About Us
Echo River Ranch is a small privately owned property that is home to a few horses, Missy, and ranch owner (Debie), all of whom are family.
Where Echo River Ranch Is Now ~ ~ ~
The ranch has always been in existence. As long as Debie had dreams and the love of horses, she has dreamed of living on and owning a horse ranch.
Ranch Location
Echo River Ranch is situated on five acres about five miles northeast of the City
of Enumclaw. There is a horseshoe driveway offering two entrances to the ranch and
an easy pull through for visitors with horse trailers. Of course, there is plenty
of parking and lots of turn around room too.
Click here for directions to the ranch.
Ranch Services
Guided trail rides are the main focus of services provided by the ranch. All
guided rides are conducted at a walk. In addition to guided riding, the ranch
also offers meet=greet bonfires and basic horse familiarization.
Click here for more info on ranch services.
Ranch Trails
The ranch is bordered by private properties and private timberlands. Thus many of
our guided rides are done out of the local trailheads on public lands. The foothills
surrounding the ranch have several trailheads with miles and miles of beautiful trails.
There are a few trails that can be ridden out of the ranch, these trails are located
on right-of-way access roads and nearby state owned land.
Click here to view a list of the trailheads.
Ranch Horses
The ranch does not buy and sell horses. Most of the horses at the ranch have been
owned by the ranch for many years and even had their initial training done at the
ranch. Occasionally, the ranch will temporarily borrow or lease a horse to help meet
our usage needs.
The horses are all trained to follow the trail guide, so beginning riders can safely
ride along. But the horses are not "dead - heads", so the ranch tries to
match the horses to the riders own knowledge and ability to ride.
Click here to view a list of the horses.
Ranch Guide
Both trail guide and the ranch owner, Debie has over forty years of trail riding
experience. She is familiar with all the trails upon which she guides other riders,
including building and maintaining clearance on several of them. In addition to
knowing the trails, she grew up in Washington State and is familiar with much of
the plant life and can accurately identify edible wild berries and a few species
of wild mushrooms.
Click here to view photos of wild mushrooms.
Ranch Feed
The ranch has very little grass, so the main source of feed for the horses is alfalfa
hay. We feed year round and closely monitor the weight and health of the horses. The
horses are fed twice a day, approximately 10 pounds of hay per feeding. And they often
get extras. If a horse gets a little fat, usually eating more than their share, we
separate them and change their feed to part local hay so that they receive the same
food bulk, just a little less nutrients.
Click here to read more facts about the ranch.
Where Echo River Ranch Came From ~ ~ ~
The dreams have changed over the years, from breeding horses and raising lots of farm animals to just offering a simple and small guide service.
Naming of the Ranch
Although the ranch was a dream since the childhood of Debies, it did not get a name
until the birth of Echo River Bandit. Although it seems as the ranch may be named
after this horse, it is more that the name is representative of Debies dreams. The
dreams repeated and bounced around in her thoughts like an echo. And the dreams
flowed and tumbled and split to various paths only to return like the water of a
river. Thus the name Echo River Ranch was intuitive of her dreams.
Click here to view photos of the ranch.
Previous Ranch Locations
Debie and the ranch have been set up in a few other locations, but did not actually
own those properties. The most recent location prior to Enumclaw, was in Sallisaw,
Oklahoma where she lived for almost ten years. Prior to that was Bucoda, WA for
several years and where the trail rides began being organized. And before that was
at Coopers Point near Olympia, WA, where lessons were given and Echo River Bandit
was born.
Click here to read about Echo River Bandit.
The Start of Guided Rides
Over the years, Debie frequently had an extra horse or two to take her friends
horseback riding. And they had always commented on how well mannered her horses
were. In 2008, she decided to offer a couple of her horses for rent at a local
prize ride in order to help with her own fuel and entry fee costs. The following
year, some of those initial clients asked to rent again, so Debie added a few more
prize rides to her rental schedule. And recently, she has decided to try trail
guiding and horse rentals as a full time business.
Click here to view the trail rides.
Where Echo River Ranch Is Going ~ ~ ~
The ranch continues to develop rides and grow a devoted customer base. But it is our hopes to remain small, so that we can continue to offer that private ride experience to every customer.
Expanding The Specialty Rides
Debie started the Egg Hunts (in 2010) to encourage beginning riders and bring in
new clients for the ranch. These rides have grown each year, such that the Trick
n Treat Rides (in 2011) and the Candy Cane Rides (in 2013) were added. There are
plans to add Sweetheart Rides and Patriotic Rides (in 2014). There are also plans
to expand the selection of Scavenger Hunts.
Click here to view the specialty rides.
Adding Experience Rides
In addition to horseback riding, the forests and trails offer additional experiences.
As Debie has had a long time interest in wild edible mushrooms and has been a member
of the Puget Sound Mycological Society for several years, Mushroom Experience Rides
are being developed. Currently these rides are limited to only a few riders each
season. We have hopes of finding local restaurateurs who will work with the ranch
to help enhance the experience rides with exquisite meals after the ride.
Click here to view the experience rides.
Making Missy Famous
Missy seems to be an incredible little dog. It isn’t just her love of horseback
riding, but her personality seems to draw attention. She has a big following with the
customers of the ranch and other various horse event, but we hope to push her blog and
make her popular with people throughout America.
Click here to read about Missy.
Building A Trail Course
~ oh what a dream of the future ~
Trail courses are becoming very popular with horseman intent on improving their communication
skills with their horse. The horse is naturally suspicious and the trail course challenges
both horse and rider to concentrate on foot placement to navigate trail course obstacles.
Creating A Craft Retreat
~ oh what a dream of the future ~
The ranch is semi secluded and a wonderful area for contemplation with nature. In
addition to Debies horse skills, she has many craft skills. She would like to convert
the ranch garage into a creative learning center where she could share these skills.
Opening A Bed & Breakfast
~ oh what a dream of the future ~
The ranch property is adjacent to an old railroad line that may be converted to a
public trail system. Ideally, some networking with other local farms up and down the
old rail line could lead to a line of B&B’s that horse owners could ride
along and spend the night.
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