Wrangler (Children and Youth)

Wrangler (Children/Youth): Works as a member of the Wrangler team, reports to Head Wrangler.

Key traits for success: strong horsemanship and riding experience, teaching skills, customer service, work ethic/stamina, teamwork, leadership.

Youth/Children’s Wranglers share the same duties as regular wranglers (see below), and they are also responsible for planning and leading a safe, fun, and educational riding experience for 6-12 year olds; planning activities and training other wranglers to assist on a rotating basis. Children’s Wranglers work closely with Childrens’ Program staff to schedule riding activities and also have more autonomy than regular wranglers, as they lead activities and other wranglers in this program (within certain parameters). Children's Wranglers typically spend half the day working with children and/or youth and the other half of the day performing regular wrangler duties. Duties include: assessing guest children’s riding abilities, teaching the fundamentals of riding, leading daily trail rides, teaching fun games on horseback, and orchestrating weekly Rodeo events. 

Wrangler: Responsible for providing all aspects of horse care and guest services in the Ranch Riding Program. These include: catching, feeding, grooming, veterinary care, tacking/un-tacking, leading guests/staff on trail rides, providing guiding expertise (e.g., ranch history and local ecology), and giving riding lessons to children and adults. Providing a safe and positive experience for guests and protecting the health of the horses are wranglers’ primary responsibilities. The A Bar A herd includes approx. 120 horses, and wranglers must know them all by sight, name, and riding level by the beginning of the guest season. The ranch has hundreds of miles of trails, ranging from easy rides for beginners to challenging rides for expert riders. Wranglers must learn the main trails and be well oriented to the “lay of the land.” Wranglers serve as guides to teach guests about natural history as well as ranch history. They provide on-going training for ranch horses. Maintenance of trails, pasture fences, corrals, tack house, and Wrangler Barn are duties, as well as cleaning up after the horses in all areas. During times when all wranglers are not needed for regular duties, they are expected to help in other departments.

All Wrangler staff work a 6-day work week with an average of 10 hours/day. They must be able to lift/carry at least 50 pounds.