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EXPLORE: WHITE STALLION RANCH
ARTICLE BY JANE EPPINGA
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For more than fifty years, the True family has served as stewards of the White Stallion Ranch while providing exceptional guest service. Russell who received a degree in business from the University of Arizona is in charge of marketing and interfaces with all facets of the ranch management. His wife, Laura, runs the horse program and social media. His son Steven and his wife Alice share responsibilities for front desk, activities (excluding riding), and outside events. Steven is also on the board of directors of The Dude Ranchers Association (the only multi-state organization of dude ranches with more than 100 members).- David works in the corral and in activities. Russell’s brother, Michael oversees, building projects, maintenance, bookkeeping, transportation and logistics in general. Michael’s wife Kristen is in charge of housekeeping and the kitchen. The cuisine is quality ranch fare and the White Stallion receives and accommodates many requests for special diets including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free meals.
Family is important at White Stallion Ranch
White Stallion Ranch was originally built in the 1900’s a cattle ranch. The first buildings were constructed of Mexican adobe brick made of mud and straw. During the recent renovations, wire and horseshoes were found in the walls. A small area of the original adobe is on display in the dining room, the original building on the ranch.
It was homesteaded by David Young in 1936. Herbert and Vine Bruning purchased the ranch in 1939 to raise cattle, chickens and turkeys. They changed the name to CB Bar Ranch and it was once home to 30,000 birds. In 1945, Max Zimmerman, a Chicago liquor store owner, bought the ranch. Zimmerman moved back and forth between the ranch and Chicago. The twice annual moves made his wife, say “no more”. He named the ranch the MZ Bar Ranch and constructed six buildings complete with kitchenettes for guests. In 1949, Mary Varner purchased the property, continuing to operate it as a guest ranch; she also offered long-term rentals to the nearby Marana Army Airfield. In 1959, Brew and Marge Towne, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts bought the property and renamed the ranch White Stallion. In 1965, Allen and Cynthia True arrived from Colorado to make the ranch their home, with Russell, five years old and baby Michael still in a crib.
Rearing Stallion by Ulrich Muzyck
By then the ranch consisted of 17 rooms, 17 horses and 200 acres. The number of guest ranches left in the area had dropped to about thirty; most were casualties of Tucson’s Urban Sprawl. With an eye toward the future, Allen and Cynthia purchased adjacent land as it became available, increasing the ranch to 3,000 acres. Today, the ranch offers 43 rooms and a five bedroom hacienda as guest accommodations.
True Family Portrait
While maintaining the traditions of the West with many of the original buildings still in use, Russell and Michael have added a sunken tennis court, a movie theater, a renovated pool and hot tub area with a serenity patio, lighted sport courts, a spa area and fitness center. They have established one of the largest privately owned herds of horses in Arizona and a large herd of longhorn cattle. The family already has criollo cattle at its Rancho de la Osa and will be raising them at the White Stallion. As soon as the steers are large enough they will be butchered the ranch will become sustainable. Criollo cattle were first brought to the New World with Christopher Columbus’s second expedition in 1493. Hardy and durable, these cattle came from the desert country of southern Spain. Having already evolved in a hot, dry climate with scarce feed and water, these cattle were ideally suited to survive the rigors of an ocean crossing and adapt rapidly to a desert environment. The White Stallion uses the Lazy TB brand. They originally got it about forty years ago to keep Russell’s and Michael’s cattle distinct from their parents cattle. Russell says their father picked it as a joke saying it stood for the “Lazy True Brothers”.
Loop Rawlings performing his amazing rope tricks
Many of the ranch’s clientele who come from large urban areas are anxious to be outside and go horseback riding. Once a week the ranch holds a rodeo to introduce guests to the cowboy life. It features bronc riding, barrel racing and roping. Other entertainment includes Loop Rawlings performing spectacular roping acts. In the evenings Bill Gantz and Dave Richner entertain dinner guests with beautiful western music inside, on the patio or around a bonfire. The ranch has a telescope and includes astronomy, nature programs and country dancing. The ranch is experimenting with new outdoor activities, and you’re invited to participate in shooting, rock climbing, team cattle sorting and fat tire E-biking
Teaching the youngsters
The White Stallion has served as a backdrop in Western feature films and later, as the location for the television series High Chaparral. The following are just a few of the movies filmed at White Stallion: Arizona – 1939 William Holden and Jean Arthur, The Last Round Up – 1948 Gene Autry, Winchester 73 – 1950, Apache Drums – 1951, The Last Outpost (cavalry charge scene) 1951 Ronald Reagan, How the West Was Won – 1977 James Arness TV Mini Series.
Russell attended the State of the City Address for Oro Valley as a board member for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2008. Solar Path was there with a solar display, and they offered an opportunity for a utility sponsored, government funded solar program. After much internal discussion, the Ranch decided that based on the economic uncertainty of the times, White Stallion would not join the program. However, because of the economic decline, several companies dropped out. An opening was available, so White Stallion opted in, creating the largest private solar farm for the time.
A panel of experts including USA Today editors, 10Best.com editors, expert contributors and media nominated the ranch, which has been owned by the True family for more than five decades, has been named one of America’s top 10Best family resorts of 2018 by readers of USA Today. The USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award was based on the resort’s amenities for kids and family programming. The White Stallion Ranch is one place where the clientele has a voice in determining its future. The ranch works to preserve the life of the cowboy but also it hears the future which includes internet, solar energy and who knows what else?
