anonym wrote on 05-31-2013

A bad experience

I took my boyfriend to Benson Park trail rides near Waikerie for his birthday present. He loves horses and is a good rider, whilst I have less experience. The website says that the trail rides are open to beginners, but I have to say they definitely are not! Please only go to Benson Park if you are an experienced rider. The ride itself was easy, and the horses really lovely, however the owner and trail ride leader Ken, is impatient, grumpy and rude. He was obviously annoyed that I wasn't as experienced as everyone else even though I'd made that clear. I felt uncomfortable the whole way as I felt picked on by Ken. My horse was great, and I was in control. The horse was happy to follow the others, and my boyfriend and I wanted to ride next to each other as it was his birthday trip. However Ken kept leading me away from everyone else, I think because he thought I was holding the experienced riders back, which wasn't the case. At one point we came to the rivers edge, and my horse clearly didn't want to go in the water. One of the girls who works there said that my horse is afraid of the water, so I happily hung back while the others rode in. Ken yelled at me for not riding my horse properly, so I felt compelled to go into the water. My horse was nervous and bolted straight out, running into another horse and also causing an accident. Overall I felt unsafe, and a bit bullied, even though I was paying a lot of money to be there. If you are going to run a tourist orientated business, you need to treat your customers politely. I regret paying so much money and not raising my concerns at the time. I don't recommend that you go to Benson Park for a trail ride if you are looking for a fun relaxing weekend. If you are an experienced rider who feels confident saying no to, or ignoring the owner here who can be rude and disrespectful, then I'm sure you will have a great time. Thank you for reading :)