Since I arrived a little later on a Friday evening at the 7D Ranch, I really did not know what to expect. However, once I saw the roaring campfire and all the other guests casually assembled and sharing a jovial sense of camaraderie, I felt right at home and could not wait to begin my riding adventure first thing in the morning.
 

You have all seen the postcards and movie settings of the beautiful “wild” West and have thought it was all put together with photographic magic. Well, it is magical but it is all real. Resting in the Sunlight basin near Yellowstone National Park and the western town of Cody, Wyoming, the 7D Ranch has been owned and operated by the Dominick family for over 50 years. The Dominick’s know how to combine the love of riding with the love of the land and natural surroundings.
 
Just as in a not so distant past, guests are called to breakfast at 8:00am with the clanging of the dinner bell on the front porch. Twenty to thirty people of all ages sit family style around tables and enjoy a meal that deserves to be called the most important of the day! Just as there are variant age differences, there are differences in riding abilities.
 
During breakfast, all guests met with two wranglers who explained all of our choices for the day’s activities. There was something interesting for every age category and equestrian experience. I could select from a half-day or full-day ride, fishing, hiking and local excursions. Those on more extended stays who did not want to plan anything at all were able to explore the ranch grounds and visit all the farm animals, or relax in the main lodge by the crackling fireplace curled up with a good book.
 
Naturally, I chose the full day’s ride. My mount was beautiful and responsive to me. Armed with our picnic basket brimming with mouth-watering morsels for mid-day, my group set out in search of all the breathtaking scenery we have been accustom to seeing on film. And we were not disappointed in the least.  There are just not enough words to describe just how beautiful and peaceful this part of the country is. The original Dominick founders of the 7D Ranch were visionaries in knowing that the landscape and rich habitat would be soothing to all who came.
 
Although the 7D Ranch’s 227 acres and surrounding countryside areas are widely known as a natural home for elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and grizzly bears, I am pleased to say that we did not encounter any undesired attention from four legged creatures – except our beautiful horses! Although, I have to admit there was a part of me that really wanted to see a grizzly bear since I felt safe in the presence of our well-equipped wranglers.
 
The 7D Ranch is truly a family-friendly vacation spot. While those of us wanting the full riding experience enjoyed ourselves, there are plenty of planned activities for children as well as adults. There are two special wranglers whose only job is to ensure that the little pioneers have fun horseback riding, hiking, learning to rope, and discovering all about nature with special projects. Children can also take part in an exclusive 7D Ranch activity called Wicki Up, which is a safe rendition of the Native American sweat lodge. During the Wicki Up, participants of all ages learn about the Native American traditions and take part in singing songs and sharing stories. This is a great time for parents to have some time for themselves while their children are having well-supervised fun.
 
The 7D Ranch gave me the opportunity to live a dream of riding in the wide-open spaces, unfettered by fences, roads and man-made barriers. This is an equestrian vacation spot that can be visited over and over without becoming boring or commonplace.
 
I want to thank Ted Harvey of the Dude Ranch Vacation Travel Agency for introducing me to the 7D Ranch. Ted is truly an expert in his field which is verified by his highly desirable selections. By Meghan Brady

Ted Harvey: An American Wrangler

It’s 5:00 am in Cody, Wyoming, a couple of hours before sunrise.  Ted Harvey is awake and ready for his first cup of strong, black coffee.  He’ll go through a half pot of coffee before noon.  Ted is a handsome man and a solid buckaroo; a seasoned rancher and wrangler.  He wields the wrangler stride, necessary mustache, Levis that fit in all the right places and a wide smile. He has a solid history of skilled horsemanship, lasting kindness and engaging friendship.
It’s 7:29 am now. The sun is up and trying to shine. On most days the sunrise is golden, azure and gleaming in Cody.  But today it is gray, perse and rainy, a typical autumn morning in wrangler country; hard, rugged and everything nature.  A climate manipulated and defined by the calloused hands and the sun-baked complexion of weathered wranglers. Ted has just come in from the barn; pulling horseshoes and trimming hooves.  He reaches for another steaming cup of stiff, wrangler coffee.

In 1967 Ted came into this world in Seattle, Washington. His family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina when he was five years old. At the age eight, he was introduced to a horse for the first time while visiting distant relatives in France.  His encounter with the horse was exciting and humbling.  Ted remembers, “We were on a farm and there was a horse there.  My twin brother and I had gone out in the morning to pet the horse.  The farmer had just fed him his oats. I really wanted to pet the horse.  My brother kept telling me to leave him alone. The horse was swishing his tail and laying his ears back. I really wanted to pet him.  After a bit, the horse had had enough, turned around, and kicked me squarely in the butt.  He kicked me clear over a fence.  My brother is still laughing about that one.”

