The Ranch

The Adobe Hills Horsemanship Center sits just north of Montrose, Colorado, nestled up against rugged adobe hills. The natural setting of the ranch allows riders to ride right from our arenas out in to the vast open BLM land. In a short day ride, one can ride through the spectacular adobes and overlook the majestic Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. There isn’t a better natural training venue!

Our Horses
Our in-house quarter horse breeding program was developed in 1993 to provide superb mountain trail horses for Skyline Guest Ranch. These horses are athletic, cow savvy, and have a solid mental attitude. Our herd is 60 plus, ranging from foals to older brood mares. They have all been raised in a natural ranch environment with consistent natural horsemanship principles. It would be hard to find a program more committed to developing the horse than the Adobe Hills Horsemanship Center.

Our Horsemen
Mike Farny and Dave Doubek have been long time friends who have teamed up to develop outstanding recreational horses.

Mike Farny- A native of Colorado, Mike grew up competitive skiing. After joining his family’s guest ranch in Telluride, Colorado, his interest was sparked in horses. He has studied natural horsemanhip with Pat Parelli for the past 16 years, was a certified Parelli Instructor from 2002-2005, and has studied with many other natural horsemen of the likes of Ray Hunt and Leon Harrell. For Mike, the horse provides a venue for a person to get to know oneself. The horse mirrors the human- the challenge is for the human to work through his or her own ‘stuff’ in order to become a more balanced whole.

Dave Doubek- Hails from the South Side of Chicago and is a diehard White Sox fan. Dave started making his treks out to Colorado in the mid 90s to experience the annual pack trip at Skyline Ranch in Telluride. From there, his passion for horses deepened. He has studied with famed Pat Parelli for extensive and intensive periods of time. Dave has also been inspired by Ray Hunt, Dennis Reis and Clinton Anderson. The freedom that the horse represents is unparalleled for him. He spends every day all day eating, living, breathing horses. For him, “the horse offers and incredibly honest relationship- you can’t on it.”