Meet Our Horses

This is a family owned business, but we do have some outside investors. 16.5 of them, to be exact. We rely on them to take care of our family and friends, our clients and special guests.  They are the heart of our business, and we consider them our partners.

Most of our horses hail from the Hargrave Family Farm in Iowa, where they were born and bred. They have a long standing training schedule: couple of years of arena work/cattle and team roping back in Iowa and then out to Wyoming for high altitude training and to learn to navigate the geographical ups and downs of this part of the state, as well as the weather!

Butterscotch

Meet Butterscotch, our most trusted steed. He is a 25 year old quarter-horse born and raised on the Hargrave family farm back in Iowa. Joe and Jess used to ride him in local rodeo’s and he won them plenty of pots of spending money over the years. When Jess went into the Army, Butterscotch enlisted as well to join the armed forces rodeo team. He is a strong animal, despite his age, with plenty of get up and go and a beautiful stride. He comes across as macho and a bit stand offish, but he secretly loves a little extra TLC and maybe a bit of mane braiding to suit his vanity.

Come Along

Come Along is Traci’s personal favorite. He is strong, reliable, and calm, and enjoys a pleasant ride along the mountain trails, but he really shines when it’s time to break into a canter on the game trails atop the plateau or out in the badlands. He’s like a street racing car with all the gears, and then a secret panel that flips up when its time to hit the NOS.

Bleu

We changed Blue’s name to Bleu after he became the favorite of our sweet friend Valentine from France. He is her horse whenever she comes out to ride and he ends up with a mane full of braids and wild flowers. For the longest time, when he was younger, Bleu was the lowest horse in the pecking order-always being pushed around by the others. Over the years, as he filled out, and, we believe, through the love and affection of his riders and our long time clients and friends, Bleu has become the leader of the herd. He is the strongest of the bunch, the first to eat, the first to water, and whenever something is suspicious, he is the first to approach and check it out.

Sandy Bob

Sandy Bob is the quiet, unassuming type. He is just as sweet and even-keeled if he is being ridden by a 7 year old or a 70 year old. He gets down the trail and gets the job done. As Buff says, Sandy is always “Up for the job…” He is named after a character from the iconic 1917 western poem by Gail I. Gardner, “Sierry Petes.” Which later became the Chris Ledoux song, “Tie a Knot in the Devil’s Tail.”

John Wayne

John Wayne is aptly named for the star that he is. He is the quintessential western trail horse-a handsome boy with his long flowing mane and stout quarter horse build. He feels he is center stage in all that he does and it seems to be a point of pride that he get along with his rider.

Shanghai

Shanghai is a high octane kinda ride. He has a soft mouth, a fast walk and an even faster cutting horse style spin. These characteristics proved helpful when Joe was herding thousands of head of cattle over in Jackson. And now, he puts his energy and stamina into getting on down the trail. He is an intermediate level horse with lots of heart and get up & go.

Jimmy

Jimmy came to us after a career of roping steers at a historical working cattle ranch in Jackson, Wyoming.  He held his own against hundreds of young fat beef cows throughout the years, standing strong and holding the rope tight as his cowboy rider doctored cattle beneath the Teton mountain range.  Jimmy has been forced into retirement, a little too old for holding strong against multiple thousand pound steers day in and day out, but perfectly suited for exploring the trails here in the Wind River Range. And he does still gets a bit feisty when he sees a herd of cattle and obviously wants to get to work! He is well suited for some of our taller riders.

Joey Low

A spicy group of riders felt that this horse (Pally-short for palomino) needed a new handle, one that would help embolden him with fresh potential. Meet: Joey Low. He worked for a couple of other outfitters in the past and came to us with many miles and mountains in his history. He is a sweet heart and happy to be out in the forest moseying along with his best friend Cowhorse. He is a great beginner horse and our kiddos sure love him, but he is also first to the gate each day hoping to get a turn to head into the mts.

Claude

New 2023

Rooster

Unlike Hondo, Rooster is still a guest horse in training. And will be for a long time. He has a different gear and a self centric attitude. He has been trained for the trails, cattle work, and to pull the wagon, but he has a competitive attitude. Joe LOVES everything about this horse. Rider Level: Expert

Hondo

Hondo is twin to his brother Rooster, but not a pair you would want to confuse. He is a solid ride with a sooth gait, and capable of riding the trails, wrangling cattle, and pulling our antique parade wagon. He has a loving demeanor and gets along well with intermediate riders and above.

Jasper

Jasper was born and bred on the Hargrave family farm in Iowa. He is six and will be considered a young horse by our standards for some time. The best thing about him, besides his riding potential, is that we can tell he has a good heart. There’s no training like mountain training. Rider level: Joe

Cheeto

Cheeto is also a guest horse in training. He is the half brother to Come Along, which is easily seen in his conformation if one ignores the fact that they are completely different in color. He has a cool temperament and is an obvious people pleaser. He just needs some miles on the trails and a few good years of work in the mountains and he will be ready to go. Rider level: Joe

Grecque

New 2023

Sherman Lee

New 2023

Little Red Sparkle

Little Red Sparkle, also known as, “that naughty pony,” belongs to our son, Buff. These two are a match made in heaven. And a little bit exhausting because you never know what they are going to get into. Probably trouble..

McSnorty

New 2023

McSnorty Too

New 2023

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Twenty Four spent a number of years in Virginia, with family, before returning to Wyoming to work with his brothers. The first summer he was out here, MANY YEARS AGO, he was so small that his pack saddle cargo included only a case of beer on each side. He is a sleek performance horse. Level: Intermediate to Advanced.

Cousin Elsie’s Pony Rosemary

Cousin Elsie is finally ready to graduate to a big horse, so she had handed Rosemary over for our kiddos to enjoy. This sweet pony is kind and friendly, and will forever be Elsie’s pony to come visit whenever she would like. Rider level: Aena and up

Moonshine

New 2023