Last summer, Justin rescued a very skinny and remarkably ugly little gray mare named Jazzy.
Under his skillful watch, Jazzy blossomed into a fat and loving all-around children’s horse – a favorite!
In March, Jazzy started looking “funny.” You know, this big bulgy
tummy started sticking out. Not worms, not
melanoma, not too much beer. The obstetrical experts (Justin and Ellen) examined her to find…. a kick! ANOTHER kick! A BABY!
Little nameless filly was born April 12th. Then it snowed, and snowed and its still snowing! So the tractor shed was renovated into the mom and baby nursery, where they are both doing quite nicely, thank you!
Baby is now old enough that she will approach us and allow us to hold her head and pet and generally love on her.
Justin: Best Wishes on your New Dude Ranch Adventure!
Sad for us, a
Great and Joyful Adventure for You!
Although he told us: “I have a dream that when I grow up I will be the CEO of Wal-Mart or NASCAR,” it came as no surprise when Justin told us that he is buying his own dude ranch.
He’s a cowboy through and through, and it will be heart warming to watch his dreams grow and unfold.
On the secret staff Page, Justin introduced himself to his staff with these words:
Hello there my future minions… So Justin Ripley here (Believe It Or Not) I am your Barn Manager but I do anything and everything needed on the ranch. I have a dream that when I grow up I will be the CEO of Wal-Mart or NASCAR until then I am just playing..
I am from Indiana, a Vet Tech, horse trainer, and former Military. I needed a break from the real world so I moved to Colorado a few years ago to follow my childhood dream of working on a dude ranch for a summer. Ends up I refused to leave so I took over managing the ranch for awhile. Then I was off to AZ to play with the rattle snakes and cactus at another ranch. I would not recommend taking up Rattle Snake Charming anytime soon.
Dan and Ellen decided to rescue me from a horrible death from snake bite.. I have been at Sundance since Nov 2010 and have fallen under its spell.
And now the spell of his own place! Yee-haw! Here are his websites:
Justin is now working on fleshing out his Business Plan, Balance Sheets, PPM Offer and all that other fun stuff.
Not sure if Ellen’s “town job” gives us enough income to invest, but we sure do plan on being customers. We can’t wait for the opportunity to visit. Yes, dude ranchers tend to vacation at dude ranches! And summer in Montana is beautiful; both weeks!
Happy trails, Justin. We welcome you into the neighborhood of dude ranchers and wish you all the happiness in the world.
Family Christmas Dude Ranch Vacation: 10% Discount
December, 2012
Details and rates here.
Come join us and relax over a long Holiday weekend. Let us cook and clean! A Christmas Eve Seven Course Dinner, a Family Style Christmas Dinner of Turkey carved at the table; a Champagne Breakfast on Boxing Day: family fun, including for mom!.
Some typical Morning Activities:
Trail Riding, maybe in the snow! With lessons available.
And available Afternoon Activities:
Trap and rifle shooting
Trail Riding, maybe in the snow!
Horse back riding lessons & coaching available
Make and decorate Holiday/Christmas cookies
Decorate the tree (help us find and bring home just the right tree)
Hiking
Pool Table & Foosball Table
Disc Golf?
Sledding?
Evening Activities we are planning:
Square Dance (if we have sufficient number of guests)
Cowboy Christmas Music with Lars & Amy
Star-gazing with our family telescope
Evening soak in hot tub
Parlor fireplace
Pool Table & Foosball Table
Hot chocolate & cookies
(Murder Mystery Possible!)
Wine, spirits and beer available at our liquor store.
Looking for a week-end get-away between the madness of Thanksgiving and Christmas?
How about December 1st & 2nd or 8th & 9th? Two week-ends, two opportunities for fun!
Morning horseback riding?
Maybe a chance to cut your own Christmas Tree? (We will have a few bow saws you can borrow.)
Or a few relaxed hours at an old-time Christmas Market and Craft Fair to pick up gifts?
Come back to the lodge for hot chocolate and cookies?
To book your reservation, call or text us at 970-224-1222
The Greening of Red Feather Lakes Dec 1st & 2nd!!!
Come join us and relax over a long Holiday weekend. Let us cook and clean! A Christmas Eve Seven Course Dinner, a Family Style Christmas Dinner of Turkey carved at the table; a Champagne Breakfast on Boxing Day: family fun, including for mom!.
Some typical Morning Activities:
Trail Riding, maybe in the snow! With lessons available.
And available Afternoon Activities:
Trap and rifle shooting
Trail Riding, maybe in the snow!
Horse back riding lessons & coaching available
Make and decorate Holiday/Christmas cookies
Decorate the tree (help us find and bring home just the right tree)
Hiking
Pool Table & Foosball Table
Disc Golf?
Sledding?
Evening Activities we are planning:
Square Dance (if we have sufficient number of guests)
Cowboy Christmas Music with Lars & Amy
Star-gazing with our family telescope
Evening soak in hot tub
Parlor fireplace
Pool Table & Foosball Table
Hot chocolate & cookies
(Murder Mystery Possible!)
