Tanque Verde Ranch

My wife and I, brother, sister in law, and niece booked a sunset ride and cookout for December 27th. My wife and I were visiting from Florida. My brother's family have been Tucson residents for over a decade. My brother recommended the ride. He and his family stayed at the ranch twice. He has ridden every ride offered by the ranch. I booked our ride on his recommendation. The ranch was very impressive, and the countryside is beautiful. After we mounted our preselected horses, a young woman wrangler took her time and patiently explained the nuances of basic riding, adjusted my stirrups, and answered any questions I had. I wish I had caught her name, because she was exceptional. Unfortunately, my wife had a wrangler who just went through the motions. Didn't give her the time and attention she needed to prepare for the ride. Another wrangler was rude to my sister, who was taking pictures. She was in no way impeding the wranglers, but still got berated. I personally loved the ride. I was given a gentle, responsive horse that could have made the ride with or without me on its back. It wanted to eat every time we stopped, but a gentle pull on the reins was all that was required to discourage him. The scenery was beautiful. I was behind the lead wrangler. He was engaging, funny, and extremely informative. I'm sure he'd heard questions similar to mine a hundred times, but he was still an engaging gentleman. During the ride, our wrangler decided to extend it. My wife's horse, being used to turning on a trail to the stables, started heading in that direction. My wife, who had no riding experience, was struggling to turn the horse. Our wrangler shouted directions at her, then rode back to assist her. His demeanor was insulting and patronizing, to say the least. Shouting at a senior citizen, male or female, accomplishes nothing, other than to rattle the rider and embarrass them. It also reflects poorly on the wrangler, who, as the supposed leader, should demonstrate a calm, professional demeanor, rather than lose his cool like a petulant teenager. My wife finally retorted, "You know, I've never done this. I'm not a pro". Needless to say, our respect for man dropped. Once we reached the overlook, we wanted to take pics, but the wrangler said we only had two minutes, and obviously wanted to move on. After the ride ended, our family shared our experiences and opinions of the ride. My niece said the wrangler had been rude to her, as well, and my brother was not impressed with his demeanor. My personal experience was great. I enjoyed conversing with our wrangler, who, at one point, told me he had been in the saddle for six hours. That's a long time, and I understand how hard these folks work. But you know what? You're in the customer service industry folks. When you advertise on your website how friendly and professionally you treat your clients, live up to it. Neophyte riders are just that. If you don't want to take the time to prepare them, then verbally berate and embarass them in front of not only family, but strangers, you're not only doing them a disservice, you're conducting yourselves like condescending jerks, not professionals. You're more than happy to take our money, but don't want to waste time with "amateurs". If that's the case, make riding experience a prerequisite, and spare the rest of the patronizing, half baked effort, when all we're looking for is a rewarding experience. I don't care if you're tired or cranky because it was a long day. Our family is made up of retired career law enforcement officers. Long days, nights, fatigue are part of the job. Abusing someone verbally or insulting people, tired or not, was unacceptable. Worse, unprofessional. Those who couldn't get that, got cut loose. It's sad, because people spend good money for a rewarding, entertaining experience. One that your ranch promises on their site. But if you don't walk the walk, don't talk the talk. My brother told me he was so disappointed, this was his last ride at Tanqueverde. This from a man who rode every trail ride you offered, and stayed twice at your ranch. He praised your business prior to this experience. His impression is you have sadly gone downhill since then when it comes to customer service. Even though I personally had a great experience, we won't be back, nor would I recommend this business to friends or family. A little courtesy and patience doesn't cost anybody a dime. Maybe some of your employees don't get that concept, but you might want to remind them that word of mouth is the best advetisement. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply here. More's the pity.

Still loving after 45 years of visiting annually. It's the perfect gathering place with friends and family. The hiking is spectacular as well

Thank you so much for another memorable and joyous experience! Tanque Verde in late December is a meaningful tradition for us. Our whole family loves the ranch so much and looks forward to returning from the moment we leave each year. Riding horses all day with such caring and skilled wranglers leaves a lasting impression. Hiking through the desert, seeing the saguaros, riding to the pancake breakfast and enjoying the cowboy cookouts are highlights each year. The horse turnout each night is simply magnificent. The relaxed and easy feeling is simply the best. Thank you to all of the staff for welcoming us each year with a pure and genuine feeling of care and commitment to our comfort. Can’t wait to see you next year!

We spent a week here. When my wife walked in to our rooms, her jaw dropped -- such a great setup, plenty of space, clean and well put together. The kids loved kids camp, getting to work with and ride the horses. I had a chance to ride several different ways -- walking horse ride, penning (a game of riding horses to herd cows into pens), horsemanship lesson (learning to ride better and hit the faster gaits), and mountain biking. Each experience was better than the last. The staff are all very friendly and attentive, thinking of things before you ask and getting everything just so, such warm hospitality making us and our kids feel welcome and part of the family.

Really wonderful place. Beautiful setting, extremely friendly staff, great food. Wifi is adequate - coverage is good, but speed is a bit lackluster. The loping check seems a bit... subjective. We witnessed highly qualified riders get rejected while newbies got through. Those are the only two negative points I can offer. The staff, food, rooms, setting, hikes, and everything else are phenomenal. My company did a retreat here, and we would do it again without question.