According to the owner of the Wild Horse Ranch in 1943, dude ranches performed a great service to the nation during a strenuous wartime. They provided a retreat for the captains of industry, a place to keep fit and to relax from the stress of their work.
The Wild Horse Ranch, south of Ina Road on N. Camino Verde, was one of those retreats. Originally called the Eureka Ranch, Howard and Grace Miller acquired the property and operated it as the Wild Horse Ranch from 1940 to 1977. They started with room for 12 guests and eventually could accommodate 100.
A saddle horse and its equipment were assigned to each guest and a cowboy accompanied them on all trail rides, steak fries etc. Stressed out executives and other visitors could also enjoy croquet, badminton, archery, horseshoes and other games, as well as trips to Tombstone, Mexico and other local attractions.
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Old Tucson was one of those nearby tourist spots. The ranch owned a covered wagon that was used in the movie “Arizona.” The majority of the saddle horses at the ranch had also been ‘actors’ in the film, which was filmed here.
Miller, a transplanted New Yorker, maintained a formal atmosphere at the ranch and the vacationing dudes dressed for dinner. The Wild Horse did attract a high-end clientele including Archduke Otto von Hapsburg of the old Austro-Hungarian empire; Randolph Churchill, son of Winston; Paul Dudley White, President Eisenhower’s heart specialist; and Hussein Ala, a former prime minister of Iran.
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