Horse Birthday Parties
We offer many options for Birthday Parties depending on the children’s ages. You can choose the one that best meets your needs and budget. We will customize the party to suit you.
There's no limit on the number of children that can attend. It’s a real riding experience through the woods. We have picnic tables on the premises so you can serve your birthday cake and open presents. You can use our heated clubhouse during the winter months. We also have a jungle gym for the children to play on while they take turns riding. The birthday child will be given a free DBF t-shirt in honor of their birthday. Children really enjoy feeding the horses, so if you'd like to bring apples, carrots, or pears, the kids can feed the horses while they're here. However, if they want to feed the minis or the mini donkeys, you'll need too puchase mini treats from the farm to avoid choking them. Some parents even give out "treat bags" rather than party favors as it's cheaper and helps to entertain the kids. You can buy treat bags containing horse or mini cookies from the farm for just $1.00 per bag. Each bag contains 10 treats, so they are just 10¢ a piece.
Hand-led Rides for Young Children
Suitable For Ages 3 - 8 Years Old
You'll have the horses for an hour of riding, but it takes time to get the children's helmets on and to get them up on the horses, so the riding portion of the party will take up to 1.5 hours. The children are hand-led on a 20 minute trail ride through the woods, so they have a real riding experience. They're not just led around in a circle inside a riding ring or around the barn. Since each horse can do the 20 minute ride 3 times in an hour, you'll need to divide the number of children by 3 to arrive at the number of horses you'll need.
Generally, we use horses rather than ponies for our "pony ride" style birthday parties because horses usually have better dispositions than ponies and are generally safer to ride. Horses can also accommodate bigger kids without their weight or height being an issue, and taller children are less likely to feel top-heavy or unbalanced on a horse. But... sometimes we also have minature horses (minis) or ponies for toddlers ages 3 and 4 or even 5-year olds who may be afraid to ride a horse due to it's size. If you feel your child would prefer to ride a very small horse (a mini), be sure to request one when you make your reservation, and will will accommodate your request, if possible.
You're welcome to use the shaded picnic area when the weather's warm, or the heated clubhouse during the winter at no additional cost. If you desire air conditioning in the clubhouse during the summer rather than using the outdoor picnic area, you can use it for an additional $25. You can have the area as long as you'd like to open presents, serve cake, and play on the jungle gym. Riding helmets are provided for every child at no additional cost. If they have their own equestrian helmet, they are welcome to bring them, but no bicycle helmets may be used. The birthday child gets a free DBF t-shirt, so be sure not to leave without it!
Parent Particitipation
We encourage parents to participate in children's birthday parties. We will provide at least one of our staff to lead the horseback riding party on the trails, and we ask that parents volunteer to help lead the other horses. It allows parents to see their child ride and to take pictures of the event. Our horses are very well mannered and easy to lead, but you'll want to be sure to advise parents that they will be asked to participate and to dress appropriately for walking along wooded trails.
Although children may participate in hand-led rides when they are three years old and up, their balance isn't usually reliable enough until they are four to ensure that they won't topple off the horse, so we ask that parents of three year-olds walk alongside their child while being hand-led by one of our staff or another parent. This means that you'll need two parents for each 3 year-old child: one to act as a spotter for the child and one to lead the horse.
We ask that parents supervise their children when they aren't riding the horses. We don't have anyone staffed to stay up in the playground area to watch them, and while we allow them the freedom to come down to the hitching rails to feed the horses apples and carrots that you may bring with you, we ask that parents supervise them to ensure that they interact with our horses safely. In other words, we don't want children underneath the horses' feet where they can get stepped on, walking or standing directly behind the horses, or feeding their fingers to the horses, because our horses can't tell the difference between a finger and a carrot until it's too late!
DBF's Involvement
Our involvement in children's birthday parties is limited to the horseback riding experience itself. We provide the horses, a guide, and the facility, and you basically throw your own party. If we have farm volunteers available on the day of your child's party, we're happy to lend them to you to help lead the horses, but since they are volunteers, we never know how many we'll have on any given day. The best course of action is to notify parents that they will be an active participant at the party and to dress appropriately for visiting a farm, i.e. avoid wearing dresses, sandals, flip flops, your best shoes, etc.
Rates For The Hand-led Riding Parties
The basic birthday party package costs $250 and includes 2 horses and use of the playground and picnic area. Since there are three 20-min. rides in the hour, 2 horses will accommodate 6 children. You can add additional horses for just $100/horse. Each additional horse will accommodate 3 additional kids.
Hand-led Party Rates For Younger Kids
| # of Horses | # of Kids | Cost |
| 2 | 6 | $250 |
| 3 | 9 | $350 |
| 4 | 12 | $450 |
| 5 | 15 | $550 |
| 6 | 18 | $650 |
| 7 | 21 | $750 |
| 8 | 24 | $850 |
| 9 | 27 | $950 |
| 10 | 30 | $1,050 |
*Please be advised that you will have 15% gratuity added to your cost.
Notice: Cash Only!
We no longer accpet credit cards as a form of payment. You may use a credit card (Mastercard, Visa, or Discover) to secure your reservation with a deposit, but no credit cards or checks will be accepted when paying your balance at our farm.
Schedule for Younger Kids
Hand-led Ride Schedule
| Month | Weekends | Weekdays |
| Mar - Oct | 12pm, 3pm | 12pm, 3pm |
| Nov - Feb | 12pm | Not Offered |
The schedule for the hand-led birthday party rides refers to the starting time of the ride. We ask that the children ride and play on the playground first then have cake and open presents. The clubhouse is available for use during the winter months at no additional cost. Be advised that the clubhouse is only large enough to accommodate one party at the time.
Rates For Older Kids Riding On Trail Rides
| # of Kids | 1-Hour Cost/Child | 2-Hour Cost/Child |
| 1 - 4 | $100 | $175 |
| 5 - 9 | $95 | $170 |
*Please be advised that you will have 15% gratuity added to your cost if you have 5 or more riders.
Schedule For Older Kids
Children riding on their own follow the regular trail riding schedule.
What Happens If It Rains?
If it rains, you can simply reschedule your party. You can even pre-select a rain date to include in your invitations for any day except the day immediately following the originally scheduled date.
Horseback Riding Liability Release Form
If you will bringing children to the party whose parents won't be attending, you will need to have the children's parents sign the horseback riding liability release form and bring them with you in order for their children to ride.
Reservations and a $60 deposit are required. Call (919) 596-8975 to reserve your child's party today!