Mountain Sky Guest Ranch has storied roots in the legendary cattle drives that brought cattle from Texas to Montana in the 1800s. This landscape was the destination for 1,000 longhorn cattle that were driven from Texas to the Montana territory in 1866, a story that became the premise of the famed Western novel and movie, Lonesome Dove.
Today, cattle outnumber people in Montana two to one. Most of the cattle in Paradise Valley live and graze on a patchwork of ranches that extend from mountains to valleys, many that were working ranches prior to Montana achieving statehood in 1889. In 1919, Ox Yoke Ranch was founded, and in 1929, it became one of the area’s first dude ranches. Today, Mountain Sky continues both traditions – as a working ranch and guest ranch with the unique opportunity to merge agriculture and tourism into an unforgettable vacation.
Montana Horseback Riding At Its Finest
Travel the length of Big Creek Road by car and you’ll see cattle, livestock and wildlife grazing on vast pasturelands. Travel these trails, pastures and mountains on horseback and you’ll look deeper into the landscape. Smell the wild sage growing, hear the wind rustle through the trees and feel the power and sure step of one of the world’s most majestic creatures beneath you.
Two hundred horses call Mountain Sky home, as part of our robust riding program and working ranch operation. Horseback riding is an integral and included part of a stay at Mountain Sky.
A team of seasoned wranglers is on hand to ensure both the comfort and enjoyment of the program at all times. During arrival day, Head Wrangler Dustin Call speaks with guests so he can match each guest with a horse that will partner them based on their personality, experience and desired speed.
After breakfast on the first full day of their stay, guests head down to the corrals to meet their horse at the mounting block. Whether they are greeting Cowboy, Moccasin, Woodrow or one of 150 other trail-ready ranch horses, they will learn their horses’ name and disposition before they ever leave the arena.
Guests learn the basics of steering with the direct rein approach, then practice stopping, backing up, and applying pressure to encourage the horse to go at a desired speed. Throughout the week’s rides, guests learn a lot about their own body language and emotions. As the rider relaxes, so does the horse.
“You become a little more in-tune with yourself when you’re working with your horse.” ~ Assistant Head Wrangler Mary Kate O’Connor.
Opportunities to develop this bond are also part of the Mountain Sky experience. Guests can visit their horses and groom them at the barn between activities. No matter which cabin you call home while here, your horse is only a short walk away.
Team Penning At Mountain Sky
By the time Thursday rolls around, and the horse and human connection is building, riders can take part in Team Penning, an activity that builds skill through cattle work.
As guests gather in teams of four or fewer, the anticipation builds. Wranglers demonstrate cattle sorting skills with ease, ushering a chosen calf or cow into a set of panels based on the number on its ear tag. If a horse moves toward a cow’s shoulder it will turn them around, and if it moves toward the hip it will move forward.
Sorting cattle is a regular activity on any working ranch, because it allows you to ensure a paired cow and calf stay together, and at times it separates a single animal for doctoring, branding, artificial insemination or shipping.
Each cow penning team draws the number of the animal they need to separate from the herd, and work together to move the animal away from the larger group across a line. Communication is essential – both between a human and a horse and each member of the group. In the spirit of friendly competition, each group is timed.
“To be able to have a horse as a partner in an actual task is really rewarding. You learn to communicate with one another to accomplish it and it is really cool.” ~ Assistant Head Wrangler Mary Kate O’Connor
Once each group has sorted their cow or calf, cheers go up for the winning team and a feeling of camaraderie grows amongst the week’s guests. Although bragging rights are the only prize, some returning guests have created their own team belt buckles after their stay. Working with cattle during team penning forges memories, friendships and horsemanship skills that stay long after the guests return home.
Working Ranch Experience: Cattle Operation
Guests thirteen and older enjoy the chance to test their skills helping Livestock Manager Cory Cantu with the daily work of our cattle operation. In place of team penning, guests can opt for the working ranch experience which takes place over six or more hours, depending on the day’s tasks.
The work varies dramatically, as the work on a ranch is multifaceted and never fully done. During the spring, Cantu and the wranglers might need help with doctoring, ear tagging, rotating cows in different pastures, and sorting yearlings. Cantu and his team care for three herds of cattle across AMB West’s properties. Guests mainly interact with the Mountain Sky cow/calf herd that’s based near the lower ranch, comprising 160 cow/calf pairs and 5 bulls.
In the summer, Cantu moves herds frequently as part of Mountain Sky’s sustainable approach to rangeland management. Moving cattle allows the grass to rest for regrowth. Healthy grass range is essential for the health of the environment, the cattle, and the migrating wildlife that continually roams through Paradise Valley.
Guests may gather a whole group of cows and push them into another pasture. In some cases, they will work with the herd of 400 yearlings on West Creek Ranch to move pastures or review their health. During the course of gathering and herding cattle, guests will see vast expanses of land, thicker trees, wildlife, and wildflowers that they would not see on a normal trail ride.
The working ranch experience further develops riding skills that aren’t possible to practice during leisure rides.
“I’ve had guests tell me before that they really enjoy the working ranch experience because they can take what they are using on the trails and learn more control. It gives it a bit more purpose of learning what they need to know to accomplish an important task.” ~Livestock Manager Cory Cantu
Full Circle: Hay and Cattle Operation
Although Montana ranching has risen to fame in literature, film and television, from Lonesome Dove to Yellowstone, finding a real dude ranching experience can be difficult. Trail riding, team penning and the working ranch experience at Mountain Sky provide opportunities to delve deeper into ranching culture and its goal of supplying food for the country.
The full circle of this operation includes raising hay to be self-sufficient in providing sustenance to the cattle and horse herds in the winter month. All the ground beef and some of the steaks that guests eat are sourced from the herds at the ranch. The livestock team is working hard on the future goal of providing all the beef for the culinary program.
After a day in the vast grasslands of Mountain Sky, guests can hit the hay knowing they’ve been a part of the process of caring for the land and the animals that are integral to the success of our working ranch. The relationships and skills they’ve developed with horses and wranglers culminates in a once-in-a-lifetime cowboy experience.
Experience life at a real ranch, check out our many vacations packages and come visit.
