Tenderfoots' Foray at Homeplace Ranch
by Laurie McLaughlin
Shape Magazine

Lay of the land Just an hour's drive southwest of Calgary International Airport, Homeplace Ranch sits at the base of Canada's rugged Rocky Mountains and provides an intimate setting perfect for city slickers new to the ranch experience. Horses take center stage at Homeplace; they are treated as part of the family, and so are guests. Owner and bona fide cowboy "Mac" MaKenny makes sure that everyone feels at home on his range; communal dining and opportunities to socialize in the cozy main lodge add to the welcoming feeling.

Bunking down Hit the hay in one of the ranch's nine spacious rooms named for MaKenny's favorite horses and furnished with heirlooms from his homesteader ancestors, who came to Canada from Nebraska to sell horses.

Cowgirl power You'll be matched with your own horse (compatibility is based on responses to a questionnaire), and at 6:45 every morning, you'll rise with the real cowhands to feed and groom your new equine friend.

Check in with MaKenny at breakfast to arrange your daily riding itinerary -- a two-hour excursion or a full day in the saddle. Lessons include not only riding technique and safety, but also instruction in humane animal treatment. Guests can lend a hand with ranch chores if they like, baling hay and moving cows to new pastures, all the while swapping stories with Brad McCarthy, the engaging, knowledgeable head wrangler.

Off the range Banff National Park, Canada's first national park, is a hiker's nirvana with 1,000 miles of trails for every skill level just an hour's drive from the ranch. The 3.5-mile Sulphur Springs trail is a three- to five-hour challenging hike to the weather observatory on Sulphur Mountain, which overlooks the park's 2,564-square-mile stretch of valleys, forests, alpine meadows and glacier-fed lakes beneath the jagged snow-capped Canadian Rockies. Relax on the free gondola ride back down.

Chuck wagon All Homeplace Ranch meals are served family-style in the dining room. A typical breakfast might include bacon and free-range eggs, or pancakes topped with fresh berry syrup. Trail riders enjoy lunches of fruits, veggies and sandwiches around an open fire over which wranglers/guides roast marshmallows or brew "cowboy cappuccino" (flame-boiled gourmet coffee). The dinner bell rings at 6:30 p.m. to summon hardworking cowhands to a homemade spread of options such as Alberta strip-sirloin or local farm-fresh vegetable salads, depending on your preference; the cook will even grill or fry the trout you caught that day for dinner. Save some room for dessert: homemade warm, frosted cinnamon buns and chocolate-chip cookies.