My husband, my two daughters, and the younger daughter’s boyfriend took a one hour ride leaving from the Palos Verdes Stables property and going up on the ridge above Ernie Howlett Park to see the beautiful ocean and city view.  It was amazing — we could see the South Bay coast AND downtown Long Beach, as well as the San Bernardino mountains, the Los Angeles basin, downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign — you name it, we could see it from there.

The most fun thing about a trail ride at Pat’s is that you don’t have to just walk with your horse’s nose in the other one’s tail like you do on so many commercial trail rides.  If you know how to ride and sign the correct waivers, Pat’s operation will allow you to trot and even canter a bit in the areas where the footing is safe enough for this activity (and within reason so that the horses don’t get exhausted either, of course.)    The horses are all very well trained and bomb-proof too, so you can have fun even if you aren’t the world’s greatest rider.  And since Pat has some draft cross horses, even tall, heavier people can find someone that they can ride — he does not have a weight limit of 200 pounds like so many other places do.  Our family loves horses and is pretty experienced, but my daughter’s boyfriend was very inexperienced and he had a lot of fun too!

Pat also has a big soft spot for mentally challenged and autistic folks too, and has many regular clients with autistic children or young adults. While we were there, two different young men with autism were taken out on rides.  The grins on their faces were amazing, and Pat’s staff is extremely patient with them and really want them to have a great time and experience the freedom of seeing the world from up high.

If you are looking for something unique and different as a Christmas gift or to do as a wholesome family outlet, I highly recommend Wagon Wheel Ranch.