A summer spent in Montana changed the life of Ric Horst ’91 in significant ways. It was the summer after high school and Ric went west. He spent the summer in Montana and fell in love. Not with a woman, at least not then.

“I fell in love with the west. The impression of the lifestyle and quality of life never left me after that summer in Montana. I had a strong connection with the west and it kept haunting me,” Ric said.

But the young man from Lancaster had to return to Pennsylvania as first school and then career kept him in the east. After graduating with a degree in criminal justice, Ric worked as a private detective in the Philadelphia area for six years. It was primarily undercover work for large corporations. Then he took a job as an insurance adjuster investigating claims for slip and fall, property, auto, and wrongful death.

By the late 1990s that haunting was impossible to banish and Ric made a decision solidified by a vacation in 1998. It was a decision to get back to an honest and fulfilling lifestyle. A life not measured by material possessions and the latest fads.

By 2001, Ric was co-owner and manager of a guest ranch outside Cody, Wyoming. More importantly he was living his dream. The dream got even better when he met his wife, Dollie, that same year. According to Ric, “I purchased her a holiday beverage, and we haven’t spent a day apart since.”

A few short years later, he owns, with Dollie, the D & R Ranch he once managed. D & R is a successful guest ranch located near Yellowstone National Park. The main lodge was built in 1905 and is presently the oldest home on the Yellowstone Highway. The ranch was the original halfway stopping point between the town of Cody, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. Wild Bill Cody is said to have slept there.

The summers are hot and dry and generally begin in June and last until late August. Winter begins in late September and lasts through April. According to Ric, “We don’t have much of a spring or fall as they only last a short amount of time. Winter is cold and windy. We don’t get very large snow amounts. The thing we like the least is the winter wind. It seems to blow for weeks.” But, “the beauty is inspiring and it makes you forget about the annoyances.”

Ric and Dollie love the lifestyle and quality of life where they live. “We meet people from all over the world through the guest ranch. City attitudes and minds sets are pretty much non-existent here. It is a perfect place to raise a family,” Ric said.

Ric’s decision to leave the East Coast for the “Wild West” has enriched his life in countless ways, not the least of which are his wife Dollie and their son Colter who was born in January 2006.

If you would like to learn more, visit www.dnrranch.com or contact Ric at DNRHorst@aol.com or DNROutfitting@aol.com.