Josie Hedderman, Executive Director of the Dude Ranch Foundation

Last week in Montana, our Centennial Convention reminded us how fortunate we are to ride alongside people who embody the true grit, generosity, and enduring spirit of the American West. Celebrating 100 years of the Dude Ranchers’ Association gave us space to reflect on how dude ranching became one of the most enduring and meaningful contributions to American tourism, opening the West to the world in a way that transcends any single ranch or generation.

A true highlight was the world premiere of Call of the West. Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Mat Hames of Alpheus Media captured the heart of our industry with remarkable depth and beauty. This project came to life through the big-picture leadership and determination of Wyoming PBS CEO Joanna Kail. Be sure to catch the digital premiere on the Wyoming PBS YouTube channel on February 19.

Attendees enjoyed a preview of framed images from the centennial hardcover book 100 Years of Dude Ranching, offering a glimpse of the traveling photography exhibition headed to Arizona this spring, with a special opening planned in Cody, Wyoming, in May. Celebrating a century of Western hospitality, the book features Scott T. Baxter’s powerful photography documenting 26 centennial ranches with remarkable honesty and beauty. We are deeply honored that the Dude Ranch Foundation is a beneficiary of this extraordinary project.

Our horse safety seminar, now in its second year under the new format, was another standout, featuring respected industry experts Cheri Amos-Helmicki (Bar Lazy J), Ami Cullen (C Lazy U Ranch), Ryan Eckerson (Totalis Programs), Will Ferguson (Eatons’ Ranch), and Russell True (White Stallion Ranch). Panelists led a robust discussion on horse handling, accident prevention, site safety, equipment checks, and adaptive first aid for the trail.

We were proud to hear from our sponsored speaker, Joe Pokay of the Noble Research Institute, who shared valuable insights on regenerative grazing and its benefits for working ranches.

With gratitude for all who made this gathering so meaningful, we look ahead with excitement to 2026 as we step confidently into the next century of dude ranching.

Ride with Us!

Josie Hedderman

Executive Director
Dude Ranch Foundation

Call of the West:

A Powerful Tool for Promoting Dude Ranching

A film by Mat Hames

The West has always been more than a destination. It is a way of life shaped by land stewardship, horsemanship, hospitality, and generations of families who continue to carry these traditions forward.

Call of the West, a new documentary from Wyoming PBS, offers a rare opportunity to showcase our industry to a broader audience. Spanning Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Arizona, the film highlights resilience, multi-generational commitment, and the values that define working dude ranches.

Created by filmmaker Mat Hames and his team at Alpheus Media, the documentary features these ranches:

• Drowsy Water Dude Ranch

• Flathead Lake Lodge

• White Stallion Ranch

• Eatons’ Ranch

• Triangle X Ranch

• Nine Quarter Circle Ranch

• Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch

While these seven properties are highlighted, the story told in Call of the West represents all of us. This film provides a professional, authentic introduction to dude ranching that we can collectively leverage to increase awareness, inspire travel, and attract future guests.

Use This Film to Help Grow the Industry

We strongly encourage every ranch to actively promote this documentary. Share it with current guests, include it in pre-arrival communications, post it across your social platforms, and feature it on your website. When guests connect with these stories, they often share them within their own networks, extending our reach far beyond what any single ranch could accomplish alone.

How to Watch

The YouTube premiere takes place Thursday, February 19, at 7 p.m. MST. Viewing details and the premiere link are available on the Wyoming PBS website.

During the premiere, Mat Hames and the Alpheus Media team will be live in the chat, sharing behind-the-scenes insights into bringing ranch life to the screen.

Following the premiere, the film will be available to stream on demand, making it easy to share with guests year-round. In addition, Call of the West will stream on Wyoming PBS on March 19, 2026, eventually expanding its reach to audiences across the country.

This is a chance to amplify our collective voice. By sharing Call of the West, we help elevate dude ranching as an industry and invite the next generation of guests to experience the West.

Russell True

True West Magazine True Westerner of the Year for 2026

Russell True: True West Magazine True Westerner of the Year

For decades, Russell True has served as a steward of Western hospitality, welcoming generations of guests, honoring tradition, and helping guide the evolution of the authentic dude ranch experience. His lifelong commitment to preserving Western heritage and strengthening guest ranching has now earned national recognition.

