Dream Walker Ranch/American Trail Horses Horse Fraudulently Advertised as Safe- Owner Nearly Killed on Trail Las Vegas Nevada

This is my story of my dealings with Jenn Soria, and American Trail Horses. You can say this is opinion only, but these are the facts of my story. I will let the reader decide if this is truly a business they would wish to get involved with regarding the huge decision of from whom to purchase your horse. My experience with this business has changed my life forever. I will start in the beginning in February of 2014. I contacted Jenn Soria through the American Trail Horses website, very interested in how beautiful the horses were and how SAFE she assures the buyer these horses are. I have been riding since I was three years old, and have owned many horses in my life. I am now 32 and a mother, and needed the safest horse available. I also told her my extensive back surgery history, and was willing to pay the very high price of her horses for the extra safety they supposedly came with. I am a pediatrician in the valley, and had read on her site that she had back trauma as well in her history, so I felt I could trust her even before we had met. I have rode English my whole life, but really wanted to get into the gaited breeds having heard they were very good for riders with back issues. I was interested in one of the horses on her website, but she told me that horse already had a hold on them. She suggested a black and white tobiano Kentucky Gaited named Chieftains Tank. She assured me this horse was perfect for my needs and was super smooth and “excellent on the trail.” We agreed to meet with me already so excited about this horse I was prepared to take her word on him no matter what, which was my first mistake. I did not do a reputation search on American Trail Horses LTC, and if I had things would be very different.

 I have attached a screen shot of his original description noting how smooth she claimed he was and safe for beginners. I felt he was very bumpy when I did ride him originally, but I had little experience gaiting and figured it would be something that I would need to work out. I purchased him after one brief ride for 7,500 on 2/08/14. I thought this was quite a bit of money for a horse, but with my back history I thought the extra price would be worth the safety of such a so called well trained horse. I also thought the boarding fee of 550 a month at their barn was quite high, but at the time I was moving and felt it would be alright for a small amount of time. I did not have a proper western saddle, so I asked for a few weeks if I could borrow theirs when they were not using it. I was averaging riding only 1-2 times a week during that period, which lasted until I bought a 1,400 dollar saddle on Jennifer Soria’s recommendation from her on March 8^th. I was becoming more and more concerned riding Chief (whom I renamed ED), as he was unpredictable and quite spooky. He would stop short and bolt whenever something crossed his path. This was completely against his description, and she assured me this was not the type of horse that he was. At one point I was riding him while she was showing another horse in the arena, and he bolted while bucking trying to get me off. I gained control and told her this is what I was talking about with his behaviors. She assured me that it was a saddle issue (despite actions like this with him happening frequently), and that once I had my expensive new saddle that would never happen again. At this point I was starting to get very nervous riding him, something I have never had with a horse as usually I am a very confident rider. Here is a typical email I was sending Jennifer about my major issues with Ed (Chief), and how he had already hurt me and I was getting a very bad feeling he would one day throw me. This was sent March 17^th with my concerns about this horse:

“Hi Jen I wanted to write you about some big concerns I have with Ed. Each time I ride I feel more and more nervous with him. I don't know if he's testing me, or I'm doing something wrong, but it's really making me sad because I want so much to have a great relationship with my horse but he's so much work I can't relax on him. He's incredibly spooky and skittish, whether its trees or the tarp or shadows, he's always stopping short and getting incredibly nervous. He doesn't take off but rears to the side. The same day he tried to buck me in front of you he spooked when being out in the side turn out for the first time and knocked me down and caused a huge hematoma on my foot by running it over. I may have a hairline fracture but I'm wrapping it myself. I chalked that off as an accident because it could have happened with any horse, but it keeps happening. He also is incredibly barn sour. He has such spooky issues with the street I've been trying to get him to work more on the drive and when he turns around to go back it’s a fight to keep him in control. Today he reared up again when a truck went by. I'm way too nervous to take him on the trails or the street now. I am convinced he would have thrown a beginner several times. Every ride is working on his issues instead of pleasure riding, plus my fear that he will throw me. I started out with him with zero fear, but I'm devastated I get nervous coming to ride. You got to see it a little and Lia even commented on how much he fights me coming around the gate each lap. He tries to run through to his stall and it’s a constant fight. I don't know if it’s that were not a good match, or he needs work or I need work, but please tell me what your thoughts are. I'm so sad that we don't have that trust and solid relationship that develops between a horse and their rider.” Again all she said was take gaiting lessons from Lia which I had been doing from the beginning, and continue working on these issues with the horse she sold me that was apparently safe for beginners. It was about to get worse.

