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Winter Wrangler

In the fall, winter and spring, we offer four services,

  • simple Bed & Breakfast stays,
  • Country Inn stays (lodging, meals, daily horse riding),
  • Weddings/Events,
  • and Trail Rides for folks not staying overnight with us.

There are four of us who do literally everything for up to 24 guests (although very few weekends have more than 16-18 guests).

This means we all do everything: horse feeding/doctoring/care, trail rides, setting tables, entertaining conversation at tables, bussing and washing dirty dishes. When guests are here we provide light housekeeping, and when they leave we deep clean the rooms and public areas. (Don’t you just love that 17 seconds when all of the laundry is caught up?) Don’t forget trailering horses to pasture, floating teeth, and fixing broken things. ALL Job Descriptions start with “other duties, as assigned”!

Wranglers are the face of Sundance Trail! If you have horse experience/riding ability, as well as hospitality experience and a passion for working with people, you may be a perfect fit! Please review the below duties & abilities before submitting an application. If any of the duties or characteristics listed below are not to your liking, please do not waste your time on the application. You do not want a job that will make you unhappy and get you fired.

  • Feed horses 2x/day on rotating basis with other wranglers
  • Eat meals with guests and entertain throughout day
  • Catch, pick, brush and tack horses for rides after breakfast each day
  • Assigning each guest a horse based on waiver profile/questionnaire
  • Managing all guest time on horseback. This means getting to know each guest individually, catering to specific needs and requests.
  • Teaching riding basics and leading trail rides.
  • Tell ranch stories (provided by our ghost, Lady Katy Moon) and entertain guests on rides
  • Ensure high standard of safety during rides, using Dude Ranchers Assoc. standards
  • Set tables before each meal
  • Assist kitchen staff with meal prep prior to each meal
  • Bussing tables during and after meals
  • Ensuring guests are satisfied during meals (Are drink pitchers full? Do serving platters need refilling?)
  • Washing dishes, running dishes through sanitizer, and storing them properly after each meal
  • Cleaning dining room after each meal (wiping down tables, salt & pepper shakers, chairs; sweeping floor; maintaining coffee service)
  • Ensuring health code standards are kept up on a daily basis
  • Closing kitchen down each evening (turning off all equipment, mopping, locking doors for bears, etc.)
  • Freshening Guest Suites on a daily basis according to Ranch owner’s standards
    • Making beds
    • Replacing towels
    • Emptying trash
    • Vacuuming & Sweeping
    • Stocking coffee service
  • Attending to any individual requests made by guests
  • Complete flip of each room when guests check out/depart.
  • Maintaining cleanliness of common areas (Dining room, bathrooms, recreation area, living room area) *this sometimes will mean cleaning the same room more than once a day – having fun can be messy!
  • Managing a never-ending, overwhelming amount of laundry (sheets & towels)! Must be able to efficiently cycle laundry throughout the day.
  • Ensuring housekeeping storage and laundry areas remain clean and organized
  • Ensuring every small guest need is met (humidifiers, extra blankets, fans, etc.)
  • Reporting to owners anything broken or in need of repair you find in guest suites or throughout ranch
  • Some days may be spent crawling underneath the lodge to fix leaky plumbing, or fixing fence where the elk or our horses have broken it!

An example of a “typical” day with guests:

6:30 – One or both wranglers start feeding horses, and/or plow snow
6:30 – Cook/owner starts breakfast, bakes breads and desserts for supper.
7:30 – One wrangler assigned/rotating to set tables, make breakfast fruit salad  and drinks, assist cook with whatever
8:00 – Breakfast – all staff eat with guests (Entertaining conversation means asking guests about themselves, not talking about ourselves.)
8:30 – All staff bus tables. One wrangler assigned/rotating washes dishes.

8:30 – Quick staff meeting to be sure we are organized.
9:00 – Guests watch safety video. Wranglers pull, brush, pick and tack horses.
10:00 – One wrangler gives demo: “Starting, stopping and turning.” Both wranglers may ride (if numbers require), or one may ride, the other freshens rooms

Someone freshens rooms, depending on number of guests the number of staff working and the number of crises (horse, plumbing, guest, ghost, suddenly non-working refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, furnaces, hot water heaters, dish sanitizers – the list is endless!).

11:30 – Lunch cook starts cooking lunch
12:00 – One wrangler assigned/rotating to set tables, make  drinks and salad, assist cook with whatever
12:30  – All staff eat with guests (Entertaining conversation means asking guests about themselves, not talking about ourselves.)
1:00 – All staff bus tables. One wrangler assigned/rotating washes dishes.
2:00 – 5:00 – May lead a ride, work on repairs, doctor horses, do some laundry, take a beak.

Except for leading rides and occasionally rifle target shooting, staff is not responsible for guest activities. If no afternoon ride and guests have departed, flip (deep clean) rooms for next guests.

4:00 – Cooks starts supper
4:30 – One or both wranglers start feeding horses, and/or plow snow
5:30 – One wrangler assigned/rotating to set tables, make  drinks and salad, assist cook with whatever
6:00  – All staff eat with guests (Entertaining conversation means asking guests about themselves, not talking about ourselves.)
7:00 – All staff bus tables. One wrangler assigned/rotating washes dishes.

On days hat we are not open to guests (Tuesday, Wednesday, most Thursdays):

7:00 – Feed horses, chickens, cats
8:00 – breakfast (cook your own)
8:30 – look at “To Do List” and plan chores for the day
Morning chores
12:30 – raid refrigerators/freezers for leftovers for lunch
Afternoon chores
4:30 – feed horses
6:00 – raid refrigerators/freezers for leftovers for supper, argue about whose turn it is to wash dishes

Characteristics of the successful Winter Wrangler (in no particular order):

  • Ability to work as a team
  • Ability to take direction
  • Ability to work calmly under pressure
  • Ability to drive a tractor
  • Attention to detail
  • Basic Knowledge of equine first aid
  • The ability to cook occasionally is a plus!
  • CPR certified
  • Customer service minded
  • Exceptionally high cleanliness standards (OCD can be a virtue!)
  • Flexibility to accomplish a wide variety of tasks within a day
  • More Flexibility – ability to change your personal plans/desires to suit all kinds of guest requests
  • High standard of animal welfare
  • Honesty and open communication skills
  • Hospitality experience/customer service mindset
  • Humor! Laughter! Smiles!
  • Laughter! Humor! Smiles!
  • Neat & clean personal appearance
  • Organizational capabilities
  • Outgoing and friendly personality
  • Proficient horseback rider
  • Self-starter
  • Smiles! Humor! Laughter!

This description does not discuss Weddings and Events. We will define duties and characteristics as we learn them!

Ability to preform all duties at 8,000 feet elevation

Think you’d make the perfect wrangler? Please review our employment expectations before submitting an application.

We will be in touch shortly. Thanks!