USA Ranch Holidays

[showjumpergirl]

Hello!

Has anyone been on a USA ranch holiday? I’m an experienced rider (English) but have never ridden Western and am interested in going on a ranch holiday (thinking Montana/Colorado?) suitable for single/solo travellers.

Has anyone done this? Any advice/recommendations? Best time to go?

Thanks!

 

[Prancerpoos]

I did one 25 years ago, on the kaibab plateau above the Grand Canyon. it was overall good fun, but I do remember the riding as being a lot of walking around behind the cattle and that my legs really hurt from the hours of just sitting down while the horse ambled along. Definitely suitable for singles as everyone mucked in at a big table for meals and we slept in a bunkhouse. We went at the end of October, when the heat was over.


The horses were amazing, all quarterhorses and perfectly well behaved - capable of amazing speed when needed, and of occasionally galloping down hillsides jumping over fallen trees on the way! I felt like an extra in The Man From Snowy River, but never unsafe as the horses had all grown up out on the ‘range’ and were incredibly foot sure. Riding western style will not be a problem if you have the basic balance etc from riding English, you just have to get used to neck reining and a relaxed seat. The way the horses were kept and treated generally was very different from over here, but the horses were work tools, not pets, although they were all well fed and I did not see any abuse. It’s just strange to us to see cowboys shoe their own horses and, if one breaks, the solution seemed to be that they just let them loose and get another one out of the herd.

Andale andale! (See, I even picked up the jargon).

 

[Bernster]

I’ve used ‘in the saddle’ for two - tombstone Arizona and rocking z, Montana.

Arizona was more like the Wild West movies, desert like terrain, flatter. They can teach you to ride western so it’s not an issue. Nice horses, they cater for novices upwards. Mainly trail riding but we did have a go at cattle work and things. It’s a bit like a western Disney, but not quite so naff as it sounds though, decent accommodation, good food, a bar so there was company and activities. Close to tombstone to visit and explore.

Montana was greener and hilly. I preferred that location but it was more remote so you could not just pop into town for a visit. Again, lovely horses and people, riding was fun, and the scenery was stunning. We did lots of fun things there too inc roping. They were a bit stricter riding wise and we had to pass a riding test to do faster work.

 

[reynold]

Something I always wanted to do and never got round to doing, mainly due to having no-one to look after my horses which were kept at home.

I'm now far to old and decrepit to go, but by choice I would have gone to Montana.

OP go for it. It's amazing country there. Don't be like me and miss out on the experience.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I didn’t enjoy what little western riding I did in Mexico. Maybe my stirrups were too long but I didn’t like the poker straight leg and inability to get out of the saddle in faster paces. I felt heavy and immobilised and a bit useless. I’ve travelled around Arizona which is awesome but I think my choice would be Montana or somewhere greener and cooler if spending long hours in the saddle.

 

[TPO]

@Michen posted a thread asking similar last year and it got a lot of replies. Might be worth searching her threads to find it.

 

[HollyWoozle]

With ranches you have two main types really: authentic working ranches or dude/guest ranches (whose main focus is tourism).

There are some very popular dude ranches like White Stallion Ranch in Arizona, one of the most well known, which has tonnes of horses, rooms, activities and facilities (pool, gym etc.), evening entertainment and so on. If you go somewhere more south like that then you are best off going outside of the summer season when it's really hot, but they tend to be open all/most of the year and so you have quite a bit of flexibility in terms of travel time. Some dude ranches do still have cattle as well, for example White Stallion offer team penning competitions once a week.

Good riders who want the focus to be on riding and are less worried about having smart facilities and other activities often choose a working ranch and end up somewhere like Wyoming or Montana. In that case the main season is April to October (too cold the rest of the year). You can often get really stuck in with the cattle work and enjoy some amazing trail riding as well, plus beautiful scenery, but again the riding is not always too whizzy (depending where you go) and it's often a lot more basic in terms of rooms. People do like the authenticity though and the chance to be a bit more hands on.

The downside of many US ranches is that the riding is often quite slow and tame for an experienced rider from the UK especially - you will likely adapt easily to a western saddle but the rides don't tend to be super speedy and they are often quite heavy on the rules, for example some ranches will say you can't get off the horse without someone holding them for you and that sort of thing. There are sometimes riding tests for faster rides, as mentioned by others above, and cattle work by nature is generally not a fast thing. Having said that it shouldn't put you off, there are many places with opportunities for great lopes (canters), fantastic horses and a real ranch experience.

