Horsing around with romance

Sagebrush Ranch offers special sunset dinner rides for Valentine's Day

For sweethearts bored of standard Valentine's Day fare -- long-stemmed roses, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, jewelry -- the Sagebrush Ranch offers something a little different.

Couples can saddle 'em up and ride 'em out for romance at the Sagebrush's special Sunset Dinner Ride through Feb. 15. The package includes a steak dinner, horseback ride for two and a complimentary view of the sunset over the mountains of northwest Las Vegas.

"We've been doing (the Valentine's Day ride) for four years," said Sagebrush owner Jacque Fitzgerald. "It's been real popular. It's very romantic."

Fitzgerald has run the Sagebrush Ranch for more than a decade. It's a natural for her; she comes from a family of horse lovers.

"I'm a lifetime horsewoman," she said. "I always wanted to make a living doing something I love."

Fitzgerald's unique childhood was shaped by her love of horses. She was born on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

"My folks worked there," she said. "My dad took people down on mules to the bottom of the canyon."

Fitzgerald later lived on a cattle and horse ranch in Missouri.

"I showed horses and did rodeos all my life," she said. "I raised four children on horses."

The horsewoman came to Las Vegas in 1980 from Kansas to start a new life. She ran a construction cleanup business and published a horse paper called Horse Talk News for a while. But she wanted to get back to horses.

"I started the Sagebrush Ranch. It's really grown," she said. "It's been a lot of hard work, but it's been well worth it."

About six years ago, Fitzgerald moved her ranch to 12000 W. Ann Road, a site near the Las Vegas Beltway with a great view of the mountains. In addition to special holiday rides, like the Sunset Dinner Ride and Christmas-time horse-drawn wagon rides, the ranch offers horseback riding lessons, trail rides, children's horse camps and tours.

"We love to work with children, introduce them to the horses," Fitzgerald said. "The outside of the horse is so good for the inside of a human being."

Bill Hall, a cowboy originally from Louisiana, has worked for Fitzgerald at the Sagebrush for about a year. A former pro-rodeo participant, he wrangles horses, gives riding lessons and works breaking horses -- sort of a horse-whispering jack-of-all-trades.

"You have to get one-on-one with the horses," he said.

Hall says the ranch currently has 117 horses and will, at some point, feature a full-size arena. The ranch also boards horses for students and employees. Hall thinks the Valentine's Day Sunset Dinner Ride is a good idea for local lovers.

"You get to watch the sunset," he said, "See the lights over the valley."

The Sagebrush Ranch's Valentine's Day dinner ride is $178 per couple. The ranch also is offering a special one-hour trail ride and barbecue, through Feb. 16, for $35 per person. For more information or to make a reservation, call 646-9948 or visit www.sagebrush-ranch.com.


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