At the age of fourteen, in 1981, Ted and his family traveled to Cody, Wyoming for a dude ranch vacation.  Arriving at Valley Ranch, a sprawling ranch south of Cody, Ted became fascinated with the ranching lifestyle.  Staying at the ranch lodge, he became accustomed to the aroma, feel and sensations of western living. The horseback riding was exceptional; well-equipped for family vacations and novice riders. “Back then, I don’t remember much in the way of instruction,” says Ted. “They showed us how to go, stop and turn and that was about it.  In the lodge each evening at dinner there was a sign-up sheet for riding the next day.  You could choose between slow, intermediate or advance.  I went on every advanced ride for the two weeks we were there and I was hooked.  I knew then that dude ranching was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”  Ted’s experience at the ranch would set the course for his future vocation and instill his love for horses.

Returning to North Carolina, Ted dreamed of being back in the mountains of Wyoming, riding horses and meeting new people.  “At that point in my life I knew nothing of horses or dude ranching.  I needed experience.  So, during high school, I worked shoveling manure at local stables. They would let me ride from time to time.  At seventeen, I returned to Valley Ranch and enrolled in their Wrangler School.  This was a six week course and consisted of eight other wranglers.  This was the real beginning of my formal education as a wrangler; I was a boy of seventeen from North Carolina chasing eighty horses across the Shoshone River at 5:30 in the morning with real cowboys who at the time I considered legends.”

While attending Wrangler School, Ted had the opportunity to meet some real western characters; famous wranglers, gracious hosts and lifelong friends. “Everyone has people they have met who have had a profound effect on their lives,” he says.  “For me one of those people was a woman I met at Valley Ranch named Irma Larom.  Her husband, Larry, started the ranch in 1914 with one of the Brooks Brothers as a partner. By the time I got there in the 1980’s he had passed away.  But she was still there.  She was about 140 years old.  She wore full-length formal dresses everyday.  She liked to flirt with the wranglers and tell stories about going to New York City in the 1920’s and staying at the Waldorf Hotel.  They would party in New York in the winter and invite their friends to Wyoming for summer adventure.  Irma said to me once, ‘A well-run dude ranch is hospitality at its finest.’ That has always stuck with me and I have tired to live up to it.  Valley Ranch no longer exists, but for me it is where everything began.”  Ted’s journey to becoming a world-class wrangler was becoming reality.  His hard work and dedication to his dream was coming to fruition.  All he needed was a good horse, fitted chaps and a wide-brim hat. Oh…and a good dog.

Wrangler.  It’s a tough word, not for the weak of heart.  Being a wrangler is hard work, long days, extreme environments, great friends and the sweet fragrance of horses - a lot of horses. Wranglers have an honorable place in American history.  Ted explains, “Historically, wranglers were teenagers hired on the big cattle drives of the 1880’s – 1890’s to take care of the string of horses the cowboys used to work the cattle herd.  Depending on the size of the herd, a cowboy might have as many as six to eight horses.  On most drives, the cowboys did not own the horses they rode.  They were owned by the cattle company. This was to prevent the cowboys from quitting and riding off in the middle of a drive that lasted for several months.  During an average day, the cattle might only move eight to ten miles, but the cowboys would ride three times that and change mounts several times a day.  It was the wranglers job to make sure the horses were groomed, fed, shod and generally cared for so they were ready for the cowboys. Today, wranglers are people who work for outfits taking usually inexperienced riders on trail rides, cattle drives and arena events.”

After Wrangler School at Valley Ranch, Ted attended college in Riverton, Wyoming.  He majored in horsemanship, a two-year program including training in overall horsemanship; livestock feeding, colt breaking and training, farrier science, ranch management, English riding etiquette, and team roping. “What I really took away from this experience was a little knowledge about many different equine areas, and it gave me an experience base to land my first paying job as a wrangler,” he states.  “But, if I had known then what I know now, I would have majored in business.”