True West Magazine has named Russell True its True Westerner of the Year for 2026, honoring a lifetime of leadership dedicated to keeping the spirit of the American West alive. Russell currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Dude Ranch Foundation, where his guidance continues to help advance the mission of preserving and promoting dude ranching.

For more than 20 years, editors at True West Magazine have highlighted outstanding Western places, people, and experiences through their annual “Best of the West” coverage. Long before receiving national accolades, Russell and his family were welcoming guests to White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, establishing what would become a multigenerational legacy in dude ranching.

For six decades, Russell and his family have been active leaders within the Dude Ranchers’ Association, helping guide an organization that will celebrate its centennial in 2026. As an owner and operator of guest ranches in Arizona, Wyoming, and Montana, Russell has played a pivotal role in keeping guest ranching one of America’s quintessential vacation experiences for thousands of travelers.

In selecting Russell for this honor, the editors of True West Magazine cited his vision, consistency, and dedication to hospitality. His personal philosophy reflects that commitment: preserving the historic traditions of dude ranching while celebrating Western heritage and its role as one of the nation’s earliest destination vacation experiences.

We are proud to see Russell’s lifetime of service recognized on a national stage and grateful for his continued leadership on behalf of the Dude Ranch Foundation and the broader dude ranching community. His example underscores the importance of stewardship, authenticity, and hospitality at the heart of our industry.

We invite you to read the full feature and learn more about why Russell’s leadership continues to leave a lasting mark on Western travel and dude ranching.

Read More at True West Magazine

Nonprofit of the Year

Dude Ranch Foundation honored by the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce

Josie Hedderman addresses the audience while accepting the Nonprofit of the Year honor, sharing gratitude for the board, volunteers, donors, partners, and ranch families who make the Foundation’s work possible.

We are honored to share that the Dude Ranch Foundation has been named Nonprofit of the Year by the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, a meaningful recognition of the collective efforts behind our mission.

This award reflects the dedication of many hands and steady hearts. From our Board of Directors and volunteers to our donors, partners, and ranch families, each plays a vital role in preserving Western heritage and shaping the future of dude ranching. Together, you help advance education, stewardship, and hospitality while ensuring that the traditions of the American West continue for generations to come.

Nonprofit of the Year award presented to the Dude Ranch Foundation by the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce.

We are deeply grateful to be part of a community built on trust, collaboration, and shared purpose. This recognition underscores the impact that can be achieved when individuals and organizations come together in service of something greater than themselves.

Josie Hedderman receives the Nonprofit of the Year award from Jennifer Thoma, Executive Director of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce.

Our sincere thanks to the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce for honoring nonprofit work and for celebrating the many organizations making a meaningful difference in their communities. We are proud to stand alongside fellow nonprofits working to strengthen local connections, preserve history, and create lasting positive change.

This award belongs to all who support the Dude Ranch Foundation. Thank you for riding alongside us and for your continued commitment to preserving the legacy and future of dude ranching.

100 Years of Dude Ranching – Available Now!

Proceeds Benefit the Dude Ranch Foundation

Released in celebration of the centennial of the Dude Ranchers’ Association, 100 Years of Dude Ranching is a stunning coffee table book that explores both the modern and historic roots of the industry.

The book features ranches that were at the forefront of dude ranching, welcoming guests and offering an authentic taste of the American West as early as 1926. Award-winning photographer Scott T. Baxter documents these historic ranches as they exist today, pairing contemporary photography with archival context to show how each has evolved over the course of a century. The result is a powerful visual narrative reflecting the beauty, grit, and continuity of Western hospitality.

The history of the Dude Ranchers’ Association and the broader story of dude ranching, often described as the West’s first destination vacation, is written by noted historian Lynn Downey, with a foreword by Bob Boze Bell.

This remarkable publication captures a living legacy rooted in land, horses, and hospitality, and we are honored that the Dude Ranch Foundation is a beneficiary of this extraordinary project.

Don’t miss your chance to own this extraordinary keepsake — purchase your copy online here!

