We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laurie Zickefooose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurie, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Being business owners as mother and daughter could be either fantastic or difficult. Fortunately, for us, it has been an amazing experience. So much so, that sisters have joined to make this a five woman operation!

All of us have had jobs in the regular world. This is where we truly learned guest service and how to take pride in what we do. From teacher to hotel manager. Spa director to bridal advisor. Waitress to paramedic.

We all feel that having your own business makes the regular jobs an important role in giving our guests the best experience. We realize what it is like to be a guest and what it takes to make guest service our primary objective.

Working as a team, we have found by each having our own individual roles, we don’t step on each other’s toes. This way, we can take pride in our separate areas, and applaud our successes together.

Laurie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Our patriarch, Hugh Trabandt, started our horseback riding business. His philosophy was, “The best day, of course, is on the back of a horse”.

We are blessed to have a business in one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, with constantly changing flora and fauna. We own all our own horses and know their personalities. This way we can match our rider with the perfect steed. Our staff are amazing. They really are here because they want to be. We operate on a sign up when you want to work system. They care about what they do and enjoy sharing their love.

Our history, both family and the area are rich in tales that set us apart as well. Every one that visits is an individual. We try to treat all our guests in a way that makes them feel special.

Sister Eve, has set up her own Stage Stop Cantina. This is where her culinary skills shine and she has created a hidden gem with amazing made from scratch foods from BBQ to many comfort foods not found anywhere else. Her unique drinks take heart in our wild and wooly past with the favorite being a blackberry moonshine sipper!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Ask anyone in the horse industry, we are all in it for the love not the money. We have endured floods, fires and covid. We just really love what we do. Where else do you get to work with these beautiful animals. They are very expensive and so much work. They can suffer from everything a human does and need daily attention to their medications and diet. Yet, it’s all worth it.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Covid was hard. We normally send many of our horses to a program with students attending the Colorado State University where our horses receive one on one attention. This has been an amazing story where students get the escape from classes and the challenges of college life. A beautiful time to relate to their own horse for the winter.

When covid hit, so many students had to go home and learn remotely. That left our means of giving love and, quite honestly, a way to get us through winter on hiatus. Not only did we have not have our students, we couldn’t operate. Horses cannot be garaged. They eat, need shoes, meds, exercise, no matter what society has dictated.

We did apply for the PPP loan and were able to pay rent, keep people working cleaning roads and trails. In essence, keep somethings normal and for that we are forever thankful. Without the PPP loan, we would have had to shut our doors on a thirty year history of bringing joy to the public.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Other: We are highly rated on many online social media outlets such as : tripadvisor, google, facebook and such On tripadvisor, we are rated in the top 10 percent worldwide, thanks to our glowing reviews from our wonderful guests.