If you’ve ever longed for a sense of the life that one can experience in the American West, look no further than Latigo Ranch. Nestled high in the Gore Range of the Rocky Mountains, this is your chance to visit a place where relaxation, connection, and healing are possible.

Close your eyes and visualize driving along a red dirt road that gradually climbs its way into the mountains. You’re surrounded by nature at every angle with the occasional glimpse of the Rockies in the distance. Every curve leads to a beautiful new vista where flowers are blooming and sun shines through the aspens. The road brings you to a gated entrance announcing your arrival at Latigo Ranch. Immediately upon entering the property, you take a deep breath. Fill your lungs completely with cool, fresh mountain air. Take several of those deep breaths in and out as the road brings you to the barn, and from there, you are greeted by friendly faces eager to help you unload and get settled. You may not realize it at the time, but those friendly faces will be some of your favorite people by the end of the week.

Immediately upon entering the property, previous guests (and repeat guests) describe the experience as feeling an immediate sense of peace. At Latigo Ranch, views of the mountains abound from the expansive views of the Rockies. The morning dew glistens on green grass that gently slopes to the pond where the water gently ebbs with the breeze.

The beauty about Latigo Ranch is you do not have to make any complicated decisions while visiting. For you and your family, your biggest decisions will be around meal options, riding, and other activities. The owners and staff at Latigo anticipate the needs of guests, and the hospitality is thorough but not overwhelming.

Light Rider Foundation invites you to experience Latigo Ranch where you can pause, reflect, and heal in a way that’s meaningful to you in a place where beauty and tranquility abound.

As we have travelled along the journey to create the Light Rider Foundation, we are often asked about our story. What led us to establish the Light Rider Foundation?  

We enjoyed our first dude ranch vacation in the summer of 2016. By the end of the week, we knew it was something we wanted to make a yearly experience. We loved Latigo Ranch, and it quickly became a place of peace, rest, and healing for us. However, in 2018 there was a wildfire that threatened the ranch, and our trip was cancelled. As a result, we found ourselves at a different Colorado ranch. During that week we met a family whose vacation was being sponsored by a private foundation. The father was a Navy pilot who had been injured in a terrible plane crash several years earlier, and this was the first family vacation since the accident. He had spent so much time in and out of the hospital, and this vacation was a way to reconnect with his children. It was such a blessing to watch them laugh and play together throughout the week. That experience has stayed with us since then. 

The second motivator came three years ago when a young police officer in Texas was shot in the head during a routine traffic stop. He and his wife were friends of our daughter, and we had met them several years earlier just after he was accepted into the police academy. I remember how proud they both were that day! The family moved to Denver while the injured officer spent several months at Craig Hospital receiving treatment for his devastating brain injury. During those months we spent quite a bit of time with the family and saw the impact that this terrible tragedy had on his wife and children (not to mention the officer himself).  We have continued to follow the story of their struggles since their return to Texas. Their lives will never be the same.

One day I mentioned that when those children were old enough and when the officer’s recovery would allow him to travel, I wanted to send them to Latigo Ranch for a summer vacation. We then remembered the family we had met some years earlier and decided we didn’t have to wait for this one family. We could provide the same thing to other deserving families. 

And the Light Rider Foundation was born.

It is our hope that others will want to join us in this Journey to bring light into the lives of these families who give so much for so little in return.
Tim and Lana Sooter