Cocoraque Ranch, Marana

I purchased a deal through living social in Aoril for two one hour trail rides. Every time I called to schedule I either got a voicemail or someone telling me to call back because he was on a ride and couldn't schedule at that moment. I left countless messages that were never returned. Needless to say after months of calling I finally got ahold of someone in September. We scheduled a ride for October 20. When I showed up THERE WAS NO ONE THERE. I called and was told that he "would not take the blame for this and this it must be my mistake". Really?! I called the owner who yelled and called me a liar and then hung up on me. After hanging up on me he sent me a TEXT MESSAGE asking for my address. When I asked what it was for, he said a refund. I have waited two weeks and got nothing. When I text him he told me "CALL LIVING SOCIAL FOR A REFUND, DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN". Do not give these guys your money until you're ready to ride. Once they have it, you are no longer a priority. Go somewhere else, like Pantano Riding Stables. They are much friendlier there.

I agree with the "Questionable Service" review. I love to ride and really would have loved to try this place. But, don't try using a coupon. I tried to use an Entertainment Daily Deal coupon. Later, I tried to use the Tucson Passport. I placed multiple calls and they did not call me back (probably because I mentioned that I had the coupon). When I finally spoke to "Del", he was not very pleasant. He complained about Groupon, Entertainment Book, and the Tucson Passport book. (Cocoraque ran deals in all of these books.) He complained how 'everyone wants everything for free' (in relation to the "buy-one-get-one-free" coupon). Other adult friends bought the coupons and, if he knew they were acquainted (he asked them lots of questions before scheduling), he wouldn't schedule their rides together. He complained to them about the weather being too hot, people wanting to "ride for free", the horses getting ridden too much, etc. Multiple friends with coupons tried to schedule rides at this place and he was either unpleasant or didn't bother to return calls. He also asked them a bunch of questions, basically aimed at hassling coupon-holders. He made it impossible to schedule a ride. I, too, had to ask for my $ back. Cocoraque puts their coupons in so many books, then doesn't want to honor them or puts ridiculous limitations on them. If they are so busy, they need to stop offering these "great deals" and just stick with having people pay full price.

Purchased through a groupon at a great price. However, Cocoraque Ranch is busy and it's difficult to schedule unless you do it far in advance. I tried to schedule twice before the groupon expired. The Ranch will not honor the groupon after the expiration date despite troubles with scheduling. The representative of the ranch also asks a lot of questions about any living social or groupon coupons before scheduling and said he likes to do Groupon customers at a certain time of day. This makes me believe that he treats full paying customers and groupon customers differently but perhaps he was just trying to give a full experience for coupon customers. Either way, it was unusual. I've purchased many groupons and this is the only one I've ever asked groupon for a refund for. Thankfully, they accepted as I'd rather have my money back than continue to deal with the Ranch.

Wonderful experience. Safe and well cared for horses that seemed to enjoy the trail ride as much as the riders. Lovely setting. We even got to try our hand at driving a cow and her calf to another pasture. Van was friendly and funny, great trail boss.

Great setting for a western horse backriding experience on a real cattle ranch much more authentic than rides closer to the city. The dessert is stark, but beautiful, the horses gentle and at the same time ready to show some spirit. Van, our cowboy, was friendly, full of information and regaled us with stories. Great value for the money.

I was raised on a small farm in Ohio, and miss the quiet serenity you feel when you're out in the open and can actually see the clear sky, the moon and stars, hear the animals and just smell nature! Everyone is very friendly and they fit the horse to the rider. Besides individual and group trailrides, they also have great accommodations for barbeques, rodeos, cattle round-ups, jeep tours and just about anything you want to do. At the back of the ranch by the mountains, you can hike and see the petroglyphs from many years in the past. The ranch has been in the family for over 200 years, long before Arizona was a state or even a territory (originally part of Mexico). It was also an Indian camp years before that. They have pictures and bits of history around the walls of the buildings. This definitely needs to be on everyone's "bucket list"!

Welcoming from the minute we arrived. Everyone working the ranch was friendly and informative, especially to those in the party unfamiliar with horses and cattle. The drive was well thought out, with a few challenges for novice riders, but nothing too hairy! As a reasonably experienced brit rider I felt extremely comfortable on the well-schooled American horses (even though those of us who could ride already tended to get the ones with a bit more "personality"). Great cookout at the end of the drive, with a real party aptmosphere, steaks the size of hubcaps, and a bewildering array of delicious extras - good job we'd all worked up a most un-british appetite. A great experience - even if you've never been on a horse in your life. If you have, and like me you're more used to European saddles, the difference is like comparing a Harley-Davidson to a Ducati - comfortable and build for distance, rather than hard and numbing. Great climate too! Gissa job?