Gingerwitch
Well-Known Member
As the title - anyone been on one - any pointers from anyone - i really fancy riding in some of the cowboy country you see in the old westerns..... so please recomend away
Recomend me a ranching holiday please
- Thread starter Gingerwitch
- Start date
ElphabaFae
Well-Known Member
There is a really good one in Montana, but I can't remember what it's called. The lady that owns the RS went there for 3 weeks and absolutely loved it, I'll try and find the name of it for you 
teapot
Well-Known Member
Depends if you want working ranch or dude ranch. The two are very different.
Gingerwitch
Well-Known Member
I just want to ride out on a good horse, seeing fab "cowboy" scenery and would love to learn to sit on a horse thats cutting a steer - but thats probably to much of a dream
so is that a dude or a working ranch?
so is that a dude or a working ranch?
Kaylum
Well-Known Member
White Stallion Ranch, Arizona
totally recommend everything clean and food amazing.
totally recommend everything clean and food amazing.
NiceChristmasBaubles
Well-Known Member
For a dude ranch I can recommend this: http://www.flatheadlakelodge.com/index.php
We're going for our 4th visit this summer. Great for families and good variety of riding for all skill levels. Lot's of non horsey things to do as well. But working ranch it aint!
We're going for our 4th visit this summer. Great for families and good variety of riding for all skill levels. Lot's of non horsey things to do as well. But working ranch it aint!
NoCollection
Well-Known Member
Whichever ranch you go to, ask them about their policies. We were disappointed to find ourselves banned from cantering as we were put into a mixed group with beginners. We did make a fuss and found a solution, but we wished we had asked more about the place. For example, they wouldn't let us into the barn to help with the horses (at first - they fairly quickly learned that we know one end of a horse from the other). That was a dude ranch in Texas - would be great if you want quiet hacks in pretty scenery.
elisebev
Well-Known Member
I can thoroughly recommend the Bitterroot Ranch in Wyoming. I went there last summer and loved it. We rode out for several hours a day some days were just hacking and others were dedicated to finding and rounding up the cattle. We also had a working cattle competition, a couple of picnic rides and one night we went to a rodeo.
The Scenery and Horses were lovely as was the accommodation.
The ranch is BHS approved. The owners also run equitours. Their website is here http://www.bitterrootranch.com/
The Scenery and Horses were lovely as was the accommodation.
The ranch is BHS approved. The owners also run equitours. Their website is here http://www.bitterrootranch.com/
gnubee
Well-Known Member
There are so many different ones (I just got rid of a box of about 200 brochures I got sent to help me pick)!
The way to choose (I think) is to consider what you personally expect to get from it:
- are you going alone, or do you have a non-horsey/less horsey partner to consider (alone might mean you would prefer a singles week somewhere, or at least a smaller one so you get to know people, non horsey partner will mean you want as many other activities as possible included in the price. We had shooting (just about every type of gun imaginable, frisbee golf, archery, tomohawk throwing, rock climbing, plus a hike or campfire most evenings and a hot tub for just sitting around)
- do you want to learn to work cattle (round up, team penning, steer roping etc.) (if so you will need a working ranch rather than a dude ranch as most dude ranches dont have cattle)
- Alternatively, do you want other western skills (reining or barrel racing? Facilities for these vary, but generally speaking you would pay more if you want tuition in them)
- are you expecting a nice hotel standard of accommodation, or would sleeping under the stars at least one night be ok for you (working tend to be lower standard anyway, and often one of the bigger attractions there is an overnight cattle drive)
- price (range from about $1000 to $4000 for a week; dont forget quoted prices in the US usually exclude sales taxes (vary by state) and a mandatory or strongly expected tip of 15-20%)
-KIDS We went on an adults only week, which was fabulous. I think it would have driven me mad if there were children getting in the way of me acting like a child (I imagine gun ranges are much more supervised, rides are more structured etc. when there are kids to consider). Many ranches offer at least one of these in the off-season, and unless you are taking children I would strongly recommend it.
- ride pattern (I wanted to gallop through the wild west. Nose to tail walk and trot would not have done it for me. Make sure you check about this before you go; if you are the only person there who wants a fast ride, will they make it happen for you every day?) How long per day do you expect to ride?
-Extras (are you desperate to try barn dancing or sing cowboy songs round the campfire? Most people have an idea of their ranch holiday, and it is a shame to not make it happen in full. I would have been disappointed if I was being a cowboy for a week and no country singing occured). Also are you the kind of person who needs a swimming pool?
