The Changing Life on the Ranch
Ah, the Wild West -- cowboys, horses and working on the land. It is
the picture of a simpler time, and dude ranches are where those old snapshots
come back to life.
Dude ranches (also known as guest ranches) are a type of ranch where guests
get to live the cowboy lifestyle during their stay. They ride horses, enjoy
the quiet solitude of nature and get to be involved in tons of outdoor activities.
On a "working ranch," guests have their work cut out for them. These ranches
often raise and breed their own horses and cattle, and people who stay on
them get the chance to be involved in all areas of the working ranch life.
But times change, even on dude ranches.
Kathleen Yost co-owns a dude ranch in Colorado. She says dude ranches aren't
entirely what they used to be.
"The industry is changing in that many owners are selling to lucrative
land buyers and they are being encroached upon by highways, subdivisions,
etc." she says. "The economy has made running a ranch very hard."
Yost says demand for dude ranches depends on people's economic ability
to spend money on the dude ranch experience. She says that right now demand
is falling, but in good years demand rises.
Terri Mason, the editor of a magazine about cowboy life, disagrees. She
says the dude ranch business seems to be growing right now, and the reason
is our ever-expanding cities.
She explains that back in the older days, there were tiny pockets of civilization
surrounded by vast tracts of wilderness. "Today, we live in sprawling cities
and are searching for tiny pockets of wilderness. Guest ranches are one of
those tiny pockets."
Mason says one way dude ranches are changing these days is the quality
of the horses. While in the past, dude ranches' horses often had a bad reputation,
that's changed and now good dude ranches take pride in their horses, says
Mason.
"Also, each generation is one step farther away from the ranch and guests
themselves often have had no exposure to large animals at all," she says.
"Add in the exorbitant cost of insurance and you can see why so much care
is taken with the horses."
Peter Askew is the founder of a website all about dude ranches. He says
dude ranches have changed over time and continue to do so.
"Certain ranches have definitely evolved over the years to provide additional
activities for their visitors, such as tennis, swimming, fly fishing and mountain
bike riding," he says. "Those aspects merely expand the dude ranch experience
for groups interested in a little more variety during their vacation. But
understand, there remain several ranches who concentrate on the riding experience,
and the working ranch moniker."
Askew says one thing that helps determine if it's going to be a busy season
at the dude ranch is, surprisingly, what movies and television shows are popular
at the time.
"Movie and TV shows have definitely made their impact on dude ranches,"
he says. "Classics like City Slickers and other westerns such as the True
Grit remake affect both visitor attendance and employee demand."
So who are the employees? Well, there are many different positions at a
dude ranch. There are people in administrative positions, housekeeping staff,
kitchen staff, management and outdoor guides.
But when people think of working on a dude ranch, they are probably thinking
of the job of the wrangler.
Wranglers work on dude ranches dealing with both the guests and the horses.
Mason says wranglers have perhaps the most important job of anyone on today's
guest ranches, and there is more to the job than people might expect.
"The wrangler is often the face of the ranch, the one person the guests
depend on to not only show them the scenery but to see it safely," she says.
"Good wranglers are front-line public relations experts. When you think
about it, there are people that spend years in university studying PR and
psychology and they never get a handle on it; good wranglers are a natural."
Wranglers also look after horses and know how to match a guest with an
appropriate horse to ride -- a big part of the dude ranch experience. They
also need to be able to fix many things, have a lot of knowledge about local
flora and fauna and be able to react in case of emergency.
"They should be skilled enough to give encouraging riding lessons to the
most timid of riders so they too enjoy their vacation," says Mason. "Most
of all, good wranglers are natural-born leaders."
Mason says that most wranglers get into the job for the perceived freedom.
But she says that is ironic, as there is a lot of responsibility in this line
of work.
"Whether they work on a guest ranch or are taking guests out on a pack
trip, the wrangler is in the saddle for most of the day and doing what they
love -- riding," she says.
"Why I say this is ironic is because they are anything but free; they are
in charge of the lives and comfort of probably 10 riders, 10 horses and themselves.
However, it's been said that if you get a job doing what you love, you'll
never work another day in your life."
One other thing to remember about the life of a wrangler is that the work
is often seasonal due to weather, says Mason. This, combined with low pay,
could make it an unappealing job to people who don't truly love the lifestyle.
"Wranglers are often not paid very well so tipping a wrangler is a classy
thing to do," she says. "Oftentimes a wrangler will go pen riding at a feedlot
or a similar job that will keep them in the saddle."
Mason says the dude ranch business is growing, with associations being
formed to pool resources for marketing and advertising.
"This is a boon for the guests as most guest ranch association websites
are one-stop shopping," she says.
"The guest can decide they want to ride in the Rockies or on the plains
and with one click they can find their perfect vacation ranch. By making it
easier for the guests to book a vacation by providing online resources, toll-free
phone numbers, etc., the guest ranch business is looking pretty good. Plus,
it's not just about horses anymore; they offer extras, from spa packages to
unique shopping trips."
And, according to Askew, the more our society becomes fascinated with all
things technological, the more demand for dude ranches will rise. Seems like
it doesn't make sense, but, as Askew explains, it actually makes a whole lot
of sense.
"The more digital and Internet-focused our world becomes, it seems the
more demand and interest there is for vacations that take folks away to recharge
offline," he says. "And that's exactly what a dude ranch offers."
Links
DudeRanch.com
The place to go to find a dude ranch to go to or to look for
jobs on a ranch
Dude Ranch Jobs 411
A guide to seasonal dude ranch employment
Marble Mountain Ranch
An example of a dude ranch, this one in California
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