Tips on getting a dude ranch job: 3

You may have a ranch in mind where you'd like to work. But do you really know your target ranch? Here's how to find out more: 

-When you have selected several ranches that would be a good fit for you (and vice

 versa), learn everything you can about them. Ranches now post enormous amounts of information on the internet. Also, don’t hesitate to call them with well thought out questions. Study the ranches that are close to that ideal you have in mind. Then, find out:

    * What makes them different from others?

    * What is their hiring schedule?

    * What are their requirements from applicants? (eg. videotape?)

    * How many of last year’s staff are returning this year? 

Shop ranches – pretend you are taking the vacation of your dreams, and call them with your questions. When you apply, make it clear that you have studied the ranch as a potential employer – it shows them that you are serious. When a cover letter addresses the owner by name (easy to get from the ranch web site) it makes a much stronger positive impression than “To Whom It May Concern.” Collecting this information takes only a few minutes, but can pay big dividends.

Again, we have to thank Ellen & Dan Morin of Sundance Trail Ranch for all of the above ideas. For more, visit www.Duderanchjobs.com.

Tips on getting a dude ranch job: 4

We got a followup note from Ellen Morin, at Sundance Trails Ranch in Colorado, adding her suggestions to Dan Morin's. She says, with tongue in cheek, "Everyone knows that the best way to get a ranch job is to marry the owner!" On a more serious note, she adds, "A million years ago, I wrote a wrote a paper about this very subject!" Below, with her permission, are some of her suggestions.If you want to stand out, you should:

-Honestly determine if you fit (square pegs should not work in round holes)

-Know the rules

-Know Your Target

-Let the ranch know that you have studied them

-Follow Ranch practices

-Make it easy for the ranch to check your references

Call the ranch to determine its hiring schedule; for example, most northern ranches begin accepting applications by Thanksgiving and make hiring decisions in December.

And for more information, visit www.duderanchjobs.com.

The birth of a 'new classic' Western shirt

What’s Cacties? No, not a group of desert plants with spines—it’s a new line of Western wear shirts and ties. Creator Jimmy Griscom started the company, called Cacties, just a couple of years ago “for the cowboy in us all”.

Two years ago, he made the decision to leave his Wall Street trading desk behind. “I grew up wearing suits and ties,” Griscom says, “but there’s a cowboy in us all, and mine wanted to get out.”

He started out making ties that can best be described as ‘Will Rogers meets Ferragamo’. We've seen them, and they're elegant, high-end (100% silk), and made entirely by hand in the USA; they each have a pattern featuring fun but tasteful western-themed icons—look closely and you’ll see tiny images of flags, chaps, cacti (hence the company name), cutting horses and the like. Each of the 28 designs retails for $80, so they’re not cheap, nor do they look it. They’ve caught on with Wall Streeters, like Mad Money pundit Jim Cramer, and politicos like President George Bush (who has a passel of ‘em).

Griscom's next goal? Merely to make “the best high-end Western-influenced shirt on the market”. The typical western shirt is very utilitarian, he says, and he wanted to make something that “a real cowboy would wear to get gussied up in” but that the guy in Manhattan would also want to wear.

We recently got a look (and feel) of Cacties’ two-pocket, antique horn snap denim classic western shirt ($125); it is made from a 60/40 blend of cotton and tencel indigo chambray and has that smooth, silky feel of a well-worn “old favorite” shirt—without the well-worn look. The line has become a favorite of singer Vince Gill, who wore one for an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. 

Take a look at the Cacties website. If the shirt looks half as good on you as it does on Griscom (pictured on the About page), then you’ll consider it money well spent. For more, click here.

News from the 2009 DRA Conference

I had a chance to chat with Colleen Hodson, Executive Director of The Dude Ranchers' Association (DRA) about their recent gathering in Arizona. The DRA is in its 83^rd year, going strong since 1926. “The turnout was great ,” Hodson said. “You can’t go wrong in sunny Arizona in the middle of winter!”

And she told me that the host ranch, Tanque Verde, really “put on the dog” for the group. “We had everything from fire dancers to foot rodeos to country western dancing and live auctions,” Hodson explained.

When I asked what a foot rodeo was she explained that it was a lot of fun contests played on foot (no horses allowed). “You catch a chicken— blindfolded, put panties on a goat, throw a tomahawk,” she said, with a laugh.

The fun stuff loosened up the crowd before they got down to business, listening to important messages from speakers such as James Owen, author of Cowboy Ethics and a former hedge fund operator who “got tired of Wall Street and realized that if we all lived the way cowboys and dude ranchers live, we’d all be better off”.

A web guru “told us all how to better use the web—which is increasingly important,” Hodson contended. Later on, Bill Reynolds from the nonprofit Paragon Foundation spoke about land use and water rights, “an issue to many of our members”. Tracey Knutsen of Alaska spoke about adventure travel litigation and explained the importance of waivers and releases.

“We give out scholarships to those pursuing careers in our industry, and we teamed up with TROT (Theraputic Riding of Tucson) to auction off weeklong stays at dude ranches,” she said, noting that they raised well over $18,000 for the good cause.

And the group elected its new president: Russell True, of White Stallion Ranch, near Tucson. True spoke about how ranchers are going to have to “cooperate, collaborate, and find ways to work together to strenthen the DRA.” 

We’ll have an interview with the new DRA president in the coming weeks. Watch for it.

From the 2009 Dude Ranchers Association Conference

Recently, the Dude Ranchers' Association Conference was held at Tanque Verde Ranch in Arizona. Later this week, we'll tell you more conference news. Gene Kilgore had some inspiring thoughts for conference-goers, and we thought we'd share a portion of his speech with you.

 “I have titled my speech Champions of Goodness. That is what dude ranching is all about. That is what you, Dude Ranchers, all share. Goodness! And do we all ever need goodness in the world today. An Interviewer once asked me what I like most about ranching and I replied ‘It is simple: no phones, no emails, no faxes, just some good old fashioned horsin’ around!’ 

These past 29 years in ranch country have been exciting, enriching, and tough, too. I began the first edition of my book [Ranch Vacations] in 1988, penniless in a small cabin in Lake Tahoe. I was working three jobs and wondering how I was going to make it. 

By the grace of God I am here today - surrounded by some of the best people in the world—the dude ranch community.

Thankfully, I have been supported by my wonderful Brazilian wife, Regina, and son Francisco. Supported by a magnificent team of men and women who work with me. And inspired by you—ranchers who share their lives. All of us are making the world a better place. My journey has taken me to many wonderful ranches and allowed me to meet so many good people. All I want to do is continue bringing the world the best of ranch country, which ultimately means bringing more reservations to ranchers who are riding with us. It is that simple—we are in the success business; we are all about helping you keep winning. That is what I have built my reputation on.


The challenges ahead for ranching, our countries, and the world are enormous. We are in a financial crisis most of us have never seen. The effects are rippling around the world and are now affecting ranchers. Leading economic experts say this will get worse in 2009. Millions of layoffs. These are tough serious times!

Yet the opportunities for us all to share the ranch message are greater than ever.

Ranching is still one of the best remedies to combat all the stress that is so pervasive in our lives today. Reconnecting with nature, old fashioned goodness, and camaraderie are what we all need. You bring out that goodness and make communing with nature and animals the best!"