Colorado Cattle Company allows visitors to experience the cowboy life

T he Colorado Cattle Company,

south of Kimball in Colorado,

is a dream come true for those

wishing to experience the cowboy

life.

According to owners Tom and

Darcy Carr, the history of this

ranch began in the mid 1800s

when a man named John Iliff ran

cattle all over the area, including

through the area which is now the

Colorado Cattle Company.

Iliff had cattle from the

Colorado mountains to Kansas,

and from Wyoming to the South

Platte River. In 1868 he set up a

base camp just southwest of the

Carr's ranch – then changed the

direction of the cattle drives heading

north.

The drives came through his

camp for fresh horses and decent

food. Iliff then set up a line camp

close to the ranch, where he took

care of thousands of head of cattle.

Many flocked to the area to

claim a 160-acre homestead

through the Homestead Act of 1862

and the once-wild frontier became

populated with homesteads, two

towns, a store and a school.

According to the Carrs, Iliff was

unhappy with the new population,

and began fencing the public lands

to keep it for his grazing cattle.

He also attempted to homestead

all the land around every known

water source by having his employees

homestead it, and he then purchased

it from them.

When the government realized

what was happening, they passed

a law to force the cattle barons to

take down fencing around public

lands and un-owned water sources.

The saga ended when Iliff went

broke, as many ranchers did, in

the winter of 1886-87 when cattle

froze or starved to death.

At that time the 10,000 acre

ranch became covered with crop

farmers homesteading the land.

Leonard Biggs was one of those farmers.

Biggs built a sod house with

logs purchased off a train in

Kimball in the 1880s. The sod

house still stands, and is being

used as a mechanical room at this

time.

Eventually, other homesteaders

left, but Biggs

stayed and added

cattle to his operation.

He also began the

Carr's guest business

by catering to

passersby on the

stagecoaches. Biggs

provided a place

for guests to stay,

eat and even trade

horses.

The original Biggs' bunkhouse is

still in use today for guests of the

Colorado Cattle Company, which

the Carrs purchased in 2009.

"We were booking for our fourth

year at the ranch,

and found out the

previous owners

wanted to sell the

ranch and were not

taking reservations,"

Tom said. "So, I

asked if they had a

buyer and she told

me no. That was on

Sunday, Feb. 15,

2009. We met the

following Wednesday

for lunch in Denver and made

a deal. We moved in on April 9,

2009."

The ranch family has grown to

now include the Carr's daughter,

Jackie, and son-inlaw,

Scott.

"I am hoping that

we can pass down

the ranch to Jackie

and her family, and

eventually it will be

Addie's (the Carr's

15-month-old granddaughter).

I would

like to keep it in the

family," Tom said.

Currently home

to 85 horses, the Colorado Cattle

Company keeps younger, working

horses busy in the guest ring

and the wranglers work with them

weekly to keep them tame and

trained.

Horses that are older and no

longer able to work are kept in a

special section at the ranch with a

large area for walking and shelter.

They are given special grains and

medicines and they will continue

to live on the ranch and be taken

care of until their passing. The

horse will then be

placed in a special

cemetery with name

markers created by

the family, complete

with a beautiful

bronze statue.

"The animals are

treated like family

here," Jackie said.

"They are here until

the end. They are

treated with respect.

All of our animals are."

The ranch hosts visitors from

all over the world. The ranch is

home to 39 head of "play cattle" for

guests to practice roping and team

pinning.

In addition to the

guest ranch herd,

the family day herds

approximately 400

pair, which are not

used at the guest

ranch, for other

ranchers.

Day herding

includes a five-year

contract for the daily

care of cattle, including

feed, vaccinations, branding

and castration, so guests can experience

some of the care that goes

into raising cattle – just another

aspect of the cowboy life.

"The guests do

not have to do any

of these activities

unless they want to,

but we will let them

experience what they

want," Darcy said,

though branding

only happens annually

in May.

The family and

their staff work on

keeping the livestock

healthy, as well as maintenance,

upkeep and some painting during

the winter months.

They average around 16 guests

a week and prefer not to go over a

20-person group. However, according

to Jackie, there was an exception

made for a very special group.

"The group of 30 persons that

we booked for this coming October,

are spouses of fallen soldiers,"

Tom said. "It's really pretty neat.

They'll get everyone together for

riding and to get away and they do

grief counseling at

the same time."

A large world map

hangs just inside

their doors, speckled

with different

colored push pins to

mark where guests

visit from. Currently

34 national flags are

displayed inside the

indoor riding arena

representing guests

home countries as well.

"Last year, 68 percent of our clients

came from somewhere besides

the United States," the Carrs

said. "England is our number one.

We also have people from Italy,

Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Germany

and other places."

Tom's favorite part of owning

and running the Colorado Cattle

Company is "seeing the fulfillment

of a dream," he said.

"We are all about, 'This week

you are a cowboy,'" Tom said.

Being a cowboy isn't the only

dream fulfilled at the ranch.

Because she loves

the animals, the

ranch also fulfills

Darcy's dream.

"I'm an animal

nut, so this is my

dream come true,"

she said.

As one of two

known working cattle

ranches that double

as a vacationing

ranch, the Colorado

Cattle Company stands apart by

catering only to adults.

The Carrs, members of

the National Dude Rancher's

Association, provide a true escape

for their guests.

"We are a jewel in the plains

here," Tom said.