- Location (do you have an idea of the scenery you want? Cactus and tumbleweed will need arizona/texas ish landscapes; for hills you want colorado or montana). Also where are you flying to (getting to the ranch from the airport can cost a few hundred dollars, so its not something to ignore). Do you want to tie in your ranch holiday with a visit anywhere else in the US? If so consider this in the location of the ranch; it doesnt really make sense to do one week in yellowstone and a week on a ranch in texas, and conversely if you want to visit disneyworld in your trip, the ranch in colorado probably doesnt make sense for you.
Once you have considered all these factors you can narrow down 200 ranches to a shortlist of 3 quite quickly. When we had done that we contacted the ranches to ask some questions about riding standards. The friendliness of the people we spoke to at some really stood out over others, and helped us make our final choice.
If you want what I wanted, I wouldnt hesitate to recommend Sundance Trail in Colorado, but I think there are so many variables you need to consider for yourself first that until you have your own shortlist word of mouth recommendations dont mean a lot. I would also say that if you want some confirmation that the ranches you are looking at meet certain standards, you want to check that they are members of the dude ranchers association. http://www.duderanch.org/listings_all.php
The way to choose (I think) is to consider what you personally expect to get from it:
- are you going alone, or do you have a non-horsey/less horsey partner to consider (alone might mean you would prefer a singles week somewhere, or at least a smaller one so you get to know people, non horsey partner will mean you want as many other activities as possible included in the price. We had shooting (just about every type of gun imaginable, frisbee golf, archery, tomohawk throwing, rock climbing, plus a hike or campfire most evenings and a hot tub for just sitting around)
- do you want to learn to work cattle (round up, team penning, steer roping etc.) (if so you will need a working ranch rather than a dude ranch as most dude ranches dont have cattle)
- Alternatively, do you want other western skills (reining or barrel racing? Facilities for these vary, but generally speaking you would pay more if you want tuition in them)
- are you expecting a nice hotel standard of accommodation, or would sleeping under the stars at least one night be ok for you (working tend to be lower standard anyway, and often one of the bigger attractions there is an overnight cattle drive)
- price (range from about $1000 to $4000 for a week; dont forget quoted prices in the US usually exclude sales taxes (vary by state) and a mandatory or strongly expected tip of 15-20%)
-KIDS We went on an adults only week, which was fabulous. I think it would have driven me mad if there were children getting in the way of me acting like a child (I imagine gun ranges are much more supervised, rides are more structured etc. when there are kids to consider). Many ranches offer at least one of these in the off-season, and unless you are taking children I would strongly recommend it.
- ride pattern (I wanted to gallop through the wild west. Nose to tail walk and trot would not have done it for me. Make sure you check about this before you go; if you are the only person there who wants a fast ride, will they make it happen for you every day?) How long per day do you expect to ride?
-Extras (are you desperate to try barn dancing or sing cowboy songs round the campfire? Most people have an idea of their ranch holiday, and it is a shame to not make it happen in full. I would have been disappointed if I was being a cowboy for a week and no country singing occured). Also are you the kind of person who needs a swimming pool?
- Location (do you have an idea of the scenery you want? Cactus and tumbleweed will need arizona/texas ish landscapes; for hills you want colorado or montana). Also where are you flying to (getting to the ranch from the airport can cost a few hundred dollars, so its not something to ignore). Do you want to tie in your ranch holiday with a visit anywhere else in the US? If so consider this in the location of the ranch; it doesnt really make sense to do one week in yellowstone and a week on a ranch in texas, and conversely if you want to visit disneyworld in your trip, the ranch in colorado probably doesnt make sense for you.
Once you have considered all these factors you can narrow down 200 ranches to a shortlist of 3 quite quickly. When we had done that we contacted the ranches to ask some questions about riding standards. The friendliness of the people we spoke to at some really stood out over others, and helped us make our final choice.
If you want what I wanted, I wouldnt hesitate to recommend Sundance Trail in Colorado, but I think there are so many variables you need to consider for yourself first that until you have your own shortlist word of mouth recommendations dont mean a lot. I would also say that if you want some confirmation that the ranches you are looking at meet certain standards, you want to check that they are members of the dude ranchers association. http://www.duderanch.org/listings_all.php