We'll teach you as much as you want to know about connecting with these magnificent creatures in a way that will become a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

Meet Bren. Our beloved Ranch Owner & her faithful steed, Cognac. She has shared her inspiring journey and experience with you, and I hope it gives you ample insight to how and why we all do what we do here at KB HORSES. Cheers and happy trails! 

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KB HORSES is an educational horseback trail ride, lesson, and wagon ride business. And we specialize in connecting humans and horses, so all parties are participants of an authentic western lifestyle experience with a 5-star touch. 

I consider it an honor and a privilege to do what I do every day; connect people and horses in such a way that honors the horse and enlightens the person. I could not do this without the support and enthusiasm of my excellent and dedicated previous and present staff. I am humbled by their commitment and grateful to each of them daily, and KB HORSES would not be possible without them. ​

 

·  What makes our business stand out from others in our state/industry? 

Every ride is private and guided, on horses we own and know as individuals. We encourage our guests to be leaders for their horses by teaching riders how to form a partnership with their horses based on respect and trust. Our experience is like coming to someone's private ranch and riding their horses. Our horses are engaging, present with their rider, sure-footed, and kind-minded. Every ride begins with a short introduction and two groundwork exercises which help the riders get to know their horses and the horse understand their rider as a leader. Once mounted on horseback, we give a comprehensive riding lesson that instructs each rider how to ride their horse the way we ride them. These exercises establish clear communication between horse and rider and ensure the rider has the opportunity to be a participant with their horse, not just a passenger on its back.

 

·  The origin of this business and what inspires me: 

While working in a demanding career of starting high-tech software companies in Silicon Valley, a mutual friend invited me to go horseback trail riding with her at a Ranch where she boarded her horse. Martha introduced me to an old cowboy named Ralph Alouicious MacNamer (Mac), who convinced me I should get a horse and learn how to ride. So, I did. Mac was right. I found horses to be a calming, grounding influence for me and a much-needed distraction from the rigors of my career.

Mac taught and coached me for a year and never let me ride with a saddle until I could walk, trot and lope bareback. The day I learned to lope bareback, I hit the ground (fell off) 7 times before I was successful. I can still hear his voice in my head, "Ya know, kid, you're just going to have to get pissed off enough to let that mare of yours know who's boss." It was a turning point in my life and a huge life lesson. No one has pushed me around since that mare. At that moment, when I experienced the success and feeling of true freedom while loping my mare bareback, I thought to myself, "someday, I want to be able to give this gift to others with horses." That's how our tagline, "in riding a horse, we borrow freedom," came to mind. Mac passed away a few years later, and I stepped away from horses for a while. I still remember all the lessons he taught me and what he was like with horses. He is one of the most significant influences on my journey with horses.

 

In the late 1990s, I met and started working with a talented horse trainer named Kirsten Ferron. A graduate of Equine Sciences from Colorado State University, Kirsten had the unique ability to understand the horse and the human and put the two together as partners. After all these years, I appreciate even more the rare ability Kirsten repeatedly displayed as I watched her work with clients in addition to me. The more Kirsten and I worked together, the more we realized we each had talents that could enrich the lives and experiences of people and horses, coming together as true partners. In 1999, Kirsten and I attended a horse exposition in Kentucky called Equitana. As we watched what horse clinicians/trainers were doing and thrilled at the results of real-time demonstrations of how to connect with horses, we realized we were both passionate about immersing ourselves in this exciting world of the horse. That night, at dinner, I doodled a horseshoe on a fence with KB inside the horseshoe, and KB HORSES was born.

Obligations and life took Kirsten and me in different directions while I retired in 2002 and moved to Utah with my husband, Don, in 2005. Kirsten moved with her husband and their son to Colorado in 2000. We stayed in touch, and I continued to push our small company into reality by assisting land developers selling the dream of living in the West and having horses be a part of that western lifestyle. The stars finally aligned in 2008 when Kirsten and her family moved to Utah, where KB HORSES was already engaged with Wolf Creek Ranch and Promontory, providing equestrian services to both multi-thousand-acre communities. In 2007, Red Ledges, another multi-thousand-acre community, approached KB HORSES and asked to start their equestrian program. We remain exclusively engaged with Red Ledges and touch thousands of people's lives every year, teaching them how and, more importantly, why they can and should understand, respect, and honor this unique animal, the horse.

 

·  Special tributes and how I define success in my business:  

To Mac, who opened my eyes to what horses are and what they add to humanity. To Kirsten, who taught me how to blend what I'd learned in my career with horses and follow my passion for making my dreams come true. To my beloved husband, Don, who encourages and shores me when times get tough and always tells me, "you can make people believe." To my fantastic and dedicated staff, who follow my dream and make me better than I could have imagined.

 

We treat our horses individually and match them with our guests based on personality, riding experience, and physical size. This allows us to create a partnership between horse and rider based on similarities, so both horse and rider are comfortable and confident. People love to be around engaging animals who are healthy and happy, and love their jobs, as our horses demonstrate with every ride or lesson. 

We define success as creating an authentic western lifestyle experience with a 5-star touch that makes lifelong memories for our guests. Each rider has the opportunity to know and experience their equine companion as a participant, not just a passenger.

 

·  My favorite part of being a business owner:

 Knowing KB HORSES provides unique experiences and creates lifetime memories that benefit all parties who come to our ranch and ride/learn about our horses.

 

·  My favorite and most unique product/service we offer:

Our Horsemanship classes. They offer a look at the horse from the inside out, teaching people wishing to become students of the horse how horses think, how they view their world, and how we, as humans, can be relevant to the horse and form a partnership based on respect and trust. 

 

·  How KB HORSES serves the community: 

We educate our guests on the importance and value of horses and how they have contributed to humanity worldwide, especially here in the West. We wouldn't be here in the West if it weren't for the horse. They carried our settler ancestors, helped them grow food, delivered news and the mail, and carried military personnel and supplies as our ancestors settled the West. Today they are partners to law enforcement and border patrol officers, assisting in search and rescue efforts when motorized vehicles can't reach someone in trouble. Through rodeo events, they glimpse the athleticism and stamina required to operate a ranch and provide therapeutic support for our returning Veterans and other compromised humans. Our wild herds deserve a place in our legacy. Educating people is how we view our role in securing a future for these magnificent animals.

We donate our time, knowledge, and animals to support our returning Veterans, compromised children and adults, and our valued seniors, so we all have the opportunity to remain relevant and connected to something bigger than ourselves as individuals.