Away on the range

Kevin Braddock finds a whole host of ranch experience holidays for budding city slickers

"The boots had a life of their own," recalls Christopher Meyer, former British ambassador to Washington, in his recent memoir, DC Confidential. "They made me walk like John Wayne." Meyer was appraising a pair of bespoke JB Hill cowboy boots that Karl Rove, George W Bush's adviser, encouraged him to have made at considerable expense.

These days it is not only the civil service elite who get to walk like screen cowboys. The romance of the American west's "big sky" country, the cowpoke lifestyle, and life on the open range, have long exerted a profound appeal on stressed suburbanites and lonesome metropolitans. But since the success of Ang Lee's triple-Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain, the US ranch holiday industry has not only received a major boost, but has splintered into a variety of packages, each offering a different taste of the cowboy experience.

In common with other remote locations that have benefited from fictionalisation—such as Cephalonia, the Ionian island romanticised in Louis de Bernières's Captain Corelli's Mandolin—the magnificently existential emptiness of Wyoming, where Brokeback Mountain's story was set, has become the leading destination for aspiring ranch-hands. Visitor numbers for 2006 are up 30 per cent on last year, says Colleen Hodson of the Dude Ranch Organisation, based in Cody, Wyoming, and a third of those guests come from Europe.

Hodson's firm represents 106 working ranches across 12 western states and two Canadian provinces, running south from BC and Alberta through states such as Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, California and New Mexico. It exists to help visitors define what kind of ranch holiday they seek—such as trekking, steering or other Wild West pleasures like angling and hunting—because the range of possibilities is almost as large as the North American interior itself. The number of ranches in the US offering holidays runs into the thousands. Some in the northernmost parts become inaccessible outside the traditional May to October season, while others in the warmer south open all year round.

Ranching holidays hold obvious attractions: the stunning expanse of mountain, meadow and prairie in the American interior lends itself to ascetic contemplation. For the terminally deskbound, the raw, physical challenges of life among the elements parachute them instantly into the uncluttered mindset of the cowboy. Ranch holidays are also a safe introduction to the natural world for families tired of the ersatz consumer entertainment of theme parks and beaches.

But the industry is diversifying beyond the spartan, rawhide experience of working ranch holidays—where visitors take an active role in riding, ranching and cattle steering—and the broad mass of riding-oriented "dude ranches" for guests seeking a break from themselves in the solitude of the middle-American expanse.

The new echelon of luxury resort ranches have less do with cattle-steering and more to do with the trappings of the global luxury holiday experience, such as spas, golf courses, private hot tubs and helicopter excursions—with prices to match. Ranches such as Triple Creek in Darby, Montana are attracting visitors for whom the appeal of the "Brokeback" lifestyle is emotional rather than physical.

"Ranching is not simply an option for the serious rider or those looking to learn to ride," says Tony Daly, MD of tour operators Ranch Riders. "The market has opened up to the luxury traveller and those looking for a more all-round, adventurous holiday."

Those seeking an alternative to the rigours of horseback trekking, angling or hiking at Triple Creek can also make use of the ranch's heated swimming pool, tennis courts and croquet. What would Buffalo Bill have made of that?

"There will always be a place for the working ranch, but alongside the traditional rustic experiences, luxury resort ranches offer another way to experience the Wild West—they open it up to a broader clientele," says Daly.  

The trend in luxury ranching is stratospherically upward, but also imaginative. The sumptuous Echo Valley Ranch in British Columbia offers a Baan Thai spa designed by Dr Pinyo Suwenkiri, a leading authority on Thai architecture, and visitors can enjoy organic food, native Indian dancing and Luk Pra Kob herb treatments to ease the pain of lassoing wayward steers, swaggering around in those doggone boots, or just overdoing it on the tennis court.

All this indicates that the profile of many visiting "dudes" challenges the perception of the aspirant cowpoke embodied in Billy Crystal's character in City Slickers—a tortured ad-sales guy undergoing his mid-life crisis.

"The majority of our clients are women," says Olwen Law of In the Saddle, a Shropshire-based operator which works with 14 ranches across the western US. "Riding holidays have become an escape for women, who might leave their kids with a husband or grandparents." But the real cowboy experience on a ranch untainted by luxury—complete with nights under the stars and beans cooked on an open fire—is still abundantly available. Nick Compton, a devout Cormac McCarthy fan, holidayed at a working ranch in the Gila Valley, New Mexico, which was once home to Billy the Kid.

"I had a great time, although it was quite obvious the ranchers didn't want you there," Compton recalls. "They were very nice about it, but I got the impression they just wanted to get on with their jobs."

Where to go...

Fortune Ranch, South Dakota 
Rider-oriented ranch holiday for intermediate to experienced riders. 
From £1,485pp for one week including flights and full board.

Tanque Verde ranch Tucson, Arizona
Offers riding instruction for beginners and children, plus spa, tennis courts, swimming pools, sauna and exercise rooms. From, £1,580pp for one week including flights and full board.
Both from In The Saddle, 01299 272 997, www.inthesaddle.co.uk

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, British Columbia
A 7-night stay costs from £1,399pp, with departures available April to October. The ranch is adult only.

Triple Creek Ranch, Montana
Luxury cabins with king-size, log-post beds, double steam showers and private hot tubs from £2,125pp.
Both at Ranch Rider, 01509 618811, www.ranchrider.com

All prices include return flight, accommodation, board and ranch-based riding.