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This ranch in the Pryor Mountains is an authentic
working cattle and horse ranch south of Billings, Montana. This is not a
dude ranch. Cowboys have taken care of this ranch since 1889 and they will
ride with you on 40,000 acres of open grassland country while taking care
of 1,200 mother cows and their calves. Montana's "Big Sky Country" takes
you away from swimming pools and golf courses to a remote, quiet setting
where you can hear the creek at night and see open, breathtaking scenery
no matter what direction we decide to ride that day. The ranch raises
their own quarter horses. All of them are trained to watch cattle and give
you the cowboy experience you have always dreamed of.
Being a cowboy has always been a secret dream of lots of men and women. To
a cowboy, the horse was not a pet but a companion and partner with whom he
works and depends on to accomplish great tasks. That is what we offer at
this ranch - the beautiful country, a great cow horse who will help you
turn your first cow back into the herd and help you to feel what it is to
be a real cowboy. The ranch is located in very
beautiful, peaceful, and quiet country at the border of Montana and Wyoming. It is rolling, native grasslands with areas of pines and canyons, laying along
the Eastern slope of the majestic Pryor Mountains which run East and West.
Very few people have ever invaded its serene and spacious lands. As you
leave the paved highway and start up the canyon along the rutted road
toward the mountain, you actually feel as if you are traveling back in
time.
WRWY02
Rates include 7 nights accommodations, all meals except last night
dinner, 5 riding days
8 days/ 7 nights
$1,425
Single room for last night hotel: +$40
2008 Dates:
05/11-05/18 05/25-06/01
06/01-06/08
06/08-06/15 06/15-06/22 07/20-07/27
07/27-08/03 08/03-08/10 08/10-08/17
08/24-08/31 08/31-09/07 09/07-09/14
09/14-09/21 09/21-09/28 09/28-10/05
10/05-10/12 10/12-10/19
make reservation
Taxes: 9%
Gratuities: 10-15% suggested
Meeting: Lovell
Airport: Billings at 4 PM
Transfer: $75 - to pay locally
Tack:
Western
Horses:
Quarter
Pace : Moderate
- trots & canters
Level: Good
intermediate
Notes: last night in hotel
- dinner not included.
Also
available are
Cattle Drives
Horse Drives
Ranch Week Schedule
During the winter our cowboy caregivers have spent every two hours a day
watching for calves to be born, protecting the calves from freezing weather,
making sure the cows are fed and in good health to raise a calf. Jess and Jake
have looked after 150 head of horses up South Dry Creek near Red Lodge, feeding
weanlings and braking 2 year old colts to ride. Winter nights were spent working
over registration papers and advertising to sell the fillies and horse colts
ready for market.
May and early June are the weeks we brand
our calves. With 800 head of calves to brand this takes several weeks. Montana
and Wyoming are branding states and it is federal law that each calf, as well as
each cow, carries our )S( brand. We rope each calf from a well trained cow horse
and drag them to the branding fire where we have calf holders (guests and
cowboys) hold the calves and one of the cowboys brands the calf. Vaccinations
and ear marks are given (by guests) and we start over with another calf. We
brand about 100 calves each day.
The summer is the best time to graze the
higher parts of the ranch where the water is good, grass is high and green. The
snow has recently left the high meadows making it the better places to graze in
the summer. Cows love the high country and raise good healthy calves in that
mountain air.
We will set up an overnight camp during the summer months (July and August and
possibly September). This camp will have an authentic cook tent and teepees for
the guests to stay in at the back side of Little Mountain. We will be near a
grove of trees, fresh spring water and a great place to enjoy a summers evening
around the camp fire. Everyone loves roasting marshmallows for smores and
sleeping under the stars, perfect for a cowboy vacation. This puts us close to
our work so that we can ride out into the neighboring pastures to bring back
stray cows and also ride our mountain pastures to keep an eye on calves, bulls,
fences and water sources.
September thankfully brings cooler
temperatures during the day and the welcomed chance to ride all day. Our fall
weeks mean longer days and lots of riding. All our cowboys share in the
gathering of 15,000 acre pastures and bringing each cows and calves to the ranch
to give pre-weaning shots and again two weeks later to wean the calves.
After the calves are weaned and hauled to Wyoming we pregnancy test our cows and
hope for a 100% pregnancy rate for the next year. These large gathers are a
thrill few get to experience.
The ranch offers you this opportunity to ride in big country somewhat alone
gathering 800 or better head of cattle and moving them 6 - 8 miles back to the
ranch to be worked in a large set of corrals.
97% of the USA's cow herds are in groups of less than 50 cows.
97% of the people who own cattle have a job in town and have the cow herd as a
second income or a hobby.
Ranches who have 800 head of cows are rare and even more rare is the privilege
to ride a cow horse with real cowboys and gather cows on thousands of acres of
open, beautiful, grassland country that is untouched by human influence.
We offer a real cowboy experience. One that will change
your life.
Ranch weeks are not about just cows at the ranch,
we also have a full blown horse operation.
The last week in May is not only branding calves but we will also be
gathering all the mares and bring them into the corrals to make seven
mare bands.
When this process is completed we add the stud and our cowboys and
guests get on horseback and carefully move the band of mares and one
stud out to the pasture, in a secluded corner of the ranch.
Accommodations
During the time at the ranch you will stay in the bunkhouse, at a
room in the ranch house or in one of the cabins. In the bunk house there are six comfortable
western style guest rooms and a shared bathroom. The bunkhouse also has
an inviting front porch to sit on and enjoy a quiet moment or share
cowboy stories with other guests.
The ranch house has 3 rooms with shared bathroom. The small ranch house
has a living room for the guests.
The cabins are reset and ready for guests. We have
decorated them with old ranch pictures of guests and landscapes as the
old blends into new.
Meals
Our guests eat three meals a day with the family
and our cowboys in the cookhouse. Our ranch
home-style meals are served with hot homemade breads. Each week we serve
tender angus beef steaks, top sirloin roast, healthy vegetables, fresh
salads, homemade desserts and lots of chocolate chip cookies for the kid
in all of us. We promote beef on our ranch from pasture to plate.
One of the meals we are famous for is our Indian Tacos, you can only eat
one.
Our cook does a great job dealing with special diets. Please let us know
if you have special food needs. Our meals are served buffet-style and
several times a week we pack a lunch when we ride out all day to move
and work cattle.
Transfers:
Because of terrain and remoteness of the ranch
country, the last 8 miles require a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Our trip
service for the 2.5 hour drive from Billings, Montana to the ranch is
provided (extra fee) with a pickup time at 4:00 P.M. at the Billings International
Airport on Sunday and return to Billings is the following Saturday by mid
afternoon. Anything different will require special arrangements. The last night is in Billing at a nice hotel close to the
airport (hotel overnight is included, dinner is not).
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many photos by Steffi Pilz
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