I continued taking lessons to learn more about gaiting, with Lia the young trainer of the barn who I liked very much and got along with. Jennifer Soria would later say I never took any lessons, which was one of her numerous lies. I was slowly realizing I did not like dealing with this woman, my gut instincts were telling me something was wrong. She was treating me like I was a completely inept rider, and I was observing things at this business (as I was a boarder) I found fishy with the horses and the sales. I had a feeling these horses were being flipped very quickly and highly marked up, and she did not know all that she claimed about their training and history. But I was trying hard to make this relationship with my horse work, I felt giving up would be a sign of failing. I had bonded with him emotionally and was trying hard to train him, even with the riding aspect being terrible. He was a friendly horse when in the arena, I was very pleased on the few days he would behave and even put my kids on him briefly. If being lead he could be sweet and calm, but once on the trail (which I purchased him for), he became uncontrollable.  At one point I told her I wanted to switch horses, but realized through her site she was going to charge me for the difference between the horses and ‘commission’ to resell him. So I tried to make it work, a mistake that nearly cost me my life.

On the early evening of Friday April 25^th around 6:30 pm, (I get off work from my practice around 5:45 on Fridays and worked 15 minutes away) I went for a ride to the nearby horse park with Chief. It was bright day light out still, and the weather was calm. This would later turn out to be a huge part of the story because she was claiming I was riding in 40 plus MPH winds, which is RIDICULOUS. I encourage anyone to YouTube what that actually looks like, and tell me if anyone in their right mind would ride in that weather. I was working all day and actually had no idea it had been windy in the morning. Chief was being nutty like usual, but I did not think much of it as he was always nutty which is something we were working on. After an uneventful short ride we ended up in the big arena. All of a sudden in the middle of a calm canter he went out of control. He started galloping and rearing while bucking at full speed. He knocked me forward and I was unable to get his head up or turn him. I managed to stay on for a few seconds but ended up being thrown violently to the left. I was wearing my helmet which saved my life. I landed on the left side of my torso and hit my head at the same time. Chief was still violently bucking and rearing and circling me with me unable to move or breathe. I was convinced I was going to die and he was going to run me over. I have never seen a horse more out of control and it was completely unprovoked. After about twenty seconds I started to be able to take jagged breaths but could only lean on my right side. That is when a Good Samaritan named Ann came to my rescue. She had been looking for her daughters riding clothing from earlier in the day, and saw the situation unfolding. She did not want to move me but the horse was acting so violently, for our safety we had to leave the arena. I really credit her with saving my life. Jennifer Soria would later lie about multiple aspects of this incident (including telling the BBB I was riding at night and that it was hurricane strength winds), so I have attached the third party witness account of the Good Samaritan. Jennifer had no idea I got her contact information before driving home. This woman and I did not know each other before hand, and she has absolutely zero reason to lie on my behalf. She would later also be appalled by the lies that were told regarding what actually happened. This is a factual statement of the accident, and everything that happened to the point of me returning to the barn:

“On the early evening of Friday, April 25, 2014, I watched a rider on a black and white walking horse walk down the street. Both horse and rider seemed calm. I noticed both, the confidence she rode with and the fact she was wearing a helmet. After she rode past, I continued my search for an article that my daughter had lost in the arena while riding earlier in the day. I do not recall what time it was, but there was enough sunlight left to aid my search. With no luck in the arena I was searching, I decided I had plenty of sunlight to try the arena across the street at Bradley Bridle Park, where my daughter had also ridden that day.

While I was crossing the street I saw the black and white paint I had seen earlier aggressively running and bucking on the east side of the large arena. Worried about the rider, I quickly ran to the arena and found her lying on the west side of the arena. When I reached her, she was very shaken and upset, but speaking. Her helmet was now off (she told me she thought she had taken it off after the incident), and she was reaching for her cell phone which was in a pouch strapped to her arm. She was not yet sure, where all of her pain was coming from. I noticed that the horse was now running toward us and not being ready to ask her if she could move, I waved the horse off as he continued to run and buck right toward us. After turning him away, he continued to run wildly around the arena. I considered trying to catch him to keep him away from her, but due to the fact the horse was not calming down and I had only sandals on, I decided against it. After waving him off again, we decided it best to move out of the arena for safety. I assisted her in moving to a bench outside the arena.

