4:55pm asking for proof of payment for the party. She literally followed me around as I was packing up our car with the food and cake to leave until I stopped to pay her. The ponies were great and we did get our 1 hr with each of the 2 ponies. Overall, especially for this area, this birthday party experience was an EXTREME let down. Besides the rude woman, I just think one person coming down to greet us and show us the lay of the land would’ve been a given and would’ve made it feel personable. The stone barn space was cute but when we arrived they still had “camp” items all over the place so I had to tidy and move things around in order to have room for our food and cake. A little too DIY for us.
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September 2023 by Pamela A.
We have been with Christine V, the owner, since she ran a much smaller barn. She purchased and moved Red Gate Farm to Bluemont, VA in 2017. It's a gorgeous barn with wonderful horses and ponies. Just the most gorgeous grounds and we usually have a picnic there right after lessons to take advantage of the beautiful views! I think people have to understand you may not always get to ride or show with the horse or pony that you want and that's just part of the sport, unless you actually lease the horse or pony.
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January 2023 by Leigh Anne
TLDR: if it is 31* outside and the rental you reserved is unheated when you arrive, just leave right then. Do not think that things will get better.What may have been a lovely experience for others at some time in the past was quite a disappointment for us.We arrived at 7pm to an indoor temperature of 55 because nobody had bothered to turn on the heat for our arrival. Cool. There were no instructions for the visibly filthy remote control to the main space heater (See picture) but upon request someone came by to ensure the heater was on and to show us how it works so that it only took another 5 hours to warm up (you know, at midnight). Both exterior doors remain unsealed when locked, so the space is more than a little drafty (See pictures). Maybe the temperature issue is also related to the flagstone flooring - which is *freezing cold* 24/7 because there are no area rugs anywhere. I guess the solution is to just wear your horse farm shoes and boots all over the rental?As we lay in the bed - wearing our winter coats under the single-quilt that was provided to us on a 31* night - trying not to accidentally reach overhead and give ourselves splinters (from the unfinished wood slatted wall), we looked up and noticed the mini-split’s many old drip marks and wished for our hypothermic death to hurry, please and thanks (see picture).There are no curtains & no rods on 2 of the 3 East-facing windows with a direct line of sight to the bed. The parking lot for public patrons and the farm workers is on one side of the rental, the horse paddocks are on the other side. *A feature that is not made obvious or mentioned in the property photos.* This means that strangers are wandering around outside, til well after dark. You can hear them but you can’t see them - but they can see you. (just like in horror movies). In context, the paper accordion window shade tacked up over the window in the bathroom is a charming touch.I won’t bother to post a photo of the broken toilet seat, as I think the mold & crusty old toothpaste on the cabinet shelves + gross baseboard heater tell you what you need to know. (See pictures)In the morning we discovered that the pipes inside the cabinet at the kitchenette have leaked … but they only sit over one of the cookware pots, so may the odds be ever in your favor! (See picture) The drawer under the oven - where the uncleaned single baking pan and casserole dish live… I’ve honestly run out of adjectives. You’ll just have to look at the picture to understand (See picture).We couldn’t get our food out of the fridge fast enough after seeing the mysterious frozen rag & dead bugs in the freezer (See picture). But I was actually forced to wait to do this because the bathroom’s barn door blocks access to the fridge door.I can objectively say that this rental has fantastic potential and that it is a shame that there is no current effort to maintain the space and provide basic necessities. We left after a single night and have requested a full refund, but have been told this won’t happen bc we should have to pay TWO cleaning fees (how’s that for irony?).This facility can’t even manage to be trusted with a vacuum cleaner, I certainly wouldn’t trust them with any animal or human hosting.
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January 2023 by beyondTabu
Really nice space. Attended a kid’s bday party there and it’s the perfect size for them to run around, ride and feed a couple horses.
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January 2023 by Harris Mahedavi
Awesome folks at Red Gate Farm, we loved our visit.
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January 2023 by Jeremy F
There is a really great summer camp program for horse riding including time to swim and cool off.
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January 2023 by Jason Kennedy
Lovely property. Nicely lit ring and a good turnout for horse shows. Event did run slow though, expect to be there late. Good thing they had a tasty food truck there too.
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January 2023 by Sonia Ruiz-Bolanos
One of our favorite places. Everything is structured and organized. Lessons are great and the staff is amazing!
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April 2022 by Gleb S.
We are very disappointed with the experience our 11-year old daughter had at Red Gate Farm.She was starting to ride last year and we were looking for private lessons. We have heard great things about the Red Gate Farm and signed her up.Our initial experiences were very positive. The place is well run. The instructor, Zoe, was good and attentive. Our daughter has been working very hard on her skills - she took private lessons at Red Gate every week, and rode at another barn every day.Initially she had a horse at Red Gate that she liked - good for her level. She was looking forward to taking him to the show.Then about a month and a half ago, a strange pattern started happening. Our daughter would not get this horse, and every time we would be given a different new reason - he is lame, he is in training (and our daughter saw his bridle and saddle in the tack room that very same day), and so on...We complained about this and were promised that our daughter will get this horse. Even after that when we showed up for the private lesson, a new excuse would be presented why the horse was not available.Finally two weeks before the show, we were told that the horse started bucking and is not safe to ride for anybody, so our daughter would have to go to the show with a different horse (and that horse is not nearly as qualified for her).The day of the show came and what did our daughter see? In the same division as her, another girl is showing this horse (that was lame, in training, and is now a hazard to others).We understand that the management and trainers at Red Gate may feel that another person may be more qualified. There may be other reasons why they would not let our daughter ride the horse she wanted (and was promised initially). If they were open about this, our daughter would be upset, but would get over it and we would be OK with this.Instead, Red Gate Farm management ant trainer were dishonest and disrespectful to our 11-year old daughter and to us, and that is very upsetting.
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January 2022 by Melinda McCullah
Love Red Gate—my daughter and I both board our horses there and have taken lessons since 2016. Top notch facility, instructors and new management ?
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January 2022 by Becky Lee Harman
Wonderful, safe, friendly horses! Owners are very accomodating. Great summer camp for kids!
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January 2022 by Neil Greene
It's a lovely farm, well maintained with friendly staff.
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July 2021 by Adam Roeder
Excellent place for horse back riding lessons, our daughter absolutely loved it! Highly recommend!
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July 2021 by Armando Tibabuzo
Beautiful and beautiful place to practice and take horse riding classes
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July 2021 by Raven Catlin
Wonderful stables. They have over 50 horses and offer camps, lessons (private and group) and leases. I've worked with two of their trainers and both were great.
