The horses at Eatons’ Ranch are characters, each and every one. But some of the horses have a bit more character than all the others.
Take Inkspot, for example. He and his buddies, Bob, Hammer, and Call, know the wrangler patterns so well, they’ve created a little subroutine of their own.
“They figured out how to circle back behind our rangers so that they can get a day off if we don’t catch them doing that,” Eatons’ Ranch’s Kristin Dwyer told Cowboy State Daily. “So once we move into that mountain pasture with them, we usually put them into a different pasture for the night. That way we can make sure they show up for work every day.”
No more days off for sneaky horses.
Inkspot and his buddies don’t seem to mind that too much. Life at Eatons’ Ranch is pretty good if you’re a horse, after all. Sure, there’s a little bit of trail riding involved. But that usually means horse cakes at the end of the trail.
The horse cakes are for sale in the Eatons’ Ranch office for guests to purchase for their horses, or they can offer them to the horses in the corral.
“You go up to the rail and crinkle that bag and every single horse on the rail knows what that means,” Dwyer said. “And everyone all of a sudden wants to be your best friend. You’ll get a bunch of pony noses in your face.”
Inkspot and his crew are too smart to hide then. They’re the first in line for these addictive horse treats, which are a mixture of oats with a hint of apple.
“A lot of times, guests bring the treats with them when they ride,” Dwyer added. “And when they get back to the yard here, the horse will immediately turn his head around as soon as they dismount. They know what time it is.”
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch)
Where The Elk Like To Roam
Horses are just one aspect of what makes Eatons’ Ranch, the oldest dude ranch in America, one-of-a-kind, and now one of America’s favorites. Eatons’ Ranch, located along Wolf Creek near Sheridan, was just named No. 1 Dude Ranch in America by USA Today on March 29.
It was one of two Wyoming dude ranches making the list, with the other one being the exclusive, luxury dude ranch, Brush Creek Ranch near Saratoga in the Platte River Valley, which came in at No. 10. Beating out a super-exclusive place like Brush Creek is quite a feather in the cap.
“We are super excited that we won the award and were voted on to win by everyone,” Dwyer said. “And I think a lot of (the popularity) stems from being a family-owned ranch that’s been run the same way for generations. So, people can come here and have a real, authentic experience, make some memories, and disconnect from the real world, and really get their horse fix.”
But, Dwyer added, the real vote of confidence she puts the most stock in is the one from guests who return to Eatons’ Ranch year after year, choosing it for their vacation time and time again.
“Most of our guests are repeat guests at this point it seems,” she said. “I think they come back because they can ride a horse that they love, in the mountains and the country that they love. And a lot of our guests here have become friends with each other, so they’ll even come at the same week, to foster those relationships through the different activities that the ranch offers.”
Dwyer herself understands the attraction.
“I went down to Denver after a couple of years to try an event-planning job, but ended up coming back here,” she said. “I couldn’t stay away.”
Among her favorite things to do is to take a horse and explore Eatons’ Ranch, which has 7,000 acres to roam. There’s almost never a time that she doesn’t find some cool new secret thing in her forays atop a horse at the ranch.
“You just never know what treasures you’ll find along the way,” she said.
Old cabins, old horseshoes, old rocks — there’s always something fun to find, while also looking out for wildlife like deer and elk.
“I love it in the fall when the elk herd starts coming through,” Dwyer added. “It can be really cool to ride out and see them. You can hear them bugling in the early mornings when we wrangle, and a lot of times, I’ll try to grab some guests on that morning ride and be like, ‘Okay, come with me.’”
Dwyer takes them to favorite viewing areas, where she’s learned a human can go to watch the elk hanging out without spooking them.
“You have to be strategic about it,” she said. “If they see or smell us, they will move on pretty quick.”
The strategy includes being aware of wind directions but offers a worthwhile reward. A sea of rolling brown bodies that never stops moving, like a creature in and of itself.
“If they’re a little bit strung out, you can get to really watch them move,” Dwyer said. “It’s cool. It’s certainly unique, and it takes your breath away.”
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch) 
Eatons’ Ranch in the Wyoming Bighorn Range is the nation’s oldest dude ranch, cowboying with folks since 1879. Now it’s also been named America’s No. 1 dude ranch in USA Today’s annual rankings. (Courtesy Eatons' Ranch)
How The Eaton Brothers Met Teddy Roosevelt
One of the things that Eatons’ Ranch is famous for in Wyoming is its annual horse drive. Eatons’ has a herd of 200, which spends the winter at a ranch near Gillette, Wyoming. The horses are trailed back home for summer every year, close to Memorial Day weekend, traveling about 100 miles over a three- to four-day journey. The trail leads right through Sheridan along the way and is the harbinger of summer for many locals.
“There’s only been a handful of times it didn’t happen, due to weather, or like (the) COVID (-19 pandemic), or stuff like that,” Dwyer said. “It’s a big tradition that everyone’s kind of looking forward to every year.”
The wranglers camp near the trailing horses, sleeping in tents at some locations and cabins at others, depending on where they are in the annual journey.
The tradition is so old, its origins have been lost to time, and no one is quite sure when it started. But it’s been happening since the 1930s at least.
Eatons’ Ranch started in 1879, with three brothers from Pittsburgh. Howard, Willis, and Alden Eaton first settled in the area of present-day Medora, North Dakota, which is named after a French Marquis’ beautiful wife.
Friends from Pittsburgh would often come visit the Eaton brothers at their ranch, staying for weeks at a time. Eventually those friends started insisting that the brothers take some compensation for their stay, to help cover the cost of food and other supplies, as well as time and effort spent entertaining the guests.
“That’s kind of how the dude ranching industry was born,” Dwyer said. “Howard would take people up to Yellowstone on pack trips, and so they decided they wanted to move closer to Yellowstone.”
That’s how they landed at their present-day property on Wolf Creek, near Sheridan, which is still, to this day, about a half day’s ride from Yellowstone.
Medora has an interesting history in and of itself and was the place Teddy Roosevelt credited with changing his life, saying, it’s where “the romance of my life began,” and that he “would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.”
The Eaton brothers were among the people Roosevelt met while he was in Medora and the family still has the letter Roosevelt sent them. The letter was among historical treasures the family and volunteers rescued during the Elk Fire last year, as were a variety of historic saddles, and some original C.M. Russell paintings. Russell became known as the cowboy artist for his depictions of Western life and is widely regarded to be one of America’s greatest painters.
Dwyer said the help from the community was amazing.
“Our neighbors were here operating blades and backhoes and all sorts of equipment to help us cut fire lines that ultimately helped save the buildings themselves,” Dwyer said. “The turnout was just incredible, and the offers of help … It was really, really appreciated, everyone who reached out.”
Winning the USA Today popularity contest was wonderful, but for Dwyer and others at Eatons’ Ranch, nothing quite compares to having a community turn out in force, ready to roll up their sleeves to do whatever needs to be done to save an iconic piece of Wyoming history. It just proves that the ranch isn’t just America’s favorite dude ranch, but a Wyoming favorite as well.
Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
