Triangle X saddled horse, August 7, 2017

In the early years of western dude ranching, visitors came for an extended stay so they could interact with the land and horses. Today, summer guests at the historic Triangle X stay for a week minimum and riding is the main event. Daily rides take center stage and include adult, teen, and child rides through stunning country. In addition, the ranch offers classic backcountry pack trips where men/women and horses work together to reach pristine areas.

Triangle X Horses and Tetons, July 30, 2017

The Turner family has a strong tradition in horse culture and care. Present day owners, Harold and John Turner (third generation on the ranch), were taught by their parents and grandparents horsemanship, including horse care. John recalls a 1962 Christmas when five horses from their 50-plus pack string were caught high in the mountains. Returning to the ranch from college, they boys’ mother, Louise Mapes Turner, hired John and Harold to find the horses. John recalled this experience in his 2017 interview: 

All we took were our sleeping bags, saddles, and we packed hay on each one of the horses. We’d truck them up Pacific Creek (it’s cold), and the snow is [high]. And we head out after these horses.  

John recalls that the first part of their journey went well, but it started to get dark and they were in “four, four and half, five feet of snow.” The horses they brought with them were tired but they made it to an old trapper’s cabin where they bunked down for the night. John recalled:

I remember the next morning we got up and it was so cold, we’d chop a place in the ice, in the creek. And you could dip water out, pour it in your water bucket, and it was so cold that it would refreeze before you could take the second dip. It was 62 below zero. And we’re at this hunting camp. We’re still five and a half miles from these horses, but we made it to the hunting camp.

Although John and Harold did make it to the horses—trappers went back in later and found the horses—the young men (and their mother) were determined to find the horses, even if it meant missing Christmas.

Horses entering corral after early morning roundup at Triangle X Ranch, August 8, 2017

Today, the Turners have a large string of horses (owned and rented) which are carefully evaluated weekly and rotated in and out of ranch duty to maintain a strong, healthy, and happy herd. Watch a video of a morning roundup at the Triangle X.

Nada Coussmaker, August 8, 2017

Guest Nada Cousmakker, an educator from the UK, spends her summer holidays in the western US. Over the years, Nada has visited other dude ranches, but she found the horses and riding at the Triangle X superior. Because of the horses, Nada spends five weeks at the Triangle X each summer. In her interview, she noted that “the rides there [other dude ranch] were nothing like the scope here, which is marvelous. It must be some of the best riding in the States, because you’ve got this huge area where you can just lope or whatever” (Nada Coussmaker, 8 August 2017).

Lynette Blake showing maps of Triangle X trails created by Jim Blake, August 4, 2017

Lynette R. Blake began coming to the Triangle X as a child 57 years ago because of the horses and continues coming (now with her husband, children, and grandchild) because of the horses: riding. In her interview, Lynette recalled the fun she and other “teens” had with Donald Turner on “rough rides.”  

When I was a teenager, we had a group of us that would come back every year; it varied, but there were some hard-core returnees. We were all about the same age as Donald Turner. And, he took us riding. And we did rough rides. We would ride in one of those beaver channels down here, [on the] edge of the river” (Lynette Blake, 4 August 2017).

Lynette and her husband Jim Blake, like many long-term guests, have favorite horses that they request each year. Like many guests, they leave tack at the ranch from summer to summer. The Blakes take advantage of the pack trips that the Turner family provide. In fact, this connection to animals and land proved monumental for Jim during a pivotal time in his career when we worked a summer at the ranch guiding pack trips and mapping ranch trails.