Guest ranch wranglers tune up trail safety skills

By Lourie Zipf
North Forty News

After riding horses for the better part of her young life, Mary Bengford knows how incredible, yet unpredictable, these animals can be.

Thanks to the Sundance Trail Guest Ranch in Red Feather Lakes, Bengford, a wrangler for Western Ridge Restaurant and Resort in Livermore, is confident that she will be better prepared when she hits the trails this summer.

Bengford, 16, of Fort Collins, and 20 other wranglers from area dude and guest ranches, Western Ridge and Magic Sky Ranch, and Loveland's Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, participated in a wrangler safety certification course at the Sundance ranch June 5 and 6. During the two-day course, the wranglers learned everything from safety on the trail to practical emergency first aid.

"The course is a requirement by the Dude Ranchers' Association for my own staff members, as part of their orientation, so, I decided to open the class up to all the neighboring guest ranches," said Dan Morin, owner and operator of the Sundance Trail Guest Ranch. Morin is also an instructor with the DRA and has been teaching the wrangler safety certification course since 2007, when the program was first implemented.

An important aspect of the wrangler safety certification course at the Sundance ranch was the practice of "emergency scenarios." Through these scenarios, the wranglers developed problem-solving skills unique to trail riding. One such scenario included a rider falling from a horse, while another rider was highly agitated and verbally abusive to others on the ride.

These "emergency scenarios" emphasized anticipating the unexpected. "The idea is to always think ahead," Morin said.

"The scenarios that we went through during the course really helped to build my confidence," said Bengford. "They made me think about what could really happen if you were on a trail ride and how to handle something if it did happen. It's very important to communicate with your customers."

Basic first aid skills, specifically adapted to trail riding, were also taught during the two-day seminar. Wranglers practiced the use of a backboard in the event of a neck, back or spine injury. They also learned how to create a makeshift sling, with the use of a shirt, to support a broken arm or wrist. All wranglers are certified in CPR by the time they take the guests out on the trail.

"The first-aid course was very helpful," said Bengford. "I feel as if I have a much better idea of what to do if there is an emergency out on the trail."

The course was also an opportunity for the wranglers to meet and share ideas. "These are people from different ranches, sharing their experiences and backgrounds, and also sharing what works and what doesn't," Morin said.

Along with the wrangler safety certification course, the DRA created the horse safety certification program in 2005, which is a requirement for all new DRA member dude and guest ranches. The horse safety certification program insures that all ranches are meeting safety requirements for their own facility, according to DRA Executive Director Colleen Hodson. Some of those requirements include tying horses safely, adequate and secure fencing, and a safe mounting and dismounting area.

Considerable care is also given to the horses at each ranch. The DRA requires that they are well fed and in good, healthy condition. Horses and guests should be paired together according to skill level and size of both horse and rider.

Every five years, the certified ranches are inspected by the DRA. "We are all about safety as far as the guests are concerned," said Hudson. "Safety needs to come first."

From reported statistics, it appears as if the horse safety certification program and the wrangler safety certification course have both been very successful.

"The 130 or so barns that have implemented the wrangler safety certification course have experienced a dramatic decrease in accidents and injuries," Morin said.