A new era dawning for Saddle Mountain Ranch

…as young leader is poised to revitalise ranch with vision for tourism

By Mishael Henry

A young, fearless woman is soon to carry the ever-blazing torch to manage the Saddle Mountain Ranch, located in the deep ends of the Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Ayla Kenyon, who to some may be weighed down by the complexities of a traditionally male-dominated western-style job, which entails leading an almost 500-cattle ranch, managing horses and chickens, and overseeing a top-tier ranch cabin, is dispelling these misconceptions on not being able to carry the mantle.
After all, she does have running through her veins the blood of her mother, who once chased away jaguars with a cutlass to protect her flocks.
Saddle Mountain Ranch, tucked away in the South Rupununi, has spectacular views overlooking pristine natural savannahs intertwined with creeks emerging from the nearby mountains. The family-run business has a rich history of ranching, farming, and vaquero culture. With unmatched support from her father Tommie Kenyon, who is the creator of the ranch, she had the opportunity to catch up with this newscast, to whom she gave an inside look at the gradual transition of legacy being handed from him to his daughter.

Her father Tommie has established the land, and the spot is a very sentimental place for him and his legacy, which started some 36 years ago.
“I came here individually. I came here privately, established myself some 36 years ago,” he stated whilst styling his cowboy hat on his head. He said he wished to stay in the ranch spot for as long as he could, and even be buried there. “I already came here, put my life here; and I want to stay here, be buried here and everything, you know. So, I’m depending on the Government to walk us through, put it that way.”
Amidst all of this, he remains steadfast in the ideology that all of what he has produced on the land is not for the benefit of himself, but for his daughter.
“I’ve owned this ranch for all of these years, but these days I want to lay back and let her take over, because one day I will be gone and she will be the future,” he said.
With the confidence he has entrusted in his daughter, she took the forefront and began to relay her side of the story, and what she would like to see for the ranch.
Thus far, the visionary has already identified areas for enhancement at the ranch. Guyana Times understands they could only accommodate four persons comfortably, but now they want to expand by adding more cabins and offering more activities.

“We want to embark more on tourism. We want to offer more activities, as I said like camping, fishing and those things, because we have the creeks and the mountain right close by. So, we want to go into tourism more, and we’ll still have our cattle,” she explained.
While ticking off items on her improvement checklist, she also identified marketing as a top priority.
“Recently I came on board, because I can see what is coming. We hadn’t been getting lots of guests before because we’re not selling ourselves, you know. We’re not putting ourselves out there, so we have some challenges. We have to work on some things, and if we want more people too, we have to expand our accommodation,” she said.
Whilst on this path to creating a new legacy for the ranch, they’ve accomplished introducing the internet.
Long ago, one would have had to go to the top of the mountain to get a Wi-Fi connection.

“Well, when we came here first, there were no signals, you know.
Now we have signal. We have internet, but it’s currently off. But as of now, more people are getting to know about us, know where Saddle Mountain is.”

Her father Tommie added, “A little while ago, before the Wi-Fi came in, if you wanted to make a call, you had to go up that mountain to get a signal, and then you’d call who you wanted to talk to. They’d come back home. But, of course, now we’re so integrated. I’m getting a Wi-Fi signal from Brazil, you know, straight across here. So, I’m in contact with the world right now.”
Back and forth in the conversation of the development of the ranch, his daughter chimed in her views and relayed that, thus far, they have an array of products currently.
According to her, if they upgrade the products, they hope this will mesh nicely with the tourism expansion within Guyana.
“So, we are a ranch; so, we sell mostly ranch-related products. You could do a cowboy adventure, camping, but we also venture into nature tourism, where you can go up the mountain, go hiking, go camping, go fishing. So, it’s really broad, and I think what Guyana has started to offer, with all the direct flights coming in, we’re on a path where tourism is expanding. So, we’re getting ready.”

She also mentioned that, growing up, it was very rare to see a vehicle, and with the increasing popularity of the place, she wants her kids to experience it as well.
“Before, I remember growing up, we used to listen out for a vehicle to pass through this area, you know. But it’s good. I loved growing up here, the freedom. And I’ve got a little daughter, and I want her to experience the same thing. So yeah.”
Her father also shed light on how few tourists visited the place in the past.
“We don’t get tourists here. You might get two or three during the year. I’m not talking about individuals, but usually it’ll be a couple of people or a family, or something like that. But there are a lot of issues on the line, because of the region.”
In passing down the mantle, she shared her determination to keep the fire burning brighter, and to add even more fuel to it. While her vision for the future includes expanding tourism and growing the ranch, the core values of Saddle Mountain Ranch remain unchanged. Her father, the founder of Saddle Mountain Ranch, continues to wield significant influence, with his legacy and respect firmly embedded in the operation of the ranch.