Callie Bell Performance Horses

I had originally signed up for this camp based on good reviews in both Yelp and Google. I had a completely terrible experience and thought it might be helpful to other parents considering summer camps. We were originally very excited to find this summer camp session and actually made arrangements for our daughter to fly from the San Francisco Bay Area to SoCal to attend this riding camp with her friends who live in Redondo Beach. 2 weeks prior to camp, Gudrun called from Callie Bell explaining that they were over-enrolled, they had 5 horses and 8 riders and asked could we possibly switch to a different week of camp. I explained our situation, and they let me know that they would honor enrollments in order of enrollment date, and I thanked them. They asked me about specific kids names who were also enrolled (since my daughter needed to attend with the friends that she would staying with and whose mom would be driving all of them to and from camp each day). They assured me that since we had enrolled in May, 3 other children (that they mentioned by name) would be moved instead since they registered in July, to ensure there would be 5 kids for 5 horses. I called my daughter on her first day of class to learn that they had 8 kids for 4 horses, and the 3 children (whose names they had specifically stated were over the limit and as a result would be moved to a different session) were somehow in that same camp session after all. The kids walked behind the horses when they weren't riding, and they spent almost no time riding. When I called Callie Bell Riders to ask about these things, suddenly things shifted. When I asked about kids walking behind horses when not riding Gudrun claimed it was "only on the way to the riding arena"--as if that makes it ok. Her explanation that one of their five beginner horses wasn't feeling well so the staff made the call to use 4 horses for 8 kids made absolutely no sense whatsoever. They told me that the staff had a sticky over-enrollment situation and they felt this was the best way to deal with it. They completely forgot that we talked at length 2 weeks previously about this over-enrollment situation. I was unhappy about the fact that they did not move kids to other sessions (what they had originally said they were going to do), but kept all 8 kids in that time with just 1 adult, and 4 horses. I learned that the kids would only ride 45 minutes out of a 3 hour camp each day. Then in the same breath they assured me that "this was just the first day's activities". However when I asked when they would do on the second day or the rest of the week, they told me they would learn to walk the horses, learn about horse safety, comb the horse, and draw pictures of their horse. Seriously??? Draw pictures of the horse? It was to the point that I withdrew my daughter from camp after the first day despite all the expense of flights, and other travel from SF to LA. Anyway, I looked to the previous yelp review from 2011 who raved about the summer camp to try this camp, and felt others might benefit from hearing about a more recent experience in summer of 2018. Not sure what happened between 2011 and 2018, but I can tell you I had a markedly different experience. On the other hand, they might look to summer camp weeks as a way to cram in as many kids and cash as possible, and perhaps their serious riders are treated well?
Jul 14th, 2020

Love this place, u gotta visit
Dec 3rd, 2017

I love Callie Bell Performance Horses! They helped me gain my confidence back, and are helping me achieve my dreams. The first time I ever fell off when I was 15, I hadn't really been riding for very long, and the fall scared me so much I thought I wasn't going to be able ride again. A few months after I decided that riding was a part of me so we looked into some lessons. We were simply looking for a little something but got so much more than that. Callie and her assists are wonderful at what they do I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for their great instruction and support. Callie is very educational and knows what she is talking about. I would suggest Callie Bell Performance Horses to anybody, from experienced riders to people who have never even seen a horse. They are sure to build your confidence and boost your self-esteem. The horses are great you are in good hands when training with Callie Bell!
Feb 14th, 2013