When sitting on the bench she told me her name was Jenny and she spoke of the accident and said that the horse “just got his head down and went crazy running and bucking and would not listen to anything I tried”. She was very upset that nothing would work, but also very relieved that she was able to speak of the incident. She told me multiple times that the horse just suddenly “went so crazy and wouldn’t listen to anything, I thought I was going to die”. She explained to me that she was able to stay on him for some time, but could not get him under control, and was very grateful she had her helmet on.

Jenny started making phone calls for help, after assuring me she did not want me to call an ambulance. I told her she was very pale and that I was very worried about her, but she continued to assure me she did not need an ambulance. She told me that she purchased and boards her horse at “Dream Walker Ranch”, and that the owner, who she had contacted, was coming to help. While we waited, she continued to talk about the incident and how upset she was. I was worried about waiting any longer for help , so we decided that I would get my car from across the street to drive her back to “Dream Walker Ranch” and we would leave the horse, who was finally beginning to calm down, in the arena for now. Just as I was about to get my car, the ranch owner came. She told him of the incident, and I told him of the plan to get my car to get her back to the ranch. By the time we pulled into “Dream Walker Ranch” the sun had set and it was now dark.

Jenny and I sat on a bench outside the ranch, waiting for the owner to return with the horse. I asked her repeatedly if her husband could pick her up or if I could drive her home. The color to her face was not improving and she was having some difficulty breathing. She assured me she was fine to drive herself and that she just wanted to get home and take a bath. When the ranch owner returned, with the now calm horse, he told Jenny repeatedly that she never should have been riding that day, that it was much too windy for anyone to ride a horse. I felt very bad for Jenny, knowing how bad she felt about the incident, due to the length of our time together, and knowing that my own daughter had ridden two different horses, either of which belongs to her, much earlier in the day while the wind was blowing without incident. It had been a windy day, but that wind had calmed to a breeze by the time I saw Jenny riding to the bridle park. He continued to tell her not to worry about the horse, that they would get her a calmer horse, and that she should worry about herself now.

I left “Dream Walker Ranch” that evening with Jenny sitting in her car, dialing her husband, and with the ranch owner assuring me that he would make sure Jenny had at least spoken to her husband before she drove home.

Ann [redacted]”

