WHITE STALLION RANCH - Tucson, Arizona

you [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Applause] Tucson say the name Tucson and you'll conjure up visions of the Old West Blazing Sun sets the American cowboy an unspoiled spectacular mountain vistas with force of cactus dating back hundreds of years [Music] for over 70 years filmmakers have come to this very region to capture the authentic spirits of the American West and for nearly as long the true family has offered guests from more than 50 countries a genuine ranch vacation like no other welcome to the white stallion ranch this guest ranch had its origins in the 1900s and like most ranches of that time began as a cattle ranch the original property was constructed of Mexican adobe brick made of mud and straw a small part of this adobe has been left exposed and can be seen in the Ranch dining room the original building but the story really begins in 1965 when Alan and Cynthia Tru from Denver Colorado took the gamble of their lives and purchased the ranch and with their sons russell and michael began a lasting tradition of offering their guests a genuine Western ranch experience and exceptional hospitality that continues today the white stallion ranch has become an international destination for those seeking a genuine Western experience and each week you'll see the country flags of their guests at the ranch flying in the Arizona breeze Russell talks about the early history of the ranch and the no less interesting story of how the white stallion wrench got its name sour age is much like most dude ranches or at least a lot of them started out as a cattle ranch the original building which is our main dining room now and in fact I guess interestingly has just been renovated take it back sort of in and it's looks - how should have been originally it's about a hundred years old and so the ranch started out as a cattle ranch and between 1900 and 1940 that's all it was in 1940 a guy named max Zimmerman bought the ranch and he had the largest liquor store in the world at least self-proclaimed him it was took up a whole city block in Chicago and so he wanted to have a dude ranch in Arizona you know and back then why not there were over a hundred in in the Tucson area alone it was at that era called the dude ranch capital of the world he started the dude ranch in 1940 he called it MZ bar ranch max Zimmerman built the built the original 12 rooms one through 12 that we have today added to our main lodge that that building that was the original and the dude ranch business was born here so that went on until 1950 a couple of folks that were staying at a neighboring dude ranch are so enthralled with their experience that they decided to have their own they came over bought em Z bar ranch still called that and they didn't they didn't want to call it MZ bar ranch it seemed a little generic to them and so they were gonna name the ranch after the famous horse story the black stallion Walter Farley book and so it was gonna be the black stallion till the very end and and the story was and I've had conformation brew town the owner at the time a Massachusetts probably very you know concerned about proper everything and and so all of a sudden somebody handed him a bolo you know these Western ties we have out here with the initials of his new ranch and of course the initials are BS and that didn't look too good and even less acceptable in 1958 so he decided to change the name and so they that's how we became white stallion man no no good reason other than bad initials from their original plan they made it about seven years 58 to 65 as the story goes my dad true story my dad came home they were living in Denver my mom and dad and me I was five at the time and he came home to what he called the last blizzard he wanted to experience in Denver and so he decided he was going to Suntech he went back to the airport gone on a plane came to Tucson and that very night started to start his journey started looking all around and at that time there were about 30 ranches left in Tucson so a hundred and something and dwindled down to 30 still a lot and five were for sale one of them was white Stein goes home gets my mother we stayed for a week as guests and you know he my mom was more and at the end of the week she said a lot was a great vacation I wouldn't mind coming back but we don't know anything about hospitality we don't know anything really we're not Cowboys this is not a good fit and it's not a good idea for us to take everything we have and wrap it up into this mansion and roll the dice and so my dad ended up having to take her back through this long journey that he'd been on and at the end of the week I'm sure he'd been talking and talking and talking and finally as she was very proud to say she said okay okay if I can look at those mountains every morning when I wake up I'll let you through our life away and we're pretty sure she meant it because she really didn't have a sense of humor so we're pretty sure she was serious and my dad was pretty sure she was serious and so they they built the house with glass floor-to-ceiling and my mother who worked tirelessly and and I mean just endlessly so she sat at her desk and she could look at those mountains that she called her mouth they weren't hers at that time and so she she looked at them and and loved every day of it and ultimately as they expanded 200 acres to 3,000 the mountains became part of it so that's how we got here and all these years later my parents sadly are gone raised my two boys both adults now and so the third generation is poised and ready to take over when they kick us out that's our story while keeping up the Old West tradition with many of the original buildings still in use the true brothers have added modern amenities such as a fitness center with sauna [Music] a sunken lighted tennis court and lighted sports courts a large recreation room adjoining a 26 seat movie theater [Music] hey brah [Music] yep [Applause] riders in the sky the face has gone through eyes blurred their shirts all soaked with sweat they're riding hard to catch that hurt but they ain't caught him yet they've got to ride or oil they ride on [Music] and the telegraph station where guests can check their email if they absolutely need to as well as free Wi-Fi throughout the ranch kids of all ages will enjoy the petting zoo [Music] the accommodations are traditional southwestern with Mexican accents and you'll feel right at home during your stay at the ranch [Music] but you won't be spending much time indoors with all the activities and events the ranch staff has to offer your first stop might be the well-stocked gift shop where you can pick out your new cowboy hat gloves and jeans so you can blend right in with the rest of the cowboys and cowgirls [Music] then eh you gotta look good when riding your horse right Russell and Michael have tried to maintain the genuine dude ranch experience for their guests that their parents started over 50 years ago providing the best in horses hats and hospitality you know over the nearly 50 years our family's been here we've always felt that the our big goal was to listen to our guests and hear what they wanted and as long as it was something we could do and it fit the the core principles of dude ranching then