Part I: Karen Burbank [Ranch Programs Coordinator] & Samantha Sinsel [Wedding Coordinator] of Sylvan Dale Ranch.
Nestled in its own valley outside Loveland, Colorado less than 100 miles from Colorado Springs, Sylvan Dale Ranch is a slice of heaven that has different meanings for everyone. For three women who work on the primarily female-owned and run ranch, there is a sense of focus but also of respect and embrace of the wild that permeates the land balanced in the offering of a getaway that many families have been returning to for generations.
Karen Burbank, Dude Ranch Programs Coordinator, has been working in her current position for 11 seasons. Her approach is finding the right balance, whether it be for an advanced rider or someone who has hardly been on a horse, or simply a guest that wants to enjoy the beauty of the ranch.
“I sometimes spend years talking to people before they actually set foot at Sylvan Dale. So, I get a good feel for who they are, what they’re looking to experience [primarily with horses], and then I translate their information into the perfect match,” she says.
She says the itinerary surrounding the visit is always ability-based. If they have someone who is a complete beginner as a rider, “We’ll put them on a good old horse that will take good care of them and make them feel confident and comfortable on the trail.” With the advanced riders, she says the challenge is keeping them satisfied because they don’t want to just walk nose-to-tail.
Keys to Success
The key to success at Sylvan Dale is family and longevity. “Our brand is a heart J,” Burbank explains. “The heart stands for a love of the land and the J is for the family name, which is Jessup.”
The little piece of magic on this land – which she says the employees still don’t quite comprehend – is that there are natural heart rocks that are frequently found across the property. “It’s like you find rocks in the shape of hearts everywhere you go. It’s an example of the magic that we don’t control [but] it’s there. And it’s something that people really notice.”
When people find heart rocks at Sylvan Dale, they can put their name on it, the date and maybe a little note. The rock is then placed around the ranch or in the dining room. Burbank says it makes guests feel like they’re leaving a piece of themselves behind that they can return to.
Burbank says guests will often ask, “‘How do you find staff that bring that feeling [of family] to the ranch?’ And it’s almost like they find us.” She says, “You can’t teach someone that level of hospitality. It has to be within. With someone wanting to be here, loving their job, and then loving just interacting with the guests.”
Burbank knows this from a personal standpoint.
“I grew up in a very big family – I’m Irish, South Boston – and there were so many family gatherings growing up. When my mom passed away a little over 21 years ago, all of that fell apart. She was the glue that kept it together. So, I lost that kind of family connection.” Burbank says working at Sylvan Dale is healing for her, “I am coordinating and creating memories for families. And then when they come back with three generations, it’s like I’m filling a hole that I have. That void is being filled by my being able to help families come together and stay together.”
Finding the Magic
Samantha Sinsel, the wedding coordinator at Sylvan Dale, lives on-site with her husband and two children, bringing Burbank’s concept full circle. Having come to the ranch only a few years ago, Sinsel says working on the ranch is an experience that is all-encompassing. “For me, it’s literally [like] living on a different planet or maybe back in time a little bit in a really good way. There’s a wholesomeness to it. And I really love being a part of that.”
Sinsel says she always feels “that magic” when she pulls back into the ranch, goes past the horse barn and across the Big Thompson River. “It just lays over you. I experienced that really heavily the first time I came to the ranch. I still do.”
Sinsel says it is always “really neat” when she sees that in the guests’ eyes when they come on the ranch for the first time, “I think that reverence for the land and the legacy of Sylvan Dale with owner Susan [Jessup) and her parents [who established the ranch] is kind of in service to that awe.”
While Sinsel focuses on weddings, people come to Sylvan Dale for many reasons. “Karen [Burbank] – her side is really horses and vacations. So it’s very family-heavy. But we all pitch in in the winter and deal with all sorts of things.” Every event though, she says, is mostly family-oriented whether it be Mother’s Day getaways or Valentine dinners. “And a lot of anniversaries. People just getting married here and then coming back. Somehow the ranch has reached out and touched them, and called them in, and they return for that.”
Different Ideas Propel Different Journeys
Many weddings held at Sylvan Dale, of course, are destination focused, and not all are country weddings. Some people just love the location and the feel of the mountains surrounding them where every detail is taken care of. Sylvan Dale has two dedicated outdoor ceremony locations, one along the banks of the Big Thompson River and one that is on the edge of their upper pasture that has a west backdrop of the mountains.
Sinsel says people come with different ideas, different views, different logistics, and it is a matter of making those come to life. The ranch also has an indoor lodge for receptions, “Sometimes we have to have a wedding inside because of weather.” She recounts a wedding once where the couple wanted to get married so badly outside despite the rain. “It was super sloshy out and the wedding sites themselves were just too muddy. But we ended up just getting them to one of the pastures (which was a little drier) up top with the mountains in the background.” Sinsel says it is about being flexible in making sure that they’re achieving what the guest wants…because that is what family does.
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