If you have ever dreamt of being a cowboy, head out west to Colorado where you can learn the skills of the cowboy and experience life on a working cattle ranch.

Colorado Cattle Company is in north eastern Colorado and covers about 7,000 acres, caring for around 1,000 cows and calves.
This is a real working ranch which is now organised to take guests and teach the skills
of the cowboy. No matter what your previous riding experience they can take you from “never ever” to “roping off a horse” in one week!

The ranch has about 70 horses (Quarter Horse and Quarter Horse crosses) available for you to ride during the week over varying terrain doing real cowboy work. You are first matched with a horse and shown how to tack up Western style. Riding lessons are given on the hoof as you ride out over the ranch. This is not head to tail trail riding.

Each morning you work with the cowboys. If you wish you can rise at 6am and assist as every horse is checked and fed. After breakfast the job to be done will depend on the time of year, although even the best laid plans can be turned upside down. Expect the unexpected here: a sudden storm may have everyone out gathering cattle or a prolonged dry spell may make a cattle drive necessary.

At Cowboy School you learn the correct way to handle a rope and then how to handle a rope from a horse. Learn from real stockmen and professional cowboys how to read and work cattle. These cowboys have not only competed in many rodeos and team ropings, they have also won many competitions. Improve your riding and horsemanship by team penning, team sorting, cutting and other fun games that teach cattle handling skills.
If you prefer to take it easy, you can work cattle in the morning and skip riding in the afternoon. Most guests mix the cattle work and Cowboy School with some relaxation time.

The cattle establish the daily routine on
the ranch:
In May and June the ranch will be busy with calving and branding as well as gathering, sorting and moving the pairs to summer pastures. Fences must be checked for broken or damaged areas. Short one-day cattle drives are weekly events until all cattle are settled for the summer. Spring activities can be hard to schedule; weather, sickness, calving and feeding all play a part in the daily work.
From July to early September you might be moving cattle, gathering bulls, checking water, salt and fences, looking for strays and driving them back where they belong.
In late September and October the ranch is busy gathering the cattle in from pastures and sorting, vaccinating and weaning the calves. There are several cattle drives a week as cattle are shipped to winter feedyards. Other jobs include draining the water tanks and laying in feed for the winter.

You stay in either the log bunkhouse, which was the original homestead on the ranch, or in one of the newly constructed log cabins. There are five en suite bedrooms in the bunkhouse and eight cabins each with their own shower room. The porches are favourite gathering spots for early morning coffee or a quiet spot to read a book in the afternoons. All rooms are air-conditioned and heated for comfort in all weather. Each room has a coffee maker and a small refrigerator.

The average number of guests at the ranch is twelve and the ranch takes adults only (minimum age is 21 years). Everyone comes together for meals in the comfortable lodge which also has an indoor pool.