PURCHASE TODAY

Scholarship Applications Now Open

Dude Ranch Foundation 2026–2027 Academic Year

The Dude Ranch Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2026–2027 academic year. These scholarships are designed to support students who are pursuing higher education while remaining connected to the values, traditions, and future of the dude ranching industry.

This program represents an investment not only in individual students, but in the next generation of leaders, ranch professionals, and advocates who will help carry Western hospitality forward.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2026

Applicants are encouraged to take this opportunity to invest in their education, clarify their goals, and strengthen their connection to the dude ranching community. Whether students are studying agriculture, business, communications, equine science, hospitality, or related fields, Dude Ranch Foundation scholarships help ease financial burdens while supporting long-term success.

We encourage ranch families and industry partners to share this opportunity widely with employees, guests, and community members who may have eligible students.

APPLY TODAY

Valley Ranch Pack Trips through Yellowstone

By Brian Beauvais, Park County Archives Curator

In 1920 Irving “Larry” Larom, the owner and manager of Valley Ranch, announced that he would begin outfitting annual pack trips for children into Yellowstone. Horseback trips like those organized by Larom had been pioneered by another prominent dude rancher, Howard Eaton, who developed a tour itinerary through that the park which was later memorialized by the National Park Service in the form of the Howard Eaton Trail.

The Yellowstone trips organized by Valley Ranch were slated to last some forty days and cover over six hundred miles of trails. They were conceived as an alternative to the summer camps frequented by many of the same children. “Season by season the popularity of pack trips through the wilderness increases,” the ranch’s promotional literature touted, “and because it adjoins the wildest, the least explored, most interesting and beautiful among all the wilderness areas in America it is only natural that pack trips are quite the usual thing at Valley…[ ]…They are carefully planned, expertly managed, and represent the very acme of enjoyable and worthwhile western adventure.” During its heyday, thirty to forty teenage boys and girls were recruited each year to participate in the summer-long experience.

As Valley Ranch’s promotional literature spelled out, “The free, open manner of living, the abundance of wholesome food and water, the opportunity for horseback riding, mountain climbing, and other active sports,” all presented these lucky campers with experiences that surely permeated throughout their entire lives.

The pack trip itinerary was planned with multi-night layovers at the best campsites along the route. Children slept in small tepee tents, six feet square, allowing room for two campers and their sleeping rolls. There were also striped tents called “pintos.” Inside each a foldable wooden stool straddled a shallow pit.

Quite different from modern glamping, the pack trips offered by Valley Ranch were intended to teach their young participants how to take care of themselves, tend camp, and perform needed chores. After all, the ranch did market their youth horseback adventures as an “Educational and Recreational Summer Vacation.”

The expeditions ended with a visit to Valley Ranch, where the children participated in horse races, amateur rodeo events, and a barn dance. After a few days spent in the tranquility of the ranch, the adventure ended and the children were spirited away to their homes and schools back east.

Although popular during the 1920’s, by 1932 pack trip participation was greatly reduced, reflecting the far-reaching economic consequences of the Great Depression on dude ranch clientele. Given these new circumstances trip routes were shortened, reflecting the belt-tightening measures implemented by dude ranches and the broader tourism industry. The trips were discontinued altogether in 1943, although Valley Ranch continued offering horseback tours into Yellowstone for their regular summer guests until 1964.

Pack trip participants posing for a group photo at Valley Ranch following the conclusion of their expedition through Yellowstone National Park and the Absaroka Mountains. (Park County Archives Collection).

Pack trip party riding up a trail in Yellowstone. Groups of horseback riders were required to avoid roadways so as to not conflict with increasing amounts of vehicle traffic. (Park County Archives Collection)

A Shared Commitment to Horse Safety

Dan Schneider, Vice President of Property & Casualty Insurance at NFP, presents a generous contribution to the Dude Ranch Foundation, received by Executive Director Josie Hedderman and Chairman Russell True. Photo by Kaycie Timm.

Thank you to NFP, Outdoor Insurance Group, and Glencar Insurance Company for their generous sponsorship of the Horse Safety Program.

Thank You for Supporting the Dude Ranch Foundation and Western Museum!