RIDING, ROPING AND ROUNDUP WEEK

August 22-29, 2010. All-inclusive rate $1,690 includes all meals, lodging, programs and entertainment. Transportation from Denver, trap shooting and massage therapy, Orvis fishing school and 4.6% Colorado Sales Tax are the only extra chares. Beginner to advanced riders welcome.

It all looked so easy in those John Wayne movies: 3,000 head of cattle, moving hundreds of miles with just 6 cowboys. The skills the cowboys exhibited were: complete control of their horse; a sense of where to apply pressure to the cow heard and an expertise with a rope. We want to to impart these abilities to you at our adult only riding, roping and roundup week, August 22-29, 2010 at Lost Valley Ranch. Under the training of Jeff Wahlert, a three-generation Colorado cowboy, you will learn and experience what cowboys have practiced for over 160 years. You may not be ready for the open range by weeks end, but you will have an appreciation and insight into the life of a cowboy.

New DRA Ranch Members

Membership in the Dude Ranchers' Association is not automatic. Dude ranches applying for membership go through a rigorous two year inspection and approval process. It includes an application fee, a detailed written application, references from former guests, an appearance before the board of directors and on-site inspections during operations. These inspections focus on safety, livestock management and hospitality industry standards for all aspects of the ranch. Approximately 70% of the ranches that apply meet the high standards of the association and go on to become members.

Once accepted, ranches go through a year of probationary membership during which they undergo a second on-site inspection. Only after a satisfactory second inspection are they admitted to full membership. Once a full member, all ranches are accredited every five years.

At the 2009 Fall Board of Directors Meeting, there were seven ranches accepted on probationary status. The following ranches are in the first year of our two year application process. They are:
Hidden Meadow Guest Ranch, Arizona
4UR Ranch, Colorado
Zapata Ranch, Colorado
Lonesome Spur Ranch, Montana
Lazy E-L Ranch, Montana
K Diamond K Ranch, Washington
Red Reflet Guest Ranch, Wyoming

There were also seven new ranches accepted for full membership into the DRA. They are:
Rowse’s 1+1 Ranch, Nebraska
Red Horse Mountain Ranch, Idaho
Bar W Ranch, Montana
Covered Wagon Ranch, Montana
Geronimo Trails Ranch, New Mexico
Crossed Sabres Ranch, Wyoming
Rancho de los Caballeros, Arizona

The Dude Ranchers' Association has been preserving western ranch vacations by establishing and maintaining strict standards, while protecting the land and wildlife for over 80 years - We encourage you to “Ride the West with the Best!”

Saying Goodbye...

The Dude Ranch Industry has lost two of their “pioneers” this last month, DRA Hall of Famers, Leo Hargrave of Hargrave Land and Cattle Guest Ranch and Nancy Ferguson of Eaton’s Ranch. They truly helped make the industry what it is today. Please take a moment to tip your hat to these two great dude ranchers’ I know they will be missed by all..

Nancy Ferguson
Nancy Eaton Ferguson, 88, of Wolf, passed away at her residence on July 21, 2009. Cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be at Eatons’ Ranch at a later date. Born Feb. 28, 1921, in Sheridan to William and Patty (Alderson) Eaton, she attended Sheridan schools and was a graduate of Sheridan High School. She married Tommy Ferguson at Eatons’ Ranch on Sept. 5, 1942. She was the Sheridan Rodeo Queen in 1939, served on the Wolf Creek School Board, the Hospital Auxiliary Board, and was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Wyoming, the Book Review Club, and was Lady President of the Dude Ranchers’ Association. She was preceded in death by her husband; a brother, Billy Eaton; and a daughter, Judy Ferguson. Survivors include her children, Susan Van Allen, Patty Kaufmann, William Ferguson, and Thomas J. Ferguson, Jr.; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Memorials may benefit the Nancy Eaton Ferguson Sheridan WYO Rodeo Scholarship Fund, c/o First Interstate Bank, PO Box 2007, Sheridan, WY 82801.
The service  will be held on September 19 at the ranch at 4:00 p.m. and we will have a cocktail reception immediately following.

Leo Hargrave:
Charles Leo Hargrave, 87, died Saturday, July 11, 2009, at his home in Laclede, Kansas. Leo was a man of many talents honed from a humble upbringing during the Great Depression and WW II.
Leo married Ellen White of Laclede, KS, June 10, 1978. He built their Charolais operation and surrounding lease lands to the point that he was recognized as a model of sustainable environmental grazing practices. The couple simultaneously built a dude business on the cattle ranch. Guests from around the world joined them for the next 20 years in Living the Legend of a Montana cowboy. Leo spent 6 years helping to guide the Dude Ranchers’ Association as a board member and was honored with induction to the DRA Hall of Fame in 2007.

2009 Membership Drive

Do you want to be a part of the prestigious Dude Ranchers' Association? If so, we invite your application for membership during this special 2009 membership drive by offering a 50% discount on the application fee and a streamlined application process. Below are several great reasons why you should consider joining. Please contact me to get started.

Colleen Hodson
Executive Diretor
colleen@duderanch.org
1-866-399-2339

DRA Membership Benefits:
Marketing:

• Listing on the DRA web site, www.duderanch.org, which receives approximately 14,000 unique visitors per month. The number one dude ranch travel site on Google, Yahoo etc. READ MORE

"Marketing is certainly one of the most obvious benefits of DRA membership. Referrals from the DRA site to our website are in our top 3 sources of traffic, and these, of course, are very qualified leads. Additionally we are provided with editorial leads, coop ads, and simply being "kept in the loop" on the opportunities that exist for promoting the industry and our ranch-that alone is more than worth the dollar value of our dues. However, the element of membership that has no dollar value, like the experience at our individual ranches, is the development of potent relationships. The DRA membership hosts a wealth of extremely creative, intelligent, warm, and driven individuals. "Together, we benefit from this pool of expertise, experience, integrity, and vision. It is a truly priceless alliance. We have been DRA members since 1970, and we are very proud to be a DRA approved ranch." Erika Wilderness Trails Ranch