Team roping is derived from an age-old tradition of roping cattle to be doctored. Now, it’s become a timed event of pure skill, and I am hooked!

The cattle in the mountains aren’t just for great photo opportunities. Read more to find out why!

Reading has always been a personal passion, but with the recent discovery of western historical accounts, I’m drawn more than ever! This latest, Cowgirl Up! by Heidi Thomas did not disappoint.

A man of many talents, we were lucky to have Chris Collins visit us this summer! Thank you to Chris Collins for sharing his time and efforts with us this summer.

All winter, our horses get to be horses. Run with the herd, play all day, and grow a thick, fluffy winter coat to keep warm all winter. We think they quite enjoy themselves, and come back refreshed and ready for a new summer every year!

We had a great 2020 season, all things considered, and now that the season is over, we are starting to focus on next year.

A long time veteran of the ranch, Cheyenne comes up in stores new and old. We were lucky to have her for so many years at the ranch, and even more lucky to have her offspring to live on.

Growing up, I always enjoyed reading. I never knew until now that I have a special place in my heart for the westerns! I’ve heard Doug mention this series for a while now, and this winter I made the time to start.

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a horse that has become such a big part of the experience at RTR to so many. We are incredibly grateful for the years that we had with Santa Fe.

For a few years, I’ve been hiding my lack of education in westerns from everyone I work with. But as I watch the classics, I’m coming clean and confessing which ones I’m just watching for my first time. In this case, it’s City Slickers.

While we had a few new things to be grateful for this year, (and I am!) I wanted to share a little about the new horses we welcomed into the herd here at the ranch.

This time of year always makes me nostalgic for one of my favorite parts of the summer: Christmas in July. A time to enjoy hot chocolate, laughs, and my ranch family.

Emma, past guest of the ranch as a teen (2007, 2008), stopped by on her road trip for work. She took some incredible pictures of our spring, and has allowed us to share them with you!

Sometimes the western lingo can be bit hard to keep up with, so we decided to give you a little background behind chaps and chinks.

Staff member, wrangler, and friend, Sorrell, has written a wonderful blog piece about her time at the ranch. We hope you get a chance to check it out!

Coming in for her 7th summer, Lauryn has made quite a name for herself as one of our favorite Wisconsinites and staff members. She’s spent many a summer working with the teens, and we wanted to catch up with her on her experiences!

Friday nights come alive with laughter and fun for all ages — it’s one of the most unique nights of the week at RTR.

A few years ago, we adopted the tradition of wearing pink on Fridays, and support the “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” program sponsored by Wrangler. It’s become something that we encourage everyone on the ranch to participate in!

In today’s world, we are always checking our emails, responding to texts, or seeing what’s new in the world on our phones. At our dude ranch, it offers the perfect opportunity to take a break, relax, and just enjoy the moment. Read more to see why!

You’ll never meet two ranch dogs more welcoming to new faces and old friends than HubCap and LugNut. We have had some great ranch dogs through the years at Rainbow Trout Ranch, but these two definitely have left an impression in our hearts.

The old English breed, the Suffolk Punch, is truly a beautiful breed of horse. We are now proudly breeding and training them at Rainbow Trout Ranch! With the newest addition just born, we are interested in learning more about them, and sharing with you.

Like most dude ranchers, I think about marketing at our Colorado guest ranch. A lot. Between all the blogging, face booking, tweeting, pinning—or is it pinteresting?!—posting, meta tags, YouTube videos, keywords and goodness knows what else, my mind is a jumble of noise, rather like a casino when you first walk in. With the recent […]

The jeans have arrived! Thank you e-bay! They came straight to my front door with no nasty UPS man demanding a small fortune before he would hand them over. The site is http://stores.ebay.co.uk/peachstatewholesale, and the Q-Baby Ultimate riding jeans were $27.99. The tag said $59.99. The postage was $19.25, but I paid more than that […]

Pagosa.com recently posted the following article on Rainbow Trout Ranch: Experience the True West at this Colorado Dude Ranch Living in Colorado the past 7 years, we thought we had been living the Western lifestyle. However, after spending a wonderful week at Rainbow Trout Ranch, a Colorado dude ranch in nearby Antonito, Colorado, we discovered […]

A fun picture of a ride coming in, taken last week. That is wrangler Dave on the paint, guest Susan, guest Joe, wrangler Luke, and guest Deborah on the right holding her hat in the wind–it was pretty windy last week but very beautiful. Note how many of the aspens weren’t budded then–they are all […]

One Week At A Colorado Dude Ranch Is The Travel Bonanza Of The Year By Candi Pillitterri There’s a reason somebody made a song about springtime in the Rockies; this is the kind of place people get silly and rhapsodic about approximately five seconds after they arrive. And if you’re lucky enough to get to […]

Spring has sprung! Even though we’ve had close to a foot of snow these last few days, there is a definite feel of summer coming in the air. The river is starting to open up–it is frozen solid all winter–and the aspens are budding. That gorgeous blue Colorado sky is spectacular as always and I […]