Christmas Eve Pony Rides

Pony and Horse Rides to celebrate the winter holidays on Christmas Eve Day!
Read entire description to answer all of your questions.

To reduce long lines, this year we are extending the hours for our pony rides AND offering a pre-purchase reservation hour from 10:30am to 11:30am. So skip the lines and reserve your spot:

Price: $10 per Ride

Where: Painted Bar Stables, Burdett NY

What: Pony Ride and Photo Opportunities

When: Christmas Eve Day, Dec. 24th

Time:
Sensory Needs Only: 10:00am - 10:30am
Reservation Hour: 10:30am - 11:30am
Open Pony Rides: 11:30am - 2:30pm

Purchase Options:
- Tickets Sold at Event
- Sensory Hour Tickets
- Pre-Purchase Reservation
- Pay-it-Forward Donation Ticket

Bring your family for a fun horse experience while everyone is in town for the holidays!

Pony Rides will be available at the Painted Bar Stables for $10 per ride. We will be selling pony ride tickets for the open hours at the event.

Reservation hour tickets are sold ahead of time online. Enjoy the hassle-free experience as you skip the lines for a memorable encounter. Purchase your ticket ahead of time for the reservation hour to ensure a fantastic time for you and your loved ones at our pony ride attraction on Christmas Eve.

Each ride will be hand led by one of our staff through our Winter Wonderland Obstacle Course and conclude with an opportunity for mounted photos in our "Holiday Photo Booth" that we will have set up for people to take photos with of their little ones on the horse.
Please plan to come early as we are expecting a lot of riders. We will be selling tickets until 2:30pm but if there is a line at time of closing we will extend to accommodate the queue.

We will have free hot cocoa, cider and cookies available. Community members are welcome and invited to share their favorite bakes.
Karen Stillwell Burlingame will be vending her Alpaca wears from Under The Moonlite Alpaca Garlic Ranch LLC! She sells beautiful gloves, hats, alpacas leggings, warming shoe liners, blankets and even crochet alpaca cowboy hats! We love her stuff and swear by the hypoallergenic alpaca fibers for warmth!

Helmets are provided free of charge. Helmets are required for any rider under 18 years.
Rides are open to the public. You do not need to be a student or member of our stables to partake.
Rides will happen Rain or Shine. If we have nice weather they will take place outside in our outdoor arena. If the weather is poor or extremely windy we will host them in our indoor riding ring.
In order to ride in motion, all riders must be able to sit unassisted and hold onto either the Saddle Horn or Surcingle Handle Bars on their mount.
Riders that are either too young or unable to hold on may participate at the photo booth but will not be taken for a ride through the Wonderland Obstacle Course.

The smaller ponies have a weight limit of around 100-120 lbs but we plan try to consistently keep one of the main string of horses in the line up for older youth and adult (young at heart) riders. Most of our horses have a weight limit of 190# but we do have horses on the farm capable of up to 250#. No matter the age or experience level, all rides for the horse and pony rides will be hand lend.

The “Photo Booth” area will be set up for people to use their own cameras to take photos of their riders. We will have a photo printer on site where people can have their photos printed for extra charge.

Photo Booth will be set up to celebrate winter agnostically with pine trees and lights and snowflakes, however we will have props available for you to add Christmas and Hanukkah flare to your photos (Santa Hats, Reindeer Ears, Garland of Blue, Gold and Red, etc...).

Pay It Forward Ticket Donations

Would you like to donate to someone who cannot afford pony rides?

Pay it Forward Pony Rides are pre-purchased rides donated to those who need them. These rides could be used by:

- Families who cannot afford one
- Friends of children coming for a ride who don't have a parent with them to pay

Prepaid tickets will be displayed on a clothesline.
Donors will have the option to have their name listed or to keep the ticket anonymous.
When people need one, they can just grab one off of the clothesline and trade it in for a pony ride, no questions asked.

Our barn will also always donate tickets to the wire too!

NOTES:

We are expecting to give a lot of kiddos horse and pony rides!
We are thrilled to have so much anticipation and interest in our Pony Rides on Christmas Eve Day! However, as a result of such high interest we wanted to share some best practices. We figured it would help keep everything running smoother and help people know what to expect.

Sensory Needs 1/2 Hour (10:00am - 10:30am): with the advice of parents who have kids with autism and other sensory needs, we have developed a special ½ hour specifically for these children! From 10:00am - 10:30am we are selling a limited number of tickets that will be for sensory needs youth ONLY. Children with sensory needs are encouraged to spend their time petting the horse or riding it without it moving as well as going for a ride through the winter wonderland course. They do not need to ride a moving horse to enjoy the horse!
During this ½ hour we will:
- only have one horse operating at a time
- no music will playing
- side walkers will be available

Reservation hour (10:30am - 11:30am) tickets are sold ahead of time online. Enjoy the hassle-free experience as you skip the lines for a memorable encounter. Purchase your ticket ahead of time for the reservation hour to ensure a fantastic time for you and your loved ones at our pony ride attraction on Christmas Eve.

For the open hours (11:30am - 2:30pm) tickets will be for sale for $10 at the entrance door to our barn. To purchase a ticket, a waiver must be signed. From there, riders can wait in line with their ticket to receive their helmets and ride the next available horse. If a rider wants a specific pony or horse they are welcome to let other riders in front of them until the horse of their choice is ready.

Riders able to balance and hold on independently will be taken for a ride around our indoor riding ring. Before dismount parents will have the the opportunity to take a photo in front of our Photo Booth area. Riders unable to balance will not ride in motion but may use the time to meet the horse and take photos.

On your way please grab a cup of hot cocoa, candy canes and homemade cookies from our barn community members.

Best Practices:

1. DRESS WARM
With cold temperatures we plan to have propane heaters for those waiting in line as well as a campfire pit for those outside.
However, please wear hats and gloves. Our barn will protect us from the wind but it is not heated of insulates.

2. MAKE SURE CAMERA BATTERIES ARE CHARGED
Getting photos of the riders in front of the Christmas tree may be important to many parents. Please make sure your phone or camera is well charged. Batteries do not last as long in the cold.

3. PAY CASH IF POSSIBLE
We will be accepting credit and debit cards, but if possible pay in cash. It will reduce wait time and keep everything moving more quickly.

4. ARRIVE EARLY
We will be selling tickets from 11:30m to 2:30pm. Please arrive early to reduce your wait.
If you purchased a reservation hour ticket, please come a little early to make sure you are ready for your reservation.

SENSORY NEEDS PARENTS:
Generally we do not allow parents into the arena during our pony rides. We will make an exception for one accompanying adult to enter the arena to support sensory needs kids during the sensory ½ hour. Any adult that is entering the arena must be wearing solid footwear to avoid being stepped on and must sign a waiver for themselves as well. To maintain focus on safety, any accompanying adult will not be allowed to operate a camera at any time that the horse is moving through the winter wonderland.