The Setting
Private Land (250-1000 acres)
We have 500 acres of private beauty and are located at 9,000 feet surrounded by vast spruce and pine forests, sprawling aspen groves, sagebrush, lush high meadows and crystalline streams and beaver ponds. With plenty of diversity in our landscape, we provide a perfect location for photography tours, riding, and just in soaking in the natural beauty. We are surrounded by National Forest on three sides bordered by a cliff and waterfall on the fourth.
Public Land (20,000-40,000 acres)
We have access to over 200 miles of accessible trails within 40,000 acres of the Arapaho-Routt National Forest, located in the Rocky Mountains, straddling the continental divide in the Front Range west of Denver. It was established on July 1, 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt and named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans which previously inhabited the Colorado Eastern Plains. The forest includes part of the high Rockies and river valleys in the upper watershed of the Colorado River.
Our Riding
Scheduled rides
Morning Rides - 9am; Afternoon Rides - 2pm. Each morning, we ask each guest which type of ride they'd like to go on. We encourage guests to have as much say as possible within the rides we offer.
Guided rides
We offer fully guided rides with full opportunity for all types of riding. In some of the mountainous areas, we have trails that need to be followed, however, with our terrain, you also enjoy full opportunity to ride openly.
Unguided rides
All rides are guided.
Program rides
On specified days and times, we offer an evening sunset ride, all-day rides, overnight pack trips, and sunrise ride.
Good to know
The first morning is a walk only ride whereby we assess skills. Once we have assessed rider's abilities, we offer individually for guests to work on their trotting/loping skills while on the trail. We do a lot of game playing on the trail, which is a great way to work on your skills while having fun.
Weight limit for riding
225-250 lbs
Riding considerations
no riding experience needed, We recommend a good level of physical fitness, We consider height and athletic ability as well as a guest's weight
Hours in the saddle
Hours in the saddle are estimations and can vary. We also offer all-day rides with packed lunches.
Why our riding stands out
- Trails are so numerous (over 200 miles) there is no need for a guest to ever repeat a trail
- We sit at 9,000 feet so the views will rattle your spurs.
- We teach basic principles of riding and horsemanship on the trail - as well as teaching trotting and loping skills in a natural environment
Sample Riding Itinerary
Monday
Morning - Horsemanship demonstration and orientation followed by a short ride on the trail.
Afternoon – Regular trail tiding and instructional opportunities. Rides are organized based on your individual interest and ability.
Tuesday
Morning – Regular trail riding and instructional opportunities.
Evening – Early dinner with a rides afterwards.
Wednesday
All-day rides.
High Meadows overnight pack trip.
Regular rides available morning and afternoon.
Thursday
Regular rides morning and afternoon.
Kids Ute Scouts campout ride in the afternoon.
Friday
Morning – Gather cattle from a several hundred-acre pasture or regular ride options.
Afternoon – Team penning activities with the cattle in the arena.
Saturday
Ride out for a breakfast cookout. Additional trail riding is available after breakfast.
Riding Lessons
Most of the riding lessons are conducted on the trail in a natural environment. However, if a guest wants or needs special attention in a restricted environment, we will head to the arena.
Details
lessons come with package, basic riding lessons, advanced horsemanship lessons
Given by
wrangler, ranch owner or manager
Location
on the trail, in the arena
Natural Horsemanship Clinic
Clinician
Randy George
Details
Clinics occur weekly, Included in package, Clinics occur in the arena
Focuses on
Sunday night's orientation talks about the basics of horsemanship. Then on Monday morning Randy offers a horsemanship clinic in which guests can participate. Depending upon the week, Randy may be working with a young horse, tuning up a guest horse, or even working a mustang. The clinic generally lasts about an hour long. It covers basic horsemanship, various aspects in regard to horse behavior (as that is key to horsemanship), and how to relate to a horse by understanding its behavior and instincts. Guests are welcome to get directly involved. Randy also covers riding and horsemanship aspects from catching a horse to riding it at a lope. Throughout the week you can work work on various principles learned in the clinic while on the trail. The wranglers are always ready to assist.
Cattle work - pasture gathers
In September we spend a week helping our neighbors gather hundreds of cattle from the summer pastures, moving them down to winter holdings. We limit the number of guests helping at this to 14, and they must be experienced riders capable of riding independently. We may be working with several hundred pairs at a time.
A couple times a week throughout the summer, guests have the opportunity to interact with cattle in the pasture by moving them to different pastures, riding herd to perform health checks, do a count, and, if there are any seen problems, we bring the animal into the corral for doctoring. Friday morning, guests who are interested head out to the pasture and sort the cattle in the pasture. Guests and wranglers hold herd while individually, each guest has the opportunity to sort a designated animal out of the herd, practicing his/her skills in maneuvering and controlling the horse.
When
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Frequency
Weekly
No. of cow/calf pairs
30-40
Interaction
Guests participate
Pack Trips
Each Wednesday morning Randy leads guests by horseback into the mountains for an overnight pack trip. We head out at 9am and travel into the mountains on a scenic ride, with lunch on the trail, to our overnight camping spot where we arrive late in the afternoon. Upon arrival, each family or individual sets up his or her own tent. We have 30 different sites in which we rotate through, so guests rarely stay at the same site twice (except for those who have been coming for years!) Randy personally prepares a tantalizing dinner for each of the guests. And, believe us, if you've ever eaten a meal in the wilderness, something about preparing it outdoors makes it one of the best, most memorable meals you could eat. Horse are kept in an overnight portable, electric solar powered fence. Out of respect for the land, when we leave, our goal is to leave minimal impact on the land. Even to the point that Randy replaces the sod from his firepit to restore to its previous natural condition. Guests enjoy breakfast of scrambled eggs or omelet, sausage, pancakes, or potatoes with steak. We head back out on the trail for home and make sure we're home for homemade pizza hand-created in our Latigo kitchen! We provide everything: sleeping bags, foam pads, flashlights. Guests only need to worry about bringing a coat (we supply raincoats) and a change of socks. We also offer an overnight campout for the wee ones age 6-13. For this overnighter kids enjoy staying in camps already set up with permanent teepees. Depending upon the age and attention span of the children, we generally leave after lunch and get to camp by 4 or 5.
Arena Work
Once we are done sorting the animals(from our Friday ride in the pasture - please see "cattle work"), we gather a number of the cattle and drive them into the arena. In the afternoon, we work these cattle in the arena and do some team penning.
Type
outdoor arena
Activities
penning, sorting, cutting