I have been a board certified Physician Assistant for 6 years, and knew I had broken ribs but the idea of having internal injuries never crossed my mind. By the time I drove home I was in severe respiratory distress. My husband rushed me to the hospital where it was discovered being thrown off had fractured and displaced six of my left ribs, collapsed my left lung, and was shifting my heart the right. They had to do an emergency chest decompression with a chest tube. The ER doctors stated I was hours away from death. I was hospitalized in the ICU for 5 days while my lungs healed. The ribs would take months to fully heal and still give me pain to this day. The Soria’s immediately went on the defensive. Jennifer claimed I should have never been riding at night in 40 mph winds, and that it was completely my fault. I was pretty astounded at the claims, neither of which was true and she knew how many problems he had been giving me. She had even seen him try to buck me off previously, but always had an excuse. Initially I never even considered trying to place blame on anyone. I know you cannot guarantee a horses behavior 100 percent, and I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. But the way I was treated following the accident was the most vile and despicable thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I of course told her I was never going to ride that horse again. I had no interest in training him, as I had only spent that much money on him because I felt I was assuring I was getting the safest horse available. She assured me she had a perfect horse for me this time, a Tennessee Walker who had competed in field trials and very broke. This was the worst horseback riding injury I had ever sustained in 25 plus years of riding, and felt I had to get back up as soon as possible to overcome my severe emotional issues related to healing as well as my physical issues. Instead of working with me and understanding what I had just been through due to the well trained beginner horse she had sold me, she told me that there would be no trade involved (although again she would later tell the BBB that I could have traded him at any time apparently before the accident free of charge). I would be charged 10 percent for commission of the sale, and the new horse would be 8,000. I was so appalled but was stuck legally. I did not want anything to do with Chief, but it was stated in the contract I had to sign I could either pick him up and sell him myself, or she would charge me 25 percent commission if I did not buy another horse from her. The decent thing to do would have been to trade me free of charge for the new horse considering there was fraud involved with the sale of Ed and his description, but due to money being the bottom line she refused to do that. And her actions would only get worse. In the 10 weeks of owning Chief, I rode him maybe 2-3 times a week under a half hour at a time. She now claimed that his previously perfect gait (which I always thought had been bumpy and uncomfortable) was ‘ruined’ because of my ‘inability to ride gaited horses’, and she would only be able to sell him at 6,500. I couldn’t believe this woman. Not only was I losing hundreds on commission on the reduced sale of a horse I had barely owned two months, she was claiming I ruined him, AND charging me way more for the “trade” of the new safe horse I should have been given in the first place. Not only that, she emotionally and mentally manipulated me, even to the point of crying on her shoulder as she was telling me the accident was completely my fault and that I had ruined this horse. At this point I started getting medical bills; with my three thousand dollar deductible and 7,000 out of pocket this new Tennessee walker was now going to cost me twenty thousand dollars. Ed was finally sold on her site under a different name in the beginning of June (if you watch the site many horses are returned and sold under different versions of their name, and that must mean she is making money off of charging commission to get customers a horse they actually want.) I was so disgusted by her actions I started to ask around about what locals knew of this business, and was utterly dismayed by what I was told. Quite a few people in the horse community had heard of this business, and warned me too little and way too late. She has a horrible reputation in the equine business (from what others have told me) as many of the people I causally would ask in stores knew of the business and said it recently had a name change because of that issue. I started reading online reviews and found information I wished I had known in February of this year. I went back to Shiloh Horse Rescue where I had rehabilitated my previous OTT thoroughbred (a horse potentially far more dangerous than any so called beginner perfectly trained trail horse), and rescued a starving abused quarter horse needing rehabilitation for a friend for my new Walker. She was moved into a property by my house immediately in June after I started to put all the pieces together of what was going on. Shiloh were thrilled to have me rescuing again, having seen my work with my previous horse and me having absolutely no incidents in all of my years of riding at the ranch. Even they had heard of Dream Walker ranch in Sandy Valley, CA and to respect the privacy of those involved, will not repeat what was said to me about this business. After that conversation I had enough, and promptly went to the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint. Jennifer Soria’s response was nothing short of slanderous. She called me a ‘dangerous and reckless rider’ that “ruined” the previous horse in question as I ‘fell off’ when riding in 40 mph winds at night. I was speechless but not surprised at this point. She was going on the full defensive to the point of lying about almost every dealing I have had with her. She also contradicted herself in so many ways.

The whole point of buying a BEGINNER horse was even if you did not have gaited experience, it should not matter when riding said horse and it absolutely should not "ruin" a horse's gait. Espeically in 10 weeks of ownership! I was not a beginner but an advanced rider who wanted to learn the nuances of a gaiting horse. Also I have attached a screen shot of the horses descriptions at her ranch stating they are fine in Las Vegas winds even though MY ACCIDENT DID NOT OCCUR IN HIGH WINDS. According to Jennifer Soria’s logic, if you do not have experience riding gaited horses you should not purchase a beginner horse from her, as apparently you can ruin their gait in 8-10 weeks of riding. The last nail in the coffin for her was my husband was friends with Lia the horse trainer on Face Book, which the Sorias did not know. We have a screen shot of the ever professional Jennifer Soria mocking me and my riding abilities publically after her horse nearly killed me. All over their website it talks about her professionalism and ethics and military discipline, but my experience was the complete opposite of any of those qualities. I am sure she does have customers that loved their horse and have had no issues, and that is great. I am happy for them and hope no one EVER has to go through what I did dealing with this woman. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and especially financially, this business has put me through the ringer which will take years to get over. I have attached proof of my injuries and claims, although I hope with the details I have provided no one would question my validity. Jennifer Soria will probably respond to this with more lies, which is all she has done since I’ve dealt with her. She will probably include some report about how great this horse is now for his new owner with no issues, clearly indicating I was at fault. If that happens I would love her to give me the contact information for the new owner so I can verify this myself, and have a little chat with them. But everything I just described happened to me, with third party witnesses verifying this was NOT my issue. She mistook my kindness for weakness which was a mistake. Anything she says that is adding to her deceit will only help me. I have a feeling there is more that meets the eye with this business, and my lawyer is investigating just how deep the turn around and purchasing of these horses really is going. My horse has papers that we are able to trace, but all things take time to when you are gathering information. But in the mean time I want everyone to be made aware of my experience, and judge for yourself whether this is something you would want your daughter, sister, mother, wife, or any family member to go through. My family and I are just now starting to get over the experience that is dealing with Dream Walker/ American Trail horses ranch. I wish anyone going forth purchasing a horse from her the best of luck.