I've ridden western several times on trips and enjoy it for a change. It's not to everyone's tastes but I think it's fun to try it and it's a very practical way of riding across open country.

Edited to add: single travellers often go on ranch holidays and it's a great way to meet new people, you will always have something in common with other guests.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Haven't been on one of these ranch holidays, but I have friends who used to work on ranches out west and they always rave about Wyoming. I think Wyoming may get overlooked a bit because of places like Colorado and Montana, but my friends said the country out there is spectacular. If you're an experienced, confident rider just be sure to look for opportunities/ranches that cater to more experienced horsemen, ie. a working ranch or a pack trip. Many of the dude ranches cater toward complete novices who have never been on a horse, hence the strict rules and lots of walking about.

Montana would be my personal choice, but probably because I'm obsessed now with the "Yellowstone" TV series.

 

[Alibear]

I went via Ranch Rider and went to Elk Mountain Ranch, Buena Vista, Colorado and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Up high in the Rockies, miles away from anywhere else and a lovely Dude ranch with nice long trail rides morning and afternoon and an overnight stay away option.
They have plenty of other activities as well and I enjoyed a day out rafting.
Warning though I rode English once more after returning and now own 2 quarter horses with a 3rd due in June.
I went with my OH but they do singles weeks at the start and end of the season. It wasn't mega fast riding but it was adventurous and you need to be fairly OK with heights.
They split people up into smaller groups so most days it was just OH , me and a guide.

 

[Sealine]

I’m watching City Slickers on Film4 now. Anyone remember ‘Norman’? ?

 

[Kaylum]

White Stallion Ranch is amazing. When my son and I went there were a few solo travellers who made friends with us. They do western lessons, barrel racing, team penning. The accommodation and food is first class. Weather is great we went end of October a few years ago never ridden western before and quickly got into it. Would recommend as there is stuff to do all the time and two rides a day.

 

[Orangehorse]

I went to Rocking Z in Montana too. It was great and they are a really nice family. You could do as much or as little riding as you liked. One girl was there by herself, she had had a rather lengthy flight, with many changes of airport, but I think she was trying to do it very budget wise. We were in Seattle for a wedding. On the way back we flew back to Seattle and then caught the overnight British Airways flight to Heathrow. We went in September and I have always wondered about going back in the spring when the flowers would be out as it is very dry in September although they don't start until quite late in the year as there is snow on the mountains.

As for riding Western, as the party of Brits who were leaving as we arrived said - it is just different. I discovered that you let the saddle and the horse do the work, as if you are going to be in the saddle all day, which you are sometimes.

You could do cattle work and practice roping, and there was the famous 15 minute canter up some logging roads up a mountain. The horses were really fit, there was a good selection so if one didn't suit they would put you on another one (I didn't like the first one I was given).

All the meals were taken together, so you get to know people.

I went with In The Saddle.

 

[daydreamer]

I also went to Rockin Z about 5 years ago now I think. It was great! I went with my mum and dad. My dad had never ridden before but they got him riding and it was nice to go on some trail rides with him. My mum watched and pottered around the farm a bit then left a few days early as she didn't want to ride (always the plan). The family and horses were great. I rode a lovely Morgan called Captain ....... and now have a 3 1/3 yo Morgan who I've had since he was 6 months!!

 

[Skib]

OH and I never went on a ranch holiday but we did ride on holiday there as we went on four or five long distance road trips, going for trail rides in national parks or when we saw a roadside ad.

I went for a Western riding lessons before leaving, Not a happy experience. But I was a novice rider and made sense to try out the saddle and understand the tack.

When OH started to ride too, his RI taught him sitting trot and canter and a bit of neck reining using English tack. I always hacked my UK favourite with washing line reins so no problem there.

We rode in jeans and travelled with Ariat Terrain boots, dual purpose so we could climp mountain trails and also ride. But you need to make sure they are clean as otherwise you have to walk through dissinfectant on arrival in the USA.

 

[backonit]

We did a ‘dude’ ranch in Texas for my 40th in 2019. We spent 5 nights there and did 2 trails a day. It wasn’t a working ranch so was pretty laid back. It was full board with evening entertainment every night and pool on site. I’m a teacher so we were restricted to the summer hols and it was very hot but their horses are used to the heat and didn’t even break a sweat, unlike me ?

we then headed down to the beach for a week.

 

[little_critter]

A friend went to Sweet Grass Ranch in Montana and raved about it.