Wine, spirits and beer available at our liquor store.
We are actively booking the 2013 season,
but there are still some rooms available the weeks of
7/15/12
7/22/12
8/5/12
8/26/12 and
9/2/12 (Adult Only week) and we are offering deep discounts!
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to call us at 970-224-1222.
Answer: Our riding program is NOT nose-to-tail! It is based on a “curriculum” of learning objectives based on the level of skill you bring with you.
If Sunday afternoon through Wednesday sometime. You follow the same riding schedule as the full-week guests.
If Wednesday through Saturday, you have your own wrangler who will start you with the first learning objectives (depending on your skill) and build from there.
Answer: First, this is not a nose-to-tail riding program!. Our program is small enough to accommodate both proficient riders, and beginners. We are one of the smallest ranches in Colorado, and we enjoy being flexible in our programs and teaching.
Those who enjoy sight-seeing at a walk can; and those who want the faster jogs and lopes can too!
Our program uses a series of six steps to bring beginners from the ground up, starting with basic Dude Ranch Western Riding and ground manners. These steps are based on principles of Western Riding taught by the American Association of Horsemanship Safety and the Dude Ranchers Association Wrangler Safety programs. More details on our Riding and What Makes Us Different pages.
4. How often?
Answer: Every day but Sunday (Horses’ Sabbath)!
Monday both AM & PM
Tuesday AM (or Rock Climbing) and PM
Wednesday All day ride or two shorter rides AM & PM
Thursday white water rafting or AM ride for shorter stay folks
Friday All day ride or two shorter rides AM and PM
Saturday AM Gymkana (Ranch Rodeo!) and swim with horses in the pond.
5. Are there fast rides? Long rides? Family rides? Separate kids rides?
6. What type of terrain is the riding in (mountains, meadows, rocky, flat, etc)?
Answer: We are in the Rocky Mountains. Although we have lots of meadows where we can jog and lope horses, much of our trail in the Roosevelt National Forest involves some climbing and descending.
Visit Old Town Fort Collins (a few hundred unique shops, galleries, brew pubs, tea houses, restaurants, a VERY cool toy store, and Ben & Jerry’s)
9. What’s new? Disc golf course is known for being knarley! (Nice word for nasty!!!)
Obstacle course — we’re designing now. Should have up by the end of May.
Spring Trail Maintenance – Dude Ranch Work Vacation
By popular demand! A new get-away idea! May 13 to May 19
So, if you want to get away from
the telephone ringing,
the traffic,
the TV commercials every six minutes
And you think that celebrating spring might include
hauling logs,
carrying buckets of dirt up steep climbs
setting fence posts and
a few hours of riding horses every day for a week?
May 13 is our spring trail maintenance week, and you are invited to join us!
We will have 12 – 15 new horses joining our herd, and they will need lots and lots of riding to get into shape for the summer.
Our trails will also need lots of attention (that is, lots of sweat and dirt!). Areas of erosion will be repaired, dead trees that may compromise safety will need to be removed, water bars built, and just maybe we will build a small barn.
Hard physical labor and
Lots of dirt.
No texting,
No cell phones,
No TV
and very limited internet available.
A break from civilization!
If this sounds like fun, visit our Dude Ranch Specials Page or call the ranch (970-224-1222) for more details.
BTW, summer is booking now. If you are planning to join us this year, you might want to call soon!
Summer is coming soon – yeehaw! We are now looking over applications for summer 2012. Here’s some highlights:
Summer Dude Ranch Kitchen Staff
Don’t listen to those wranglers! YOU are the most important part of our ranch!
Some of the most important memories that we want to create for our guests are meal memories. We eat in the dining room, in the back yard, and on the trail. We serve “hearty western fare family style,” which can include lots of vegetables and salads as well as meat and potatoes. Because Ellen and Dan are both RN’s we see many guests who have therapeutic diets or allergies.
The kitchen staff is a group of five people who have high energy and good humor. Psychosis is not an obstacle to working in the kitchen, although active drinking problems will get you sent on your way. Kitchen and housekeeping staff typically works forty-five hours per week over six days.
There are five positions in and around the kitchen:
1. Kitchen Manager/THE Cook (the Boss)
2. Breakfast Cook/Prep Cook
3. Dining Room Steward/Dishwasher
4. Kangaroo #1/Housekeeper/Dishwasher/Other skill #1
5. Kangaroo #2/ Housekeeper/Dishwasher/Other skill #2
Guest Ranch Barn Employment:
Don’t listen to those kitchen people! YOU are the most important part of our ranch!
Some of the most important memories that we want to create for our guests are from horseback! The barn has three types of wranglers:
1. The Barn Manager (Boss)
2. Children’s Wrangler
3. Plain Ol’ Fashioned Wranglers
Dude Ranch Rock Climbing Instructor.
This is a part time position, usually done by a Kangaroo or Wrangler. (i.e. Must be bi-lingual (speaking both kitchen and horse) or schizophrenic.
If you are interested in working for us, then please