we tried our best to do it but if it fit what we believe is what a dude ranch is all about then we we tried to put it together for him so the ranch has evolved dramatically over time and and stayed true to its beliefs in fact two years ago is interesting a woman who had been here 45 years prior my parents first year and had not been here for 45 years so clearly not a young person at that point and she she gave us the ultimate compliment at the end of her week stay she said to me directly she said you know everything is different and everything is the same and I I couldn't have scripted it better and she she said it from her heart and meant everything to us cuz that's exactly what we wanted to hear because we felt you know everything is different we renovated changed upgraded but at the same time we hoped everything was the same because we'd never wanted to leave that poor of dude ranch in which is about we believe is the dude Rangers Association believes horses hats hospitality heritage etc and and you know it all does start around horses and hospitality each day starts with the horses coming in from the corrals the Wranglers checking each horse brushing and grooming them and getting them saddled for the various trail rides going out [Music] don't match you with a horse that fits your writing abilities so you'll throw enjoy the hours of trail riding some of the most spectacular country fountain anywhere in the southwest you'll ride through the same mountains in trails that many of your childhood cowboy heroes rode in all the famous western films you [Music] [Music] and you'll get to experience some special trail rides that the early Cowboys probably didn't most notably the wine and cheese trail ride [Music] and the beer and Cheetos ride where you can relax in the desert and take in the spectacular surrounding scenery another great experience is the breakfast ride where Michael and Russell will do the cooking for breakfast like no other [Music] [Applause] [Music] at the end of the day as the Sun slips below the mountains you'll enjoy exceptional meals served from the grill hot and hearty where you can share your experiences with the other guests under a canopy of stars [Music] [Applause] [Music] the evenings are usually capped off with some special entertainment which is sure to please and we'll put a smile on your face before you turn in for a great night's sleep [Music] every Monday Wednesday and Friday after plenty of time in the saddle yes get to show there riding and cattle working skills in the team penning competition a time defense teams of four guests right into the hurt and cut out three cows pushing them to a pen on the other side of the arena looks simple but as you'll see the cows sometimes have a different plan in mind [Music] now sometimes it's hard to tell who's winning the Cowboys or the cows but in any case everyone enjoys this competition you the gasser also treated to rodeo event exhibitions which opened with the presentation of guests country flags [Music] [Applause] [Music] you'll enjoy bulldogging as Michael Drew demonstrates out every second counts once the chute flies open and the steer is on the run Kristen troupe will throw spectators with the ever-popular sport of barrel racing a timed pattern around three barrels were the speed and agility of the horse was you in the winner's circle [Music] and here's something we'll bet you have never seen before draft horse barrel racing where the big boys make the ground Thunder as they run the barrels [Music] [Applause] [Music] you'll also get to see roping demonstrations on heading and healing skills used every day on cattle ranches which have become major competitive rodeo sports you know you can find a sauna or a hot tub and loads and loads of places but you cannot find 3,000 acres of unspoiled unchanged iconic Sonoran Desert with the saguaros and the mountains of the rugged Tucson Mountains and the access to the National Park and the the ability to ride farther than we could get to and back from in a day so unlimited riding in essence and we're very lucky geographically because we can go slow we can go fast we can go all day we can go have a wine and cheese party ride with my party but wine and cheese ride tucked in around mountains all around us so we have this diversity but yet we've also learned people like their conveniences and and we as a culture have gotten kind of used to a nice pool and nice rooms and you know the iPod docking thing in your room to wake you up in the morning and so we put some of these things in and but still we believe every single decision we make and every addition or change that we have slowly evolved to over the time has stuck very closely to that that core of of what separates dude ranching I'm a second-generation guy grew up here I've been here all my life almost all my memorable life at least and so I've either observed it as a kid who was having more fun than any kids should be allowed to have feeling like the luckiest kid in the world growing up here too the person who who transitioned into now operating it with my brother Michael and so I've seen it change dude ranching and I've seen it stay the same I believe that for nearly everyone a dude ranch is the right vacation and you're gonna meet people from all over the world shockingly out here in the Tucson desert and you're gonna meet people from all over the country with this same desire to do something different and most importantly do something real a Western dude ranch vacation is like no other you will ever experience Russell talks about why people should look into a dude ranch vacation and why the contemporary family will find this kind of experience difference real and life-changing especially for children it really I think is the prescription particularly today for families where these kids just are attached to their own detriment to all this technology and okay maybe they will still have access to it but you know what I watch these kids slowly set it down and whether they know it or not the lure of the outdoors horses and real experiences you know what they'll win over technology if given the opportunity and dude ranches are one of those last places you can give yourself and if you have a family your family that opportunity so I think there's a dude ranch out there for everybody I think ours fits a pretty broad range of people we we have experience that suggests that our diversity of riding facility and activity and evening entertainment matches a lot of people if you're ready for a genuine Western dude ranch experience if you're ready to ride the trails of the old Western Cowboys see incredible vistas an unspoiled natural beauty if you're ready for your entire family to tap into your inner cowboy then you should make your way to Tucson Arizona and live out your dreams at the white stallion ranch will eat you the corrals with your horse you [Music] you [Music]

Channel: HorseTV Global

Views: 16,136

Rating: 4.8709679 out of 5

Keywords: Tucson, white stallion, guest ranch, dude ranch, wrangler, cowboy, cowgirl, cactus, sguarro, trail riding, horses, ponyies, western movie, tennis, pool, vacation, family vacation, fine dining, sunsets, ride

Id: EuHwlot1_kI

Length: 25min 12sec (1512 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 06 2019