About Chris and RanchRodeoRide.com

RanchRodeoRide.com reflects a lifetime spent riding, learning, teaching and building connections along with a genuine desire to support and share the events, services and organizations that make up the Mountain West horse world.

Horses have been part of my everyday life for over 50 years, woven into my work, my family, and how I spend my time. I am fortunate to live in Lewistown, Montana, where the people, lifestyle, and strong sense of community support my love of our western lifestyle.

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to work with horses in many different settings. I’ve participated in clinics, ranch sorting, team roping, drill team, jumping, showing, and of course plenty of ranch and trail riding.

Each discipline has taught me something different, but they all come back to the same basics: patience, timing, and respect for the horse. No matter the setting, I value the practical, real-world lessons horses provide.

Beginning in the early '90s, my husband, our boys, and I developed and taught natural horsemanship clinics for over a decade, focusing on solid fundamentals, clear communication, and building willing partnerships between horse and rider.  Those clinics continue to shape how I approach horses and people alike, with an emphasis on trust, respect and understanding.

Along with the clinics, we also developed and operated Montana Horseman’s Journal, a publication that shared classifieds, advertising, stories, and news from Montana’s horse community.

As technology evolved, the Journal naturally led me into the website and digital marketing world.  The Journal was sold in 1996, and in 1998, I launched (and continue to run) Westwind Web, a marketing and design company that helps rural businesses tell their stories and connect with their audiences online. 

These experiences have all come together with the development of RanchRodeoRide.com.  As a horse person working daily in the web and social media field, I see a large number of groups, pages and websites promoting horse events and services across the Mountain West. 

I speak with horse people regularly who spend a tremendous amount of time searching online for these same horse events and services – having seen it once, only to have it disappear into the void of online promotions.   Having experienced this same frustration, I saw a need for a simpler way to find this information. 

RanchRodeoRide.com, a comprehensive, easy-to-use event and service directory, was built to be a reliable place you can return to again and again, whether you’re looking for an upcoming horse event, an equine service provider, or simply want to stay connected to what’s happening in the horse world across the Mountain West.

My goal is to make it easier for horse people to find one another, support local events and businesses, and keep our western traditions visible and accessible in an increasingly crowded online space.  Thank you for being here and for supporting RanchRodeoRide.com. I hope this resource saves you time, sparks new connections, and helps you stay engaged with the horses, people, and events that make this way of life so special.