Rusty Spur Ranch

We had such a great time! Connie was an absolutely wonderful guide… she conversed so easily with everyone in our group, from my youngest daughter to my father-​in-​law. You can tell when someone enjoys their job, and Connie definitely has a love for the horses and a passion for making sure that others truly enjoy their ride and experience. We also really liked that the ride wasn’t a generic «nose-​to-​butt» single-​file line… they let you spread out a little and control your horse as you feel comfortable. Thank you for a great experience!

Connie was great. We had a group that ranged from 7 to 67… Connie made sure all had a good time. This place may be in the middle of nowhere but it is well worth the drive!!!

This was the highlight of our week long Colorado vacation. This coming from a non-​horse person
Wrangler Valerie was the best. The horses were great.
Family friendly, we rode with our 8 year old son. He was nervous at first but with a little encouragement from our wrangler he was quickly riding on his own
The Rusty Spurr encourages spreading out and learning how to really ride!

Four of us went out on a 2-​hour trail ride and had an amazing time. Our horses were so comfortable walking nose-​to-​tail. Connie took us out on a ride with breathtaking views, wide open skies, beautiful trails, and plenty of fresh air. I especially appreciated that Connie took the time to help our 8 year old get comfortable on her horse. I highly recommend the 2-​hour trail ride at Rusty Spurr Ranch.

Highlight of our trip! Hahn (spelling?) was the perfect trail guide. He made sure everyone was safe and having a great time. The area is gorgeous and the horses were awesome.

Out of the ordinary — extraordinary! This isn’t your typical horseback ride. Great staff, well cared for horses, and spectacular scenery.

Ah horseback riding. Not exactly high up there on my favorite things to do list. I had an awful experience at a different horseback riding place that resulted in me walking the horse back to the stable. So when my wife and mom insisted on going riding on a recent trip to Colorado, I was more than apprehensive. Especially when the words «cattle driving» were thrown into the equation…
We set off bright and early into the mountains to make the 8:30am meeting time at the ranch. Turning off of Highway 9, we drove for miles into the remote mountain plains. The view was so spectacular, my initial hesitations started to loosen up a bit. We were in the middle of seemingly nowhere, with no one in sight. Having just left NYC, that was a welcome change.
We arrived at the ranch to discover we were the only ones doing the cattle drive that day. As such, this felt like a super exclusive private ride! Awesome.
We checked in with Connie on arrival and immediately I knew that this would be a very different experience than what I went through the first time (I kid you not, that first time involved a guy who showed up with a shotgun, shot into the air, and said «grab a horse»). Connie introduced us to her husband, Han, and another guide who would be leading us on the cattle drive. They talked to us about our previous experience in horse riding (to which I said «extremely limited») and assured us we would have a great time.
Upon bringing the horses out, fully saddled (something the last place expected me to do…), we mounted the horses and were given a quick lesson on the proper way to sit in the saddle and how to get the horses to do what we wanted (again, something that was expected of us in the last place, so this was VERY appreciated).
We set off across the plains, and spent the next four hours chasing cows, rounding them up, chatting about our lives, and all in all having an amazing time. I had such a blast! For this being the first time ever herding cattle, we all did excellent!
I would say my only gripe is that the price for the cattle drive is really steep. We were told several times that we had «a lot of work to do», and that held true! As such, it almost felt like they should’ve been paying us! :)
Following the ride, Connie had a lunch of chicken and burgers prepared for us. Definitely a nice needed touch after spending hours chasing cows!
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
First time horseback riding? Here are some warnin… tips!
1. SUNBLOCK. We highly underestimated the power of the sun at 9000ft for 4 hours. That’s all I’ll say on that matter.
2. Water! Bring some bottles with you for the ride. It get’s really dusty riding behind 60 cows. You’ll guzzle them down.
3. Stretch afterwards! Your quads will thank you!
4. Gents: Wear it tight, suffer less. I wore my triathlon shorts on this ride. You’ll be much happier when your horse starts running and you start bouncing!

This was a wonderful organization and they provided an excellent ride! My wife and I went on a three hour trail ride on the fourth of July holiday. Our ride leader, Connie, and the rest of the staff were true horse and outdoor lovers. We rode in a small group of seven people, but we were also allowed to spread out a bit through the prairie during much of the ride. My wife and I are not experienced riders, but we were patiently taught everything we needed to know and had extremely cooperative, well cared-​for horses. Connie had an extensive knowledge of both horses and the area we were riding in, and was also very pleasant and encouraging of the varying ages and experience levels in the group.
Just be forewarned that the ranch is a good 1+ hour drive from Breck, and the last few miles are on a desolate, dusty county road where you will think you made a wrong turn somewhere. Confirm you are on the right road, but then keep going and you will be rewarded with a ride in a very remote, beautiful area with no other riders or people around.
Highly recommended!

We took our adult kids and our grand kids out horseback riding. The Rusty Spur was a wonderful experience for us all. Connie was very helpful setting up the reservation and checking us in when we arrived. Our guides, Kevin and Jake, were fun, informative, and very responsive to our needs. We were impressed with the beautiful scenery and the horses. We definitely recommend the Rusty Spur!

I went on a 2 hour ride led by Matty and Kirby and they were very interesting and made the ride a great experience. I’m no horse expert, but the horses seemed a little slow, both mentally and physically. They’re certainly not as responsive as my Chrysler 300 (push to start). There are great views of the mountains along the ride and you might even see some stray cows (the nasty looking brown and black kind that continuously snot from their noses, not the nice white ones with the black spots that make milk for kids).

Cannot praise this ranch enough. This is my third year and I decided to do the cattle drive. So much fun and freedom! If you want to have the opportunity to ride great horses in open fields this is the place. Han, owner, is the most patient human on the face of the earth!

If you are looking for an authentic cattle drive, this is the place to go. Han and Connie have a nice outfit, we rode all morning and then had lunch at the ranch. I have never driven cattle anywhere in my life, and my wife had never ridden a horse! Very little experience was required because Han and his wranglers were excellent teachers. We drove 160 head of cattle from the watering hole out to another pasture about 3 miles away. Very fun… definitely got saddle sore. Would do it again! Great western experience with a fun group. Allow time from the main road to the ranch, as it is on the end of a 2 mile dirt road. Yee haw.