Ponderosa Ranch

We offer guests the opportunity to be a cowboy for a day or a week: to ride and fully experience ranch life on a scenic, timbered high-country Nebraska working cattle ranch. We offer a relaxed atmosphere, solitude for those who desire it, ranch broke quarter horses, comfortable, cozy, clean cabins, beautiful country and wide open spaces! You decide what day of the week to arrive and to leave, and how long you want to stay. Rustic lodging, meals served family style, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, fresh air, star-gazing, a serene and peaceful retreat from the urban hustle and bustle...You will come as a guest and leave feeling like part of our family. We strive to provide rural down home hospitality for our vacation and adventure seeking guests! Come immerse yourself deeply in a vanishing lifestyle, and see why cattlemen and pioneers made Nebraska their destination long ago.... Because our ranch is a working cattle ranch we do require that guests have some prior riding experience. We do not ride nose to tail, but spread out when the terrain allows and you need to be able to control your horse at a trot or canter outside of an arena if you wish to work with the cattle or help move cattle. Our guest horses are very gentle quarter horses. You are welcome to bring your own horses. We can custom tailor your riding and vacation time to match your experience level and desires. We can do pleasure riding only if you do not feel comfortable working with the cattle. The speed will be set by you, there will always be a little trotting involved but we do not need to canter/lope if you are not comfortable with that. You will have our undivided attention as we only take small groups of 5 people or less. If you are unsure about your experience level being adequate, please contact us and we can talk about it! Your safety is very important to us as we strive to make this the ultimate horseback riding vacation for you and your friends or family. If you wish to have the working ranch experience, you will ride, help round up and drive the cattle herd of 200 cows and calves, plus bulls, to new pastures. Also join us as we ride through the herd daily to check on them, checking fences, water, and minerals. Experience the thrill of bonding with your horse through the adventure of working together to accomplish daily ranch tasks. In May we normally round up the herd for branding and vaccinating the calves. In June we put the bulls out to pasture and sort them off and bring them home in August. We round up the herd again for vaccinating calves around Labor Day. We repeat this process again in October for weaning and selling the calves and pregnancy testing the cows. Several airports are within relatively close proximity to the ranch. Chadron, NE Airport is 30 miles, Alliance Airport is 60 miles, and Scottsbluff Airport is 75 miles. United Express flies daily between Denver, Colorado, and these airports. Rapid City Airport, South Dakota is about 120 miles