My experience at the Sagebrush Ranch was a mixed bag. The ride itself and the BBQ lunch served afterward were terrific and I'd give four stars. Everything else was a mess and I'd give only one star. Most of the reviews on here have been so brutal that I consider myself lucky to be able to say I had an "average" experience. If a friend asked for a recommendation, I wouldn't tell them to avoid it, but still I'm not sure I can recommend them in good conscious.
SUMMARY:
I bought my wife and I each a spot on their "Dalton Gang BBQ lunch ride" on a Sunday in March 2009. I selected this place because of the price. For $109 you get a two-hour ride, lunch, and transportation from the Strip, which was the best price I found (by comparison, a competitor was offering a 1.5-hour ride with no lunch and no transportation for $89). We were picked up at the Excalibur and driven to their secondary ranch on the extreme Western edge of town. We were pretty lucky, there were only four people on the ride so we didn't have any of the problems I've read other reviewers had with the transport van being overcrowded. Also, since we were taken to the secondary ranch within city limits, we avoided the main ranch north of town which, based on other reviews, I gather is pretty disgusting. Once at the ranch (and the term should be used loosely, there is no physical "ranch," just a couple acres of land with a pen for about 20 or so horses). Others have noted the horses appeared to be in poor condition. I'm no horse expert but I didn't see any of that, the horses appeared healthy and well cared for. We were greeted by Jackie, the owner, and Guy, our cowboy, who said hello and explained the itinerary. They then loaded up the horses into a trailer, attached it to a van, and we drove off to a wash on the outskirts of town. We were loaded up onto the horses, given some basic instructions, and then we rode for two hours in the beauty of the desert. Afterwards Jackie met us at the trail head where she gave us lunch, then they transported us back to the Strip. From pickup to dropoff was about 4 hours.
GOOD POINTS:
-The ride itself was really good. It was quiet, peaceful, relaxing, and very scenic. We basically headed west through the naked desert towards the Spring Mountains for an hour, then turned around and headed back in the opposite direction. The desert landscape is really pretty, it's pure virgin territory, no one else is around (except maybe a random dirtbiker zipping by). On the way back you walk through some mini-canyons that are quite pretty. The ride goes at a slow pace, I think we probably covered no more than 7 or so miles the entire two hours. This is perfect for me as a first-time rider, but more experienced riders seeking a quicker pace should probably go elsewhere. Guy, the cowboy leading the pack, mostly rode in front and said nothing, he just turned around periodically to check on us and ask if we were doing alright. Other reviewers have a problem with that, they wanted a guide who would talk about the history of the region or whatever, but I preferred the quiet. I really enjoyed the tranquility of the ride, which would have been ruied by the guide blabbering all the time about the history of old Spanish settlers and what-not. Besides, if the guy's 200 feet ahead of you in the front of a long line of horses, you're not going to hear what he has to say anyway. I had a great horse, her name was "Kelly" and whenever I'd scratch her mane she would kinda tilt her neck and look back at me in a playful manner. The entire time we were on the horses I was happy and enjoying myself, and seeing the smile on my wife's face was priceless.
-The BBQ lunch. I thought the food was phenominal. You're given a hamburger, a boneless BBQ rib, half a piece of mesquite chicken breast, beans, potato salad, a small slice of apple pie, and either soda or bottled water. The meats were perfectly prepared and very tasty. I don't eat beans or potato salad and the pie was pretty much store bought. But man, that BBQ rib...was so good I think about it even now.
BAD POINTS:
-The outfit itself is very unprofessionally run. Watching them try to conduct business was like watching the Keystone Cops catching criminals. For example, getting them to commit to time to pick us up was an adventure of its own. Their website told us we'd be picked up at noon, but the reservation agent then said it would be between 6 am and 8 am, and then the night before Jackie called us to say they'd pick us up at 10 am. We got 10 miutes into the horse ride and Guy realized he couldn't find the trail, and then after the ride he told us he's had 8 heart attacks (thank God he didn't tell us that before the ride!). The van driver had no idea where to go to pick up the other couple on the ride, who were staying at the Riviera, and we wasted lots of time driving around searching for them. At the end of the ride we were picked up in the owner, Jackie's, personal vehicle because the other couple had to get to the Riviera in time for a spa appointment (I will give them this, they were very accomodating to the other couple's needs), and we ate lunch standing there in the wash by her vehicle using her hood as a makeshift table. I envisioned sitting down at a bench and eating on a table, not standing in a dusty wash using the hood of a car as a table.
-The van they use for customer transport needs to be replaced, it's a deathtrap. It's old and rickety and smells bad on the inside, and every time it gets up to freeway speed it starts shaking like it's about to fall apart. It looks like it can only seat 10-12 people comfortably, so I can sympathize with other people's gripes about 15 or more people being crammed into it.
-I brought a jacket with me, but it wasn't cold enough to wear it. I was told I could leave it in the transport van and it would be there when they picked us up. But as I mentioned earlier, they picked us up after the ride in the owner's personal vehicle, and I realized on our way back that my jacket was still in the van. I contacted the owner who offered to deliver it to my work the next day. Didn't happen. So I called her back and she said Guy had taken the van out for the afternoon but that she'd deliver it the next day. Again, it didn't happen. We went around in circles like this for a week or two- I'd call, she'd say someone would deliver it to my work the next day, and no one did, and I'd call back that day, and we'd start all over again. And every time I'd offer to pick it up myself Jackie would say, "No, don't worry honey, we'll bring it to you." Finally I just gave up. I later called a couple more times, left a voice mail for Jackie, and didn't get a response. So I guess I can kiss that jacket goodbye. It wasn't a family heirloom or anything, but it was still disappointing to not get it back after so many promises of its return.
So all in all, my experience was a mixed bag. Ride and food were good, everything else wasn't, and now I'm minus one jacket. And my experience sounds like one of the better ones of any reviewer on here. So take caution if you plan to make a reservation at the Sagebrush Ranch, and don't leave your jacket in the van!
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