Ron was raised on a remote homestead in Gordon Creek, Carbon County, Utah for the first 16 years of his life. Ron had rheumatic fever when he was 3 years old and spent the next 9 years in and out of the hospital. Summers were spent on the front lawn in a big feather bed with a German Shepard named Duke. His mother, June, traded her .22 rifle for the companion for Ron. Now she wishes she'd kept the dog and traded Ron.
He still thinks if his nearest neighbor is closer than 6 miles it's too close. They had to haul water and use an outhouse. It was just a part of life. Although Ron did not play sports or do a lot of things that others got to do, he grew up learning about nature and how to co-exist with the wild animals on the farm.
After graduating early from Emery High School, Ron went to work in the local coal mines, following his father's example. Eighteen years in the coal mine convinced Ron that he did not want to spend anymore time in the dark, cold, wet, atmosphere of the coal mines breathing the smoke and the dust. He instead turned to his love of the outdoors, horses and cooking.
The ability to communicate with animals is a gift that Ron has demonstrated over and over. His 19-year old stud horse, Sher Khan, a purebred Arabian, was labeled vicious and uncontrollable. Ron was given two hours to claim him from the boarding facility or the animal would be destroyed. Ron had watched the career of this former Top Ten stallion and wanted him to sire babies for his farm.
Over the last six years Ron has calmed this once outlaw horse and has taken the top prize in the Blackhawk Competitive Ride. People who remember the horse are completely surprised to find him a docile friend to Ron.
Ron began with the Butch Cassidy Trailride, a ride on the San Rafael Desert, where he and friend, Richard Oveson, marked the trail and fed 89 people breakfast, lunch and dinner. This was in 1990. Since then the Butch Cassidy Ride has been held in memory of Richard who died from complications from diabetes.
The string of dude horses Ron uses are mainly Arabians due to their kind spirits and gentle nature. The trailrides are a big part of the summer months with time taken to care for the needs of shaman camps.
Outfitting can be very trying on one's patience, but Ron goes around happily building fires, providing tents and cooking meals no matter the weather or location. This is where Ron is in his element, nurturing people as they experience the things he loves. His down-to-earth wisdom and dry humor lets him find something in all of his acquaintances that he can learn from.
This summer will find Ron, Dorothy and Valerie traveling to Portland, Oregon; Prescott, Arizona; and in Huntington Canyon, Utah outfitting for groups from 2 to 100. His aim was to become totally mobile to provide the best service to his customers. Between trailrides and custom camps Ron and Dorothy manage a 122 acre farm in Elmo, Utah, where there is always a ditch to dig or a fence to build.