Banff Trail Riders - Stables

Disappointing experience. Expecting a beautiful sleigh ride before Christmas along pretty trails, instead got packed into the back of a crowded uncomfortable wagon like a bunch of war prisoners being carted off to labor camps and then just driven around in circles in the field behind their stables on bumpy roads. Not recommended.

I chose the 1h Bow River ride and the experience was alright. They do teach you how to control the horse but in reality, the horses are so trained that they just follow the leading horse without ever listening to you. Which makes sense for a business that serves mostly first time rider to be honest. The ride is called bow river but you only spend about quarter of the time beside the river. You spend half of your time in the woods and the other quarter in a marsh with good mountain view. The tour guide at the front don't were microphone so people at the back can never hear her. Overall I didn't regret going but I wouldn't say it's worthwhile either. Go if you have time but don't go out of your way for it. Also price of the ride is different for each time slot, early morning and late afternoon are 20$ more expensive, so do take this into consideration if you decided to go.

This was a great experience to take on. We did the Cowboy Cook Out and had a great time. The food was phenomenal as we had steak, potatoes, and a few other dishes. The ride was full of good information and laughs. I would recommend this to others.

My star ranking system:
1: Bad / Don't go there
2: Could be better
3: Average
4: Above average but not the best
5: A true top notch place

My friend and I embarked on a ride last week. Regrettably, my friend had a scary fall from her horse because the saddle wasn't secured correctly.
I've worked in tourism all over Canada, and in the Bow Valley for 7 years on and off, I was very excited to try out this tour operator since I loved riding horses in Southern Alberta.
With the ordeal, and how it was brushed off by ALL of the staff, including the guide, I will never recommend it to friends, family or any guests.
Furthermore, it was a particularly disappointing horse ride for me because my horse was VISIBLY exhausted. When my horse was lagging behind the others, the guide said "Hondo's just sleepy, I know he can go faster than that, just give him a kick". I felt really bad for him and the rest of the time, my horse Hondo, was biting the tail of the horse in front because he was so irritated and just wanted it to be over.
After my friend falling, I was quite upset and nervous, and the trail was extremely rocky, muddy and downhill, horses kept slipping.
Again, I have experience riding horses and this trail wasn't fun or relaxing or adventurous to do.
Overall, a very disappointing time.
I would heavily recommend going to Kananaskis or somewhere else. It's very disheartening that the horses and guests are treated like this. Even if the company says the horses are treated fine, it was obvious my horse was beyond exhausted.

The manager should at least reach out to guests that have accidents, offer an apology or discount or literally anything to show the company cares.

I hope Hondo the horse has a better summer.

I stopped by with my nephews to have a look around. They already plan to come back next year to try horseback riding.

Great morning ride
Really enjoyed it and the staff were great and the horses were very well behaved

I went on the 2 hour Sundance Loop and had a great time! We got saddled and were taught the basics of western riding before Hannah and Emma took us on a trail ride with glacial river, forest, and mountain views. The horses are all rescues from horse auctions, very well trained and looked after. The staff are all very friendly and knowledgeable.

Horrible experience, email confirmation was not sent regarding meeting time. The group left 10 mins b4 scheduled time.
The lady was very rude & a racist…! Would NEVER RECOMMEND. I would give them 0 stars!

Looking at all the bad reviews…, proves that you guys really need to make a change in the way you treat people. Truly very disappointed with the way things are handled!

Amazing experience, we did the wagon ride and cookout. Brooklyn and Mike were amazing hosts and so knowledgeable about the area. Must also thank Wayne and Luke, even if Luke was feeling lazy. The horses are all well looked after and treated so well, I love that they also rescue horses as well. Great experience can not recommend enough and the food was delicious

Great experience, the staff were wonderful. The only drawback was how much the riders had to be treated like children due to safety issues, although after seeing how the customers/riders were behaving and not listening to staff I understand why these rules are in place. Great if you have 0 horse riding experience.

This place was amazing. Very friendly staff. So wonderful with my 3 teenage daughters who went on the 2 hour trail ride. Guide Cailin was wonderful and my girls really enjoyed chatting with her throughout the ride. Very easy to sign up, register, and get set up. Knowledgeable staff who took care of everyone - so professional and kind. Highly recommend.

The staff was very friendly and easy to talk to during our entire visit and the horses are clearly loved and well taken care of and they took care of us riders in return:) I believe they said they had over 200 horses and yet the staff could tell us about each of the horse's personalities which speaks for how much they care for these animals

The trail ride itself was a great experience. But the experience prior was not so great. We booked a couple of days online before through Banff Adventures and received the instruction from them by email. We did see that it said we should arrive 30 minutes before, but there were a couple of things that were not articulated in this email: (i) that if we do not arrive 30 mins before that we will not be able to ride, and (ii) that if we arrive late that our booking would be forfeited. We did not receive any emails or any kind of communication from Banff Adventures or from Banff Trail Riders, nor did we receive the waivers ahead of time.

We arrived 15-20 minutes before our ride time and we were told that it was too late, that we had to rebook for later that day, and that we still had to pay 50% of the booking cost to rebook.

We rebooked for later that day and paid the fee. We arrived 30 minutes before that time, but the group wasn't even gathered together until 15 minutes before the ride time. How is it that the first time, we arrived 15 minutes before and we couldn't be let on?

We understand that we didn't arrive fully on time for our original booking, but we also feel that we were not treated fairly, that the importance of arriving early was not made clear in the communications we received, and even when we did arrive on time - it became evident to us that we could've probably been let-in earlier in the day even though we arrived late.

I understand that customers have to take ownership of their mistakes, but at the end of the day, I do feel that your organization could've squeezed us in and/or at the very least, not have charged us the 50% booking fee. The ride we booked for later that day wasn't even full, and it's not like your organization lost any money from us being late. It just left us a bad feeling at the end of it all.

I would caution against recommending this place. I visited just over a week ago, opting for the Sundance loop, but it didn't offer any particularly memorable experiences. Our guide was decent but not exceptional. Unfortunately, they didn't pause for photos at picturesque spots, which was disappointing. Frankly, it felt like a waste of money.

To make matters worse, my saddle wasn't securely attached, and my horse, Wrangler, got a rock stuck and bolted. The saddle shifted and ended up on the ground, leaving me with some substantial bruises on my right side. While they cited the waiver as the reason for denying a refund, it wasn't a wildlife-related incident; it was due to their failure to properly secure the saddle. The staff didn't fulfill their responsibilities.

As someone who works in the hospitality industry and knows the value of quality service, I cannot in good conscience recommend this business to my guests. There are much better horseback riding companies in the Rockies that provide safer and more enjoyable experiences.

Not recommended at all. Very arrogant people and nothing more than a scam. Very sad for Banff tourists to have to go thru this bad experience.