Ted’s first position as a wrangler was at Black Mountain Ranch in McCoy, Colorado.  It is at Black Mountain Ranch where he met Rowdy, a bay Quarter Horse gelding. Rowdy’s dam was a Quarter Horse named Joker who belonged to Sam, the manager at Black Mountain Ranch. Ted recalls his years at Black Mountain. “I started there in 1987 as a wrangler. After about a month into my first summer, the head wrangler was fired for let’s say inappropriate behavior with a married female guest.  The manager came to me and said you are the head wrangler now.  The following summer we had a guest named Chuck.  He was a wiry, cocky twenty-three year old from Pennsylvania who, after being a guest like me, wanted to live the dude ranch life.  The manager and I agreed to hire him.  Chuck turned out to be the best wrangler I had ever known.  We only worked at Black Mountain for three years together and went our separate ways. Chuck went to work as a hunting guide for an outfitter on the western slope of Colorado.  I went to Tumbling River Ranch near Mount Evans, Colorado, and became the head wrangler there.”  When Chuck left for his new position in Colorado, he took Rowdy, the bay Quarter Horse gelding, with him. Rowdy has been in Chuck’s family for nearly twenty-three years now. Recently, Chuck was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  Ted says, “Chuck and his family now live in Cody. I am honored to keep his horse for him.  My daughter, Wren, who is six years old, is learning to run barrels on Rowdy.  She won’t ride any other horse.”

While at Black Mountain Ranch, Ted had the opportunity to meet great equestrians from around the world. “In 1988, a group of guys called the Newfoundland Trail Riders came to Black Mountain Ranch.  These guys all owned horses and were good riders.  They brought their own chaps, spurs and saddles with sealskin saddlebags – packed with dried salted cod and Screech rum!” Ted exclaims. “We took them on an all day ride everyday they were there.  We did a 3-day pack trip and really had a lot of fun with these guys.  At the end of the week, their president thanked me for a great week.  He said they wanted to have a pair of custom chaps made for me to show their appreciation.  They were really beautiful and well-made, excellent leather, and stamped, ‘Thanks from Newfs, 1988’.  That was one of the nicest gifts I ever got.”

Ted’s riding tack has grown throughout the years.  He is not partial to a particular saddle maker, but, through experience, prefers custom tack.  “The saddle I ride was built on a wade tree, with a big Mexican horn and a five inch cantle.  I have saddlebags that are actually permanently attached to the saddle,” he says. “I also ride with a custom made leather cantle bag.  With the cantle bag, I don’t like saddles with Cheyenne rolls.  Working on dude ranches, I ride a lot of different horses and find that the wade tree, with its high gullet, fits most horses well.”  A classic ‘wade tree’ saddle is designed for working ranch horses.  The tree defines the shape of the pommel and cantle. Riding horses with diverse physics require a multi-fit saddle that the rider is accustomed to and is appropriate for all horse types.

Between 1992 and 2001, Ted was hired as head wrangler for Tumbling River Ranch in central Colorado.  Located deep in the Colorado high country, this ranch had an elevation of 9,200 feet.  “We rode to 12,000 feet on all-day rides every week during the summer.  One of the rides was a place called Rosalie.  There is nothing quite like riding a good horse above timberline with 14,000 foot mountain peaks all around you.  This was my church.”  The Colorado Rocky Mountains.  Beautiful, breathtaking and a trail riders dream.

In 1994, while head wrangling at Tumbling River Ranch, Ted meet his sidekick, Spur. “I think everyone is entitled to one great dog in their lifetime.  Mine was a black and tan coonhound named Spur,” Ted says, remembering Spur. “He was a birthday present from my parents. He was the runt of the litter.  When they went to pick him up he was nine weeks old, had pneumonia, was tied under a pickup truck and the breeder was going to let him die.  My parents got him for $50.  I had Spur for fifteen years.  He spent most of his life on a dude ranch and went on trail rides daily in the summer.  Spur was truly my best friend.  On my 30th birthday, I was on a working ranch in Roy, New Mexico.  This was a 23,000 acre ranch and very remote.  The closest neighbor was about 45 minutes away, if it wasn’t raining.  On my birthday, I was the only human on the ranch and I didn’t get a single phone call all day.  But Spur was there for me.  In his later years he slept about 23 hours a day.  In the end, he died at the age of fifteen on his couch in his sleep.  He lived well and died well.  I will never have another dog like him.” No wrangler is complete without a well-loved dog.  Spur was just that and much more.

From the Colorado high country, Ted moved to Whitefish, Montana.  There he was the general manager of the Bar W Guest Ranch.  This was another opportunity to meet more horses, more dude ranch vacationers and make more friends. Ted says, “For my 40th birthday the staff gave me a pair of custom boots.  These were really high quality boots with my initials on the uppers.  During a cattle drive on the Blackfoot Reservation, a man offered to take my duffle bag which had a leather vest, a pair of Levis, gloves a fifth of Wild Turkey, and most importantly my custom boots.  I thought he meant he would take them to the truck, but apparently he meant take-for-good.  I miss those boots.”

