Our Last Hug Goodbye

Goodbye Hug (jodi442) 2011

Thank you all for being part of our equine family and traveling along with us on our blog site over the past thirteen weeks. The purpose of our blog was to write amazing content that engaged fellow equine enthusiast, campers, and travelers for a digital marketing course I am enrolled in at Chippewa Valley Technical College.

Our blog was used to connect our blog content to both the needs of our target audience and to the theme of our social media content shared among Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We covered lots of amazing topics that both our traveling and equine enthusiasts would love to read about, including topics such as camping recipes, events, trail riding tips, and all the fun and exciting vacation hotspots Colorado has to offer.

What I learned about blogging, is that it's important to incorporate “why” you are blogging about the topic into your blog and to make sure that what you are blogging about is relevant to the core purpose of your business and the needs of your target audience. It’s also imperative to engage them with videos and pictures relevant to your blog to make it more engaging and entertaining for your readers.   

Thank you all again so much for riding along with 

us and joining me on this amazing journey. We will miss y’all and can’t thank you enough for being a part of our family. It has been truly an amazing ride and one we will cherish for a lifetime.

Ride Along With Us on Our New App....

Hey Y'all

App (Barbara ALane) 2017

We just launched the testing of our new free app. It's a fantastic way for you to connect with us all in one spot. We are super excited for you to provide us with some feedback. Click here to take a peek.

We value your feedback and would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment on our blog to let us know what you think!

Trailer Travel Safety

A Few Important Trailer Travel Checks Before You Go

As we headed out to the Midwest Horse Fair this week in Madison, WI, we encountered a little trailer trouble with a flat tire on highway I-80 near Des Moines, Iowa. This made us think about how important it is when traveling long distances to keep trailer safety in mind and to make sure to perform a trailer safety check before you leave. With this little extra downtime while we fix the trailer, I thought it would be the perfect time to share with you a few important trailer safety measures to consider before loading up and heading out on the road this summer.

• Check the tires for any worn tread and low pressure. This will help prevent having a flat tire alongside the road and becoming stranded for hours with no place to go.

• Make sure to have a spare tire along, because there is nothing worse than being stranded on the side of the road with your 4-legged friend in the trailer impatiently waiting to be let out. With this in mind, you will also want to make sure you have a jack along that has the lifting strength and rate for the tongue weight of your trailer to allow you to fix the tire safely and quickly to get back on the road.

• Check the brakes to make sure they are working effectively each and every time you hook up to leave. Burning out your brakes is not a fun way to travel when carrying over six thousand pounds of weight behind you. It isn’t safe as you now are relying on the brakes of your truck to stop the momentum of the trailer which are not durable enough to do the job all on their own. 

Horse Trailer (Bhakti2) 2014

• Check the wooden floorboards and trailer frame to ensure that they are sturdy and strong. The last thing you want is to have a rotten board that doesn’t protect your equine loved one from falling through the floor. Thankfully, this has never happened to us at the ranch. It’s a true blessing that we haven’t had to experience this horrific type of event while traveling, and hope that we will never have to experience something so horrible. This safety check is one we consider a true lifesaver and is the most important safety check to complete before loading up and heading out on the road with your trailer this summer. 

• Lastly, verify that all your trailer hinges, springs, and latches are in good working order to help ensure they are secure enough to withstand the speed and wind while cruising down the highway with your load. 

These are just a few of the most important tips to remember when getting ready to head out with your equine friend this summer. Please feel free to check out this awesome horse trailer checklist from our supportive equine friends at eqgroup.com to help ensure your trailer is all ready to go on the road this summer.

As for our next blog, our trail ride has come to an end. We hate saying goodbyes and so we say, “Thank you all so much for following along with us and journeying with us through the semester.” It has been an amazing ride and will miss you all dearly! As our favorite quote says, “True Friendships Last a Lifetime” so, thank you for being our friends and these memories will truly last us forever!

Things Just Got a Little Fishy at Circle Z

Try a Few of Our Fave Fish Camping Recipes

Pan-Fried Fish (Scottgardner) 2013

Camping and fishing is just one of Circle Z’s favorite past times. We love taking the horses down to the river and throwing in a few lines, then bringing our catch back to camp to cook up some amazing meals. With all of this fish talk this week, we thought you might find a few of our favorite fish recipes something to rave about back home or around the campfire.

With being so close to the streams here, we have

an amazing time catching panfish and trout which is what we predominately catch here at the ranch. Now, I wish we could take full credit for these recipes we share with our guest, but our friends at Outdoor Life have some really good ones for cooking up bass, crappies and a variety of panfish. If you can get past all of the bones, they have a recipe that could turn your head into liking bullheads all fried up with a little dill pickle and mustard to give it some zing. Check out their amazing recipes at OutdoorLife.com to bring some with you to cook up here while staying in any of our fully furnished cabins.

