Angie’s story begins in Montana, growing up in a small agricultural town that both sets of her great-grandparents on her mom’s side homesteaded in. She vividly remembers a “show and tell” back in elementary school when one of her classmates brought a baggie of pig eyes that he procured just before getting on the school bus that morning!
Throughout high school, she took part in many sports and even held the school record for the high jump. Upon graduation, she enlisted in the Army Reserves and would go to Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training to become a Military Police. After training, she returned home to Gallatin Valley to join the Army Reserve unit in Bozeman, Montana.
This unit was comprised of mostly students going to Montana State University; she mentioned both of her kids graduated from MSU, to which she follows up with “Go Bobcats!”
Soon after returning, Operation Desert Shield developed and her unit began training. By January of 1991, the 420th MP Company was landing in Saudi Arabia and were setting up a POW camp, where they would be for the duration of their tour before returning home.
Fast forward through a marriage, two kids, a divorce, and we arrive at the year 2000. Angie meets a guy named Pete at a Randy Travis concert in Big Sky, Montana.
“He sent his 6-year-old daughter over to ask me if I would take her to the bathroom,” said Angie. “Quite the pick-up line, but it worked.”
After a quick (16 year) engagement, they got married and moved back to her great-grandparents’ roots, becoming a rancher at her ranch, Drinking Horse Ranch (DHR).
Drinking Horse Ranch offers guest ranch lodging with creekside and mountain views, along with walking & hiking trails, wood shop activities, and more.
Drinking Horse Ranch
DHR holds much importance in her family’s ranch legacy. Its property is only 5 miles from Main Street in Bozeman and has over 10 miles of well-maintained riding/hiking trails, with Bridger Creek peacefully winding its way through.
Through the years, Angie and her family has done several forestry management projects on the property, making DHR’s forests healthier. This is especially important as a wildfire in 2020 came within yards of their ranch and destroyed 30 homes. The timber from these forestry projects has been the source of timber products, produced through their woodshop. There are benches made from the timber set in various places in the trails, and raised garden beds are made for their agritourism project called “Freedom Gardens for Heroes and Carrots for Horses.”
“We recently decided to take on a horse-breeding endeavor; another amazing legacy we can only hope to carry on,” said Angie. “I have a dream that one of our horses will be a MSU flag-bearing horse for the MSU Bobcat Football Team.” (Did she mention Go Bobcats?)
With everything going on with their ranch, they decided to add agritourism. In 2021, they started providing “Farm Stays” at their ranch and listed them on the Short-Term Rental platforms. DHR now boasts over 100 exceptional reviews with ALL being 5-star ratings and being deemed both “Super Hosts” and “Premier Hosts!”
“Something about providing our guests with amazing adventures and a beautiful place to stay, does wonders for my soul that struggles with some PTSD anxiety that came from my military experience,” said Angie.
Although it was put on a temporary hold due to zoning issues/interpretations, DHR was recently approved for a Guest Ranch Permit and are excited to start welcoming guests again. Their horses, chickens, and Lilly, their ranch dog, are super happy about it as well!
Homegrown By Heroes
Angie was recently certified for the Homegrown By Heroes label and is looking forward to using it in her Guest Ranch Market and local farmers market. She also plans on using the label to encourage other Veteran Farmers and Ranchers to thrive in agritourism, especially in Montana.
“I would encourage lawmakers to do whatever is necessary to attract Veterans to become or continue being farmers and ranchers and keep Montana and the United States of America strong and prosperous by working the land and raising livestock, no matter the size of the farm or ranch,” said Angie.
To learn more about Drinking Horse Ranch, you can follow them on Facebook.