After leaving the Bar W Guest Ranch, Ted purchased Zeus, an almost-black Appaloosa.  Zeus had been stabled at Bar W for over five years.  Zeus was notorious for his disorderly disposition and bucking episodes. He was originally purchased from Mouse, a Blackfoot Indian.  Ted explains, “Mouse is a horse trader in the truest sense of the word and has some really great horses.  The Blackfeet have always been known as the best horseman of all the tribes. Zeus was the kind of horse that exploded into everything he did.  Because he loved to GO, the wranglers tended to let him go.  Unfortunately, this was not what Zeus needed.  He needed a consistent rider that would help him to calm down.  He now lopes on a loose rein and is a different horse.  My four year old son rides with me on Zeus.”

Ted owns another horse, Comet, who also came from Mouse.  Comet is a fifteen year old Palomino gelding. “Comet was given to me as a gift by the owner of Bar W Guest Ranch when we left there to move to Cody in October of 2010,” Ted says. “At that point Comet was already my horse since I had been, with a few exceptions, the only one to ride him. Comet is my friend and really fun to ride.  He is the kind of horse that will run the barrels at a dead run and five minutes later walk around the barrels with my four year old son, with his head down and a loose rein.  Comet has power steering, power breaks and cruise control.  In my life I have had several great horses, but Comet is the best.  He will do just about anything I ask; cross a deep river, go over the bridge, or jump off a cliff.  He is fun to ride.”  Comet is 15.3 hh and 1,200 lbs.  He is Ted’s all-time favorite horse, friend and confidant.

Ted’s favorite horse breed? A Quarter Horse, of course. American bred, with the largest breed registry in the world, the Quarter Horse is a wranglers dream.  Quick, efficient, compact and smart, the Quarter Horse is well-suited for American terrain. Ted expounds on his experience with other horse breeds, “I am a believer that after each breed’s basic characteristics, horses are a product of their environment.  In high school, I worked at a couple of Arabian Show barns mucking stalls.  The horses spent most of their time in a 12 x 12 stall and they were always trying to kick, bite or stomp me.  At the time, I hated those horses and thought that was just the way Arabians were.  Since then, I have had numerous Arabs on dude ranches and while they generally are a little more high strung, I have had some that were great dude horses.  I have known mountain trail riders who swear by various breeds, but in my opinion, most of them can be turned into great trail horses if they are treated and used right.”

Someday, whether my son is riding the range or working in a bank, I hope he will understand that his character and the choices he makes are what make him a true cowboy.”

Ted is currently a wrangler instructor and a dude ranch consultant in Cody. “The thing I am spending the most time on these days is managing Turpin Meadow Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming,” he says.  “This ranch was foreclosed and the bank hired me to run it until a new owner can be found.  My consulting includes caring for ranch horses, legal issues, horse program development and long-term ranch management.  Most likely I will be involved with this ranch for some time, including finding a new string of about sixty horses for the ranch.” Ted is a successful wrangler, businessman, equestrian, family man and friend. If you are considering a dude ranch vacation, give Ted a call.  He’ll provide you with accommodations befitting any want-to-be-wrangler; a quality horse, a sturdy rope, a night under the stars and memories that will last forever.

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For more information, visit Ted’s website http://www.duderanchconsultant.com
For more information on Larry Larom, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Larom

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Sincere best wishes to Chuck, Ted’s family, Comet, Zeus and Rowdy; thanks, Ted!
Gina McKnight is a writer from USA http://gmcknight.com, http://ginamc.blogspot.com/

Question: What are the different kinds of ranches?

Answer:
Working Dude Ranch
These are working cattle ranches. Most of these ranches were cattle ranches before they became dude ranches. Historically ranchers who needed to make more money started accepting boarders to help pay for their ranch operations. Guests get to participate in the work related to the horses and cattle. If you are looking to really experience what cowboy life is then this the kind of ranch for you.  

Dude or Guest Ranch
Many dude ranches started as working ranches but moved their business to taking guests which became their main focus. Some still have cattle and guest are encouraged to help work them.  Horseback riding is their main focus but most offer a variety of other activities including, kids programs, fishing, skeet shooting, evening activities and pack trips. In my career I have heard countless guests at the end of their stay say that this was the best vacation they had ever been on.

Resort Dude Ranch
These ranches are more luxurious and offer fancier accommodations, dining, and amenities. Tennis, golf, fine wines, spa and shopping are typical. They of  course still have great horse backriding. Resort ranches tend to have larger guest capacity and can handle large groups, weddings and corporate events.

Question: When should I make reservations for my next dude ranch vacation?

Answer: It depends on the time of year, how big your group is and how flexible you are with your dates. November through January most ranches will have availability for June through September. If you have a large group or a family reunion, the sooner you make your reservations the better. On smaller ranches a big family will often take up the whole ranch. If you have specific dates in mind you should also not wait to book.