For all our camping peeps, we have five succulent panfish meals you’ll want to try from the awesome crew at Bass Pro Shops that will cook up fantastic over the campfire. These recipes will go great with bluegills or sunfish, but feel free to try them with any of your favorite panfish. We have lots of rock bass, sunfish, or perch here at the ranch and can help you fix them up just the way you like them. You can check these Bass Pro Shop recipes out right on their website.

Campfire Trout (Lum3N) 2016

Lastly, trout is one of our most popular catches in the streams that run along the ranch and is super tasty when cooked up fresh over the campfire, especially with a little lemon, salt, and pepper. We found a great recipe that is going to be one not to miss for all of our bacon lovers. We came across this one on TasteeofHome.com and the prep and grill time is really quick, just 40 minutes and your meal is ready.

For anyone of our campers or lodgers, it’s also important to plan your meals at home to make sure you have all the ingredients that you will need. Bass Pro Shops has some super tips to help you plan the necessary items to pack, like a grill basket to hold your pan-dressed fish or fillets, along with a camp stove to support your skillet to make lunch or dinner a cinch. You’ll definitely want to take a quick peak at their article to double check that you have all the necessary items before you head off to camp. 

Well, all this fish talk has made us hungry and excited for camping season to start so make sure to swim on by our Facebook and Twitter page to hear all about the camping and fishing excitement we have going on this week. Happy Trails until next week, when we will be bringing y’all some trailer safety tips as we saddle up to head out to Madison, WI to set up camp at the Midwest Horse Fair.       

Circle Z's Favorite Vacation Hotspots

Make Sure to Check These Out This Summer!

With April flowers blooming, it gets us thinking about one thing, and that is trail riding and vacation season. With all this excitement of getting ready to vacation this summer, we thought it would be a wonderful time to mention some of our amazing attractions to check out while your visiting us in Colorado.

One of our favorite spots to tell our customers about and to check out is the Royal Gorge. This high suspension bridge is breathtaking and for anyone who loves the thrill of heights, they will definitely want to put this on their list of attractions to see. The 956-foot overlook of the Arkansas River is simply amazing and there are several ways to take in the view. One way is to walk across the bridge or you can opt to take a gondola across it. If heights aren’t your thing, then there are a few additional ways to see it. You can go by train or see it while whitewater rafting to take in the view from below. I have walked across it and seen it by train, either way that you decide to see it, it’s worth every cent to see something so beautiful. We highly recommend visiting their website to learn more about this vacation hotspot or to see some amazing pictures of the bridge, but I can honestly say pictures don’t do it justice after seeing it in person.

The second place we highly recommend is Seven Falls. It’s 224 steps of peer beauty. In my opinion, it’s also one of Colorado’s little secrets. This magical waterfall has seven falls that cascade down a steep canyon wall. I have been there a few times and well, yes, one of those times was in the winter, and to this day my husband and I still laugh about it. Even though the frozen falls were gorgeous, I highly recommend this as a summer visit. One more little tip when visiting the falls, is that you should try to make this a nightly outing, as they light up the falls with some beautiful lights at night. Seven Falls is also the only waterfall to be recognized in the National Geographic’s list of international waterfalls. What an experience this would be for you to be able to say, you’ve seen it.

A final little attraction idea we really recommend visiting before you vacation back home is taking in some of the natural hot springs that Colorado has to offer. It’s a terrific way to end your day relaxing in the hot springs after a busy day at the ranch. One of the hot springs we recommend is SalidaHot Springs Aquatic Center. Here you get the poolside experience with all the benefits of the hot springs. If you’re looking more for an outside hot springs experience, one we can recommend if you want to take a little drive is JoyfulJourney Hot Springs just outside of Moffat, Colorado. It offers a beautiful mountain view while your soaking away, and this will definitely provide the rejuvenation you’ll need after a long day on the trails.

Royal Gorge (Lexus_/) 2015

We hope you have a chance to check out some of these vacation hotspots when you visit and make sure to follow us on Instagram to catch our Instagram promotion for a chance to win a weekend stay with us this summer. Happy trails until next time my friends, when we will be talking all about some tasty fish camping recipes you’ll want to try out this summer.

