Our Expectations

• Your working vacation is a behind-the-scenes ranch experience. You’ll help us prepare for daily rides and keep things running smoothly. You are part of the support crew, not responsible for full horse care or training. We are a small, family operation, and we want this to be a great experience for all involved. We hope that you feel like you’re staying with friends, so it is important for you to be aware of our expectations.

• Experience: This program is open to riders no younger than 15 years old. We do require our volunteers to have an intermediate level of riding with a basic understanding of how to catch, groom, and saddle a horse. For information on the different riding levels, please visit our booking page.

• Working Environment: We understand that there are many different training methods out there. We do not prescribe any one method. We have developed a program that works for our horses and trainers. We ask all volunteers to be open to our program, be willing to follow directions when working with horses, and be respectful to the outfitter, wranglers, staff, and other guests. If at any time we feel like a volunteer has placed a horse or another person in a dangerous situation, we will ask them to leave with no refunds.

• Punctuality: When dealing with the welfare of animals, there are certain tasks that must be done at certain times. Failure to do this not only holds up staff, it also affects the experience of the other guests and the amount of time we can spend in the saddle having fun. In the summer, we ride very early in order to beat the heat of the day, which means some mornings will start as early as 5 a.m. We ask that all tasks be finished before leaving the barn.