This week at the Ranch

By Front Desk Manager Christi Cline-
The countdown to opening day is on and finishing touches are being made at our Colorado guest ranch. Here’s a recap on the past twenty four hours here at Vista Verde. Yesterday morning our staff saddled up for a mock breakfast ride. This was partly to give practice to the servers, chefs and wranglers, but it was definitely time for staff bonding, laughs and a chance to snap some gorgeous morning pictures atop Indian Hill. Nothing is more spectacular than a Colorado mountain sunrise. The storm clouds started to build a bit, but the morning sprinkles didn’t scare off our riders. We made it back in time for more staff meetings and department time. Terry Wegener, our horse trainer thought the storm might initiate a delivery down in our mare barn in the evening…and his predictions were right! While our staff was having game night at The Steaming Bean coffee house in Steamboat Springs, Nicky, our assistant horse trainer and wrangler, delivered a colt at approximately 7:30 p.m.. She went to check on Rachel (the mare) and had a feeling that things were about to get exciting. The delivery was a quick one, between quiet peeks into her stall and excited calls to Terry, who is in Scottsdale Arizona judging a horse show, Nicky was coached through her first delivery! Sallie was videoing and helping relay messages from Terry the whole time. The baby colt and mare are healthy, happy and doing well. At first we thought we was sorrel in color, but in daylight now we see that he is a red roan and has a unique blaze in the shape of a bird. Names are in the mix as of yet, but Gus is high on the list, coming from Lonesome Dove.


Guaranteed there will be more exciting news in the next few days as we get ready to open our doors Sunday to our first summer guests. Today, staff are working on trails for biking, hiking and riding. Tonight we’re having a barn dance to learn the Salty Dog Rag, our staff dance and my personal favorite! Tomorrow, they’ll be busy with more meetings and working with their managers. We will keep you in the loop through our Ranch Facebook page. For our summer guests we are ready and excited, so hurry up and get here! For those of you who haven’t booked your summer family vacation yet, check back soon as Stephanie will be putting up some special offerings to fill the last cabins.