Sources:

Royal Gorge Bridge and Park

Seven Falls

Video:

Seven Falls

Published By:

Once In Your Lifetime - Travel Vlog

Published Date:  August  20, 2017

Barrel Racing

Speed and Endurance is Key to Winning the Race

We thought with all the excitement of bringing some rodeo action to the ranch this week, it would be an exciting time to take a closer look at one of the most elite women rodeo sports established in 1948!  Barrel Racing! The name says it all! It’s the thrill of racing against time around three barrels and the best time wins.

Barrell racing was a way for women to enter the professional rodeo atmosphere while the men were calf roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, and bronc riding in the rodeo circuit! The first barrel race event ever to be held was said to be hosted in Texas where a group of women got together and developed the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) to provide advancement opportunities for women to compete competitively in rodeo. Barrel Racing to this day is still considered the most popular sport among the WPRA. 

Now that you have heard a little about how barrel racing came to fruition, let me tell you more about the sport itself. Barrel Racing is an individual event where it’s one horse and one rider going against time once they cross the electric eye of the timer. The goal is to perform a cloverleaf pattern around the barrels avoiding any disqualifications (running past a barrel) or penalty from knocking over the barrels. It takes a lot of technique and skill by both horse and rider. Horses are trained professionally to take barrels properly, and every second counts. The closer the horse can shave off time by leaning their shoulder into the barrel the better their run-time.

Barrel Racing (Werner22brigitte) 2014

There's all sorts of competition for all levels of 

riders in barrel racing. I personally have competed at the local level while I was growing up and the thrill of chasing the cans, as they call it, still lives within me. The local level competitions are a great way to get started learning the sport prior to hitting up the nationally sanctioned shows by the National Barrel Horse Association and Better Barrel Races Association. Many barrel racers have competed at these levels before entering the rodeo circuit where the competition is stiff and extremely competitive. Barrel Racing at this level is co-sanctioned by both the WPRA and PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) which allows women to compete at any PRCA endorsed rodeos and the Wrangler National FinalRodeo, which is the season-ending championship held in Los Vegas.

 

With all this being said, make sure to check out some of the local PRCA  or WPRA Barrel Racing events to catch some rodeo or barrel racing action right here in Colorado while you're vacationing with us this summer.   

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_racing
http://prorodeo.com/prorodeo/wrangler-national-finals-rodeo

World Champion Barrel Racer (Wangler Network) 2017 Video
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJsYGkBQKtY

                                                                     

Circle Z Ranch's Barn Dance

Keeping the Music Alive Country Style 

This week we are getting out the musical instruments and riding fast to keep country music alive with our upcoming Circle Z’s Keeping the Music Alive Barn Dance. It’s happening this Saturday, March 17^th and is a fantastic opportunity to support Music in Our Schools Month in March. We are huge supporters of keeping music alive in our schools and there’s no better way to support it but by partnering up with one of our local school’s choir and band program for our 2018 barn dance.  

Fiddler (Keisner) 2017

This year’s chosen school was Colorado Springs School, and we specifically partnered up with their Upper Band and Choir Program to bring you all a very special treat. Each year, we choose a school either from the elementary or high school level to be recipients of our grant through our Circle Z Ranch Country Music Foundation. Our foundation was established because of our strong belief to support country music. The process to apply for the grant consists of an application completed by each of the school’s band and choir program indicating their needs for support. With the overwhelming support of our foundation from our investors, we have been encouraged to support country music even further in conjunction with Music in Our Schools Month through our social media efforts and this year’s barn dance. All of the proceeds from the dance will go to their choir and band program. Their program is in significant need to replace old instruments, purchase additional music, and cover transportation cost to both band and choir events. We were extremely excited to financially help them not only through our foundation but also through donating all our proceeds from this year’s barn dance to their programs. The timing was perfect with March being Music in Our School Month and it allowed us to combine the two efforts.

  

Cowboy Boots(Alexas_Fotos) 2015

Now that you have heard all about why we are supporting Music in Our Schools this week and our foundation, let us tell you a little bit more about the event. It will take place right here at Circle Z Ranch starting with a chuck wagon meal from 5-6 pm with all the great fixins. The dance will kick off at 7 and ends at 9. We encourage you all to come on out and kick up your boots a bit to support not only the country music that we all enjoy but also our local Colorado Springs School's Band and Choir Program. 

For full details on the event, check out our Facebook event page on either Facebook or Twitter. We look forward to seeing you all there this weekend and please make sure to bring the whole family. In the event you are unable to attend, but still want to support their local band and choir efforts, you may donate directly to them through our website event page. Thank you all in advance for your support. We are very humbled by your kind generosity to help such a great cause. 

As we say here at the ranch “happy trails”, but this time until March 29^th when we return from taking a little trail ride vacation ourselves the week of the 19^th to visit family and friends in Wisconsin.