This summer the weather over here in Holland hasn't been very good, to be honest I can't remember a summer that's been more wet and has had so little sun. So were the past couple of days wet, windy and grey ... a perfect time to look at some holiday destinations :)
And I found a great one, next year springtime, with five friends - all girls who own their own horse and are good horsewomen - we are going to Wyoming!
The Hideout Lodge & Guestranch
In 2006, Peter De Cabooter, nephew of Paula Flitner one of the owners and founders and his wife Marijn Werquin took over the reins of The Hideout. Together with their two twin sons Edward and Victor they moved over from Brussels, Belgium to Shell, Wyoming.
Over the last 4 years they kept the working cattle ranch experience but added a much stronger focus on a quality horse, stockman ship, riding & horsemanship culture. Better quality horses where added, a focus on real horsemanship, clinics & classes and a full time trainer & head wrangler Ramon Castro joined the team. Ramon has started over 1500 young horses, worked as a Charro in Mexico and as a cowboy in charge of the ranch & horse operations at the Flitner ranch. He is also a BLM Certified Mustang Trainer and participated in the Extreme Mustang Makeover.
Rough cowboy approach to horses & life stock has been replaced by Buckaroo and soft hand True Western & Authentic horsemanship in sink with old time ethics and ways of handling animals. Today’s seasonal wranglers are required to have solid horsemanship and a consistent approach to the above culture.
Peter introduced The Hideout Culture of The 3 C’s being Character, Conduct and Competence, knowing one can train for Competence, not for the Character & Conduct. The 3 C’s are a concept that was developed by the Global Leadership Team at Bandag Inc. Adding The Code of The West (Jim Owen) to our culture long before it was adopted and signed in to legislation as The Code of Wyoming by the Wyoming Governor.
The hideoutranch:
If you ask our staff and repeat guests why they come to The Hideout, they will tell you that we are a wonderful authentic 100-year old working cattle and horse ranch. We have four generations ranching experience in this valley. Our guests enjoy high-end pampering and excellent food created by Le Cordon Bleu and Culinary schooled chefs. We take pride in having an enthusiastic staff who reside with us nearly all year-round. We combine traditional ranching culture with great hospitality managed by a well traveled management and staff that knows how to excel and wants to please.
One of the reasons we have such a great team of people is because we treat them as family. We want The Hideout to be the best place to work, so it is the best place for you to vacation. Whenever our staff talks about our ranch they use the words “we” and “our”. We believe that’s the best proof that they take pride and ownership in what they do.Our repeat guests will tell you about our quality, well maintained and clean accommodations. They appreciate that we always strive to make each new visit the best ever. It’s commonly referred to as “The Hideout Experience”.
We like to offer an authentic ranch boutique experience by limiting the number of guests to 25. Most of the time there are less guests at The Hideout.
Our Horses
If horseback riding, herding cattle and the great outdoors in Wyoming is your idea of a perfect western vacation, then you’ll be pleased to know that our horses are well cared for and there are plenty available for your riding pleasure. Our guests will tell you that our horses are some of the best they have ever ridden. They will also tell you that the cattle work we offer is real not made up and there is plenty of it.
This not a typical “Nose to Trail” dude ranch. We have our own Quarter Horse breeding program and break our horses using Natural Horsemanship. Our wranglers and cowboys are highly skilled and have a diversity of insight about horses.
Some have attended Pat Parelli schools and we continue to invest in their skills for you to enjoy during your stay. Typically they combine what they have learned from school and add their own working experience to train and ride horses. We have also sent some of our people to other states or overseas to broaden their horizons.
Diversity of Scenery - Trail Riders & Photographers Paradise
Many riders and photographers come here because of the diversity of scenery in a relatively small (by Wyoming standards) area. A big draw are the formations, which are popular with paleontologists and because there are many dinosaur sites. Our guests like the fact that the Big Horn Mountains are remote and out of the way of mainstream tourists. We are not too far from Cody, it’s only a little over an hour drive through wild horse country.
We are within comfortable driving distance of the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. Even still we are far enough away from the mainstream of tourist areas, which means that staying at The Hideout is really “hiding out”.
The Advantage of 300,000 Acres of Land
Our guests appreciate the vastness of the ranch, which spreads across approx. 300,000 acres of private, Big Horn National forest and BLM land. The amount of private land we own with the different mountain lodges we operate, allow a consistent experience in terms of quality and rare seen opportunities to ride and experience. Guests who have stayed in our overnight high mountain lodges, can tell you that the beds were comfortable, the food was good and being able to enjoy a good glass of wine at 8200 feet altitude after a long days ride is something that makes for great memories.
Elevations range from 4,200 feet to 13,100 feet in Cloud Peak Wilderness. During your stay you can ride through half desert, rocky and green canyons, alpine forest, mountain pastures and lake country. This area allows for a variety of outdoor activities like fly-fishing, trapshooting, hiking, biking, canoeing, dinosaur site visits, overnight high mountain stays, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
What Really Sets Us Apart?
What really sets us apart is all the above and the ability to pull this all together in a holistic way. You can ride with friends, travelers and repeat guests from around the world in a culture of friendship, warmth, genuineness, in a personal, yet professional environment. You will have the opportunity to be a cowboy and you will ride and work aside experienced cowboys. Even our younger students of “cowboyism” have good communication skills. They are eager to share and explain what they know in spirit of keeping it light, having fun and being able to be very personal.
A Unique Lifestyle in an Environment of Friendship
The kind of crowd that can be found year round at The Hideout is looking for a unique experience living the lifestyle of the remote outdoors. In addition to the real ranch experience during the day, guest enjoy being pampered in a more personal way than a typical resort with the same high standards. This is the sort of attention you only find in remote areas and establishments led by people with a passion to excel. Most establishments don’t offer this level of devotion these days.
At The Hideout it comes with a “western ranching” flare. We offer a unique mix of 100 year-old Wyoming ranch culture with the hospitality of well traveled European flare. This makes it a spiritual experience where the culture and quality of standards are always the same.
Even with our high level of standards, our guests appreciate that no visit is the same as the last one. This kind of environment attracts a very interesting mixture of guests who feel they are part of the place and will say the feeling will stay with you long after you leave.
All pictures by the
Hideout Ranch and for more info and prices just check out
their website.
