Cowboy Horse Riding Adventure in Colorado

Head on out to Colorado and the wild, wild west and experience life on a real Colorado cattle ranch. Fulfill your cowboy dream, live the life and experience the magic! At this ranch you have the opportunity to become a cowboy in a true western adventure. We don't just recreate life on a ranch, we live it! Saddle up and ride with us for the cowboy adventure of a lifetime.

The string of extremely well trained and well mannered Quarter Horses are available for you to ride during whichever week you pick over varying terrain at all speeds doing real cowboy work. No "head to tail" trail riding here! During Cowboy Adventure weeks, ride the range all day,then belly up to the bar, relax in our western saloon and swap wild west stories with the cowboys, fulfill your cowboy fantasy with expert instruction, step by step assistance in a fun, supportive environment. The ranch covers about 7,000 acres and cares for around 1000 cows and calves. This is not a typical dude ranch or ranch resort, but a real working cattle ranch in full operation. Expect the unexpected here, a sudden storm may have us all out gathering cattle or dry weather may make a cattle drive necessary. Is it Rustic? You bet! Authentic? Yes, absolutely!

During your adventure week, guests transform into cowboys for the week as they assist gathering cattle off the range, doctoring sicks, driving cattle, branding calves, checking water, salt and fences - whatever normal ranch activity is going on at the time of their visit. This is an opportunity to participate in real ranch work on a working cattle ranch yet have great accomodations, good food and extra amenities like a heated indoor swimming pool. Cowboy School occurs on summer afternoons when the morning cattle work is finished. It is the perfect place for you to improve your riding skills, learn to handle cattle and learn to rope. Cowboy School includes team penning, cutting, roping and other things cowboys do for fun. Cowboy School is progressive and builds in intensity and complexity as your skills and abilities improve.

+1 604-323-1141

Itinerary / Highlights

Cattle work is the core of a ranchers life. During our Cowboy Adventure weeks you will ride the range helping with any cattle work that is going on at the time of your visit. Since we only accept a few guests at a time you can have lots of time in the saddle and are able to actively participate in everything you desire from saddling and grooming to sorting cattle. We provide excellent horses, well trained and suited to your ability of riding. All instruction necessary to complete the daily tasks successfully is provided in a fun and enjoyable way. If you also participate in our Cowboy School, you will learn from real stockmen how to read cattle, work cattle and improve your riding and horsemanship skills. If you prefer to take it easy, you can work cattle in the morning and skip riding in the afternoon or go on a scenic slow ride. Most guests mix the cattle work with some relaxation time, slower rides or Cowboy School.

The cattle establish the daily routine on the ranch.

In the Spring (April, May and June), we are calving and branding as well as gathering, sorting and moving the pairs to summer pastures. Fences must be checked, short cattle drives are weekly events until all cattle are settled for the summer
In the Summer (July, August and early September), we are moving cattle, gathering bulls, checking water, salt and fences, looking for strays and fence jumpers and driving them back where they belong.

In the Fall (late September and October) we are gathering, sorting, vaccinating and weaning the calves, cattle drives occur several times a week as we ship cattle to winter feedyards, draining water tanks and laying in feed for the winter

Typical daily riding schedule:
Before breakfast: we catch, feed, groom and saddle horses. You can do as much or as little as you wish. We get started around daybreak, at 6:00 in the morning.

Breakfast: served between 8:30 and 9:30 unless we are doing a big gather or cattle drive.

After breakfast: The cowboys go out to work cattle. We have cattle work every morning for guests who want to participate in the real thing. The Cattle Work ride leaves the corral at 9:30 and returns around 1:00 unless the work takes us too far from the ranch to return for lunch. We also offer a Slow & Easy ride that leaves the corral at 10:00 and returns around 11:00 although we rarely have any takers!

Lunch: Served at the homestead unless we are out on the trail driving cattle or helping a neighbour. Lunch is served between 1:30 and 2:30.

After Lunch: Cowboy School meets out by the hitching racks or by the roping dummies, starting at 2:30 and ending around 6:00. We include roping lessons, team penning, cattle handling, cutting instruction, horsemanship and gymkhana events. Some days the morning cattle work continues into the afternoon, in fact some days the "Cowboy Crew" doesn't even arrive back at the ranch until dinner time, so be warned that if you choose to do cattle work, reality sometimes dictates a long day! On these days, Cowboy School may not occur, but there is always the option of a scenic ride during the afternoon for those who desire.

Happy hour starts after the horses are fed and settled for the night at 6:00 in the saloon or on the patio and dinner is served shortly afterward. We have a liquor license and a stocked saloon, so if a cold beer or mixed drink sounds good after a long days ride, belly up to the bar and enjoy!

The cattle work schedule will be discussed each day so you can choose what you want to participate in - your choice - cattle work, Cowboy School or slow and easy; scenic ride or a combination! Horses will be assigned according to your ability and what activity you are participating in. You may ride several different horses during your stay.

Other activities:-
In addition to horseback activities, there is excellent fishing in our stocked pond for rainbow trout, or you might want to try your hand at Arrowhead hunting.

Every era of artifact has been discovered on this ranch from dinosaur bones, tools and weapons from early man all the way up to the more modern day Indians such as the Pawnee, Cheyenne and Arapahoe. Weekly Friday night rodeos are part of the program in June, July and August. Cheyenne Frontier Days, Grover Rodeo and 4th of July Rodeos are also on the list.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

The main lodge is the meeting place for meals, the location of the laundry area, saloon, indoor pool, gift shop, coffee bar and snack area.

Guests sleep in either the log bunkhouse which was the original homestead on the ranch or in one of the newly constructed log cabin duplexes.

The bunkhouse was built in 1897, added onto in 1909 and again in 1921. The bunkhouse has been recently refitted and modernized. Five private bedrooms, designed for couples, each with a private bathroom, one queen size bed and private entrance fill the bunkhouse with western charm.

Newly constructed Log Cabin rooms are designed for singles and friends traveling together and have two comfortably sized individual beds. Cabins also have private bathrooms and entrances.

Both the bunkhouse and cabin rooms share excellent views of the meadow and the sunrise greets guests every morning. The porches are favorite gathering spots for early morning coffee or a quiet spot to read a book in the afternoons. The horseshoe pit, roping practice area, the saloon and the swimming pool are nearby.

All sleeping quarters are air-conditioned and heated for comfort in all weather. Unlimited hot water soaks away the stiffness and fluffy down filled comforters are snug and cozy. Each room has a mini coffee bar with coffee maker and all the fixins for coffee or tea and a small refrigerator. Soda pop and baskets of goodies are available for snacking. Linens and towels are furnished for all rooms including bathrobes and flip flops.

Each type of room has it's own distinct personality and decor. Scroll down for information on each room and click on the photo to link to a 360 degree video of each room. Once there, you can scroll around the room utilizing the up, down and sideways buttons on your keyboard.

Meals:
Make sure and bring your appetite because three home cooked meals are served each day and snacks are available as desired to keep you full and energized.
Hungry cowboys can sit down and dig in to a real ranch meal. A typical breakfast meal might be breakfast burritos, biscuits and gravy or pancakes.

Lunch is normally served in the dining room unless we are out on the trail or at a neighbours for the day Sandwiches, pasta, soups, fruit and salads are typical lunch meals. The evening meal is served in the dining room except for our campfire night when we feast on BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, strawberries with fresh cream and baked potatoes. Other meals in the evening may include Mexican food, chicken, beef steak or pork. Vegetarian and special diets are happily catered to with advance notice.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.