Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson Trip Report
Dec 20th, 2008, 02:13 PM
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Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson Trip Report
In December, I went to the all-woman program that runs at Tanque Verde Ranch, called "Women of the West." This program runs several times each year. You might think of it as Cowgirl Fantasy Camp. A similar co-ed program called "Harmony with Horses" is also offered several times each year.
We were a group of 8 women from all over the country, with varying degrees of prior experiences with horses. As someone who had only regularly ridden as a child (and English, not Western), I wanted to reconnect with a passion that had been all-but-lost in late middle age. After 5 intensive days in which we each had our "own" horse to groom, saddle, ride and do team penning, the bond I developed with my horse was beyond my wildest dreams. The program director, Tom Chambers, is an amazing observer/listener of both people and horses. He knows when to sit back and when to give guidance. Even with beginning riders, he is consistently supportive and never condescending. (Note that some individuals in my group would not say the same thing about all the wranglers working on the ranch. From my perspective, I just considered some of the older wranglers to be colorful "characters".)
I highly recommend the Women of the West program for any woman who wants an experience that will (pick all applicable): (1) Improve your riding skills, (2) Force you to forget about work, (3) Allow you to connect quickly and intimately with a group of strangers from all over the country, (4) Guarantee a great time, with lots of laughs and memories, and/or (5) Help you to connect your heart with the heart of a horse.
About the ranch in general...
It is probably true that the horses at Tanque Verde may look dirtier, perhaps with more nicks and cuts, than horses at some other ranches. If this is likely to bother you, be prepared. The horses are not kept in stalls and will rough-house with each other at times. Even after personally grooming the beautiful white horse assigned to me for the week, I would often return the next day to find him covered in mud and muck. He had obviously been having a great time rolling around in things that I don't want to think too much about!
There are many repeat visitors at the ranch, with multiple generations of the same family becoming guests over the years. While I was there, one extended family from Nova Scotia was visiting, with 19 members of diverse ages. It seems to be a great place for family reunions.
As a newcomer, however, I did not feel uncomfortable. Perhaps because there are so many regulars, the regular guests feel that they are welcoming new visitors into their home away from home. In the afternoons, when the Women of the West program did not specifically structure our small-group time, I mixed with other guests for activities such as nature walks, hiking in the Saguaro National Park, Intermediate horsemanship lessons, loping rides, etc. Activities such as tennis, mountain biking, swimming, etc. were available, but I did not sample these.
Rooms were extremely comfortable, well appointed, and roomy, though I was so tired each night that I quickly went to sleep. There was no tv and I did not miss it, but appreciated the XM satellite radio in the room.
A note about the food: Extremely plentiful and of adequate to good quality, with tons of salad choices and fresh fruit. The food is included in the daily rate. Think "cruise ship" for the breakfast and lunch buffets. For dinner, you select an entree and main course from a menu. My one minor quibble is that, although the ranch is one of the rare guest ranches that advertises itself as vegetarian-friendly, I found that the chef had very little creativity with vegetarian main courses. How many times can one eat pasta in some kind of cream sauce for dinner? Luckily, buffet selections at lunch and breakfast made up for dinner. When the ranch is not full with overnight guests, huge busloads of guests from the area come to the ranch specifically for meals.
A final comment is that my experience was during a period in which the ranch was quite empty, right before the Christmas holiday. This meant that rides, hikes and lessons were personalized, small-group affairs. I imagine that the whole place would have quite a different feel during peak periods, where lines for activities and foods might detract from the overall intimate feel of the place.
This was a life-changing experience for me and I want to SHOUT to others about it: If you've thought about reconnecting with the kid in you who used to be crazy about horses, drag your middle-aged (or younger or older) body to Tanque Verde Ranch.
We were a group of 8 women from all over the country, with varying degrees of prior experiences with horses. As someone who had only regularly ridden as a child (and English, not Western), I wanted to reconnect with a passion that had been all-but-lost in late middle age. After 5 intensive days in which we each had our "own" horse to groom, saddle, ride and do team penning, the bond I developed with my horse was beyond my wildest dreams. The program director, Tom Chambers, is an amazing observer/listener of both people and horses. He knows when to sit back and when to give guidance. Even with beginning riders, he is consistently supportive and never condescending. (Note that some individuals in my group would not say the same thing about all the wranglers working on the ranch. From my perspective, I just considered some of the older wranglers to be colorful "characters".)
I highly recommend the Women of the West program for any woman who wants an experience that will (pick all applicable): (1) Improve your riding skills, (2) Force you to forget about work, (3) Allow you to connect quickly and intimately with a group of strangers from all over the country, (4) Guarantee a great time, with lots of laughs and memories, and/or (5) Help you to connect your heart with the heart of a horse.
About the ranch in general...
It is probably true that the horses at Tanque Verde may look dirtier, perhaps with more nicks and cuts, than horses at some other ranches. If this is likely to bother you, be prepared. The horses are not kept in stalls and will rough-house with each other at times. Even after personally grooming the beautiful white horse assigned to me for the week, I would often return the next day to find him covered in mud and muck. He had obviously been having a great time rolling around in things that I don't want to think too much about!
There are many repeat visitors at the ranch, with multiple generations of the same family becoming guests over the years. While I was there, one extended family from Nova Scotia was visiting, with 19 members of diverse ages. It seems to be a great place for family reunions.
As a newcomer, however, I did not feel uncomfortable. Perhaps because there are so many regulars, the regular guests feel that they are welcoming new visitors into their home away from home. In the afternoons, when the Women of the West program did not specifically structure our small-group time, I mixed with other guests for activities such as nature walks, hiking in the Saguaro National Park, Intermediate horsemanship lessons, loping rides, etc. Activities such as tennis, mountain biking, swimming, etc. were available, but I did not sample these.
Rooms were extremely comfortable, well appointed, and roomy, though I was so tired each night that I quickly went to sleep. There was no tv and I did not miss it, but appreciated the XM satellite radio in the room.
A note about the food: Extremely plentiful and of adequate to good quality, with tons of salad choices and fresh fruit. The food is included in the daily rate. Think "cruise ship" for the breakfast and lunch buffets. For dinner, you select an entree and main course from a menu. My one minor quibble is that, although the ranch is one of the rare guest ranches that advertises itself as vegetarian-friendly, I found that the chef had very little creativity with vegetarian main courses. How many times can one eat pasta in some kind of cream sauce for dinner? Luckily, buffet selections at lunch and breakfast made up for dinner. When the ranch is not full with overnight guests, huge busloads of guests from the area come to the ranch specifically for meals.
A final comment is that my experience was during a period in which the ranch was quite empty, right before the Christmas holiday. This meant that rides, hikes and lessons were personalized, small-group affairs. I imagine that the whole place would have quite a different feel during peak periods, where lines for activities and foods might detract from the overall intimate feel of the place.
This was a life-changing experience for me and I want to SHOUT to others about it: If you've thought about reconnecting with the kid in you who used to be crazy about horses, drag your middle-aged (or younger or older) body to Tanque Verde Ranch.
Dec 21st, 2008, 07:43 AM
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Mrs. Jed and I went to TVR about 30 years ago for a few days in Dec. There were just a few people there, but it was very good. We had a great casita, took horseback rides every day, had good food, etc.
I still remember the vacation, and think about returning. Maybe we should!
I still remember the vacation, and think about returning. Maybe we should!
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