The horse is synonymous with the American West. It was the horse that helped make America great and it is only fitting that horses be part of Rock Ledge Ranch as life in the Pikes Peak Region from the 1700s to the early 20th Century is vividly re-enacted.

This spring we launched the Sponsor-A-Horse Program. All donations help the horses receive the outstanding care Rock Ledge Ranch is committed to providing. Although donors don't get to feed, ride or pet them, they don't clean the stalls either. All funds donated are tax deductible and each gift directly supports the needs of the horses including food, tack, horseshoes and veterinary care. All donors receive a certificate of appreciation and horse data sheet with levels of giving from $25 to $1000+. Higher levels of giving reward the donor with guest passes, tickets to the summer Fiddles, Vittles and Vino bluegrass festival and even a special lucky horseshoe!

Over the years, many horses have graced the Ranch, some as visitors, some as long-term interpreters, some pulling wagons with guests, some bringing General Palmer to visit at the Orchard House on special events and all have helped bring the past to life. Currently, we have 5 horses who help interpret history:

Winston and Victoria the 3-year old English Shire Draft Horses

Duke and Dan the 13-year old almost 2000 pound Belgian Draft Horses

Kava the wild mustang tamed at the Canon City Prison

We are please to announce that the program is a huge success with over $4,000 already collected and we hope more people will consider a donation. We wish to take this opportunity to thank the current donors for their generosity! Everyone's help is sincerely appreciated.

Step back in time...

Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, a living history farm and museum, depicts life in the Pikes Peak Region from the perspective of the people who lived here.  Four time periods are interpreted at the Ranch:  c. 1800 American Indian Area (Ute and Plains Indian cultures); late 1860’s Galloway Homestead; 1880’s Rock Ledge House and working farm;  the 1907 Orchard House, a country estate; and a working blacksmith shop.   Some of the Smith’s hand-forged items are available for sale in Heritage Shop, run by the Living History Association, which offers other goods that reflect the visitor’s experience.

As a volunteer or docent, you make history a living experience for Ranch visitors. Docents dress in period-appropriate clothing and demonstrate everyday life in a “simpler time,” which you will discover the 19th century was not.

A docent in the Rock Ledge House will show visitors that when the railroad came to the Pikes Peak Region comforts and technology followed. It was just as hard to make a living in the semiarid landscape, but the Chambers family was successful at truck farming because they were innovative.

The Orchard House is an elegant country estate built by General William J. Palmer for William and Charlotte Schlater, his sister-in-law and her husband. Edwardian society-even here in the west adhered to strict social etiquette. Teas and afternoon visitations were important for social contact.