With 25 years in business, Ann Marie Scritchfield of Sable Mountain Outfitters is wrapping up a busy summer season and gearing up for another hunting season. JARED HENDERSON Photo
MEEKER | Hunting season is right around the corner, and you can bet that Ann Marie Scritchfield is gearing up for another busy season. That’s where she was last week—at Sable Mountain Outfitters, LLC.
Her business has been around for a while in the town of Meeker, Colorado, so she began by explaining how it got started.
“The Sizemores used to run it many years ago; they had cabins. But when the Wilderness Act went into effect in this area in 1972, they had to tear all that stuff down. It’s changed hands a lot over the years,” Scritchfield said.
“Gene [Scritchfield] and I bought this business. He was raised doing this, and when it sold, it was his dream to get it back. We actually bought two businesses—the first one was bought in 1999, and then this one in 2005,” she continued. Gene Scritchfield was born May 31, 1970, and passed away Oct. 29, 2008, in a tractor accident.
She then discussed horses and what the training process is like for these amazing creatures.
“Some of the horses we raise, some we buy. The ones that we raise—it takes several years. We pack them, and we ride them for several years before we ever put clients on them,” Scritchfield said.
“Some of them are easier; some don’t take as long. Some of the ones that we buy are already broken. We ride them for a while before we start, and it just depends on where they come from—if they’re a mountain horse or not,” she continued.
Scritchfield gave an example using her horse, which she rode earlier that morning.
“The one that I rode today came from Indiana, and I got her a year ago as a 4-year-old, so we’re riding her quite a bit,” Scritchfield said.
“She still has a lot to learn, but she had to get acclimated to the mountains and learn how to step over logs and rocks, and go up and down hills. She’s a good horse; she’s going to turn out really good,” Scritchfield continued.
It’s been a busy summer for Scritchfield, with clients from around the world.
“This summer, I’ve had people from South Africa and Germany. We had some friends here from Denmark. Today I took four people—two were from Denver, and the other two were from Chicago,” Scritchfield said.
“We get people from all over. I mean, we’ve had people from probably every state. We get a lot from back East,” Scritchfield continued.
Having done this for so long, Scritchfield shared a favorite memories.
“That’s a hard one. There’s been a lot over the years. You know, we do this because we love it so much, but it’s fun to bring people in here who have never been here before. And even those that come regularly love it so much,” Scritchfield said.
“I’ve been told multiple times that this is one of the best fishing areas in the state on Marvine Creek,” Scritchfield continued.
Owning a business always comes with challenges, especially after many years. Scritchfield shared some challenges they’ve faced over the years.
“There’s a lot. Weather, usually. In the past, I would say that’s been our biggest challenge. One year, in 2013, we got four feet of snow during the first rifle season, and we still had lots of hunters on the mountain and still had second, third, and fourth seasons after that,” Scritchfield said.
“Everywhere we were riding, our feet were dragging in the snow on our horses. Currently, it’s all the changes going on in the state. We’re pretty nervous about the wolves and how that will affect everything, and with the winter kill two winters ago and then cutting the tags,” she continued.
“This is our 25th year in business, and over the years, I would say probably 80% of our income is made during hunting season, so that’s changing now. This year, they cut tags significantly, so we won’t have near the hunters we’re used to having,” Scritchfield said.
She mentioned that they are making changes, such as upgrading the camps and making the hunts more of a quality experience.
“We’re blessed to have such a great summer business. We have three camps that we use in the summer pretty regularly. We do gear drops, horseback rides, day fishing trips, pack trips where we stay in different campsites and travel. Then we have either drop camps or full-service camps. This summer, we started doing moonlight rides, which have been a big hit,” Scritchfield added.
They’ll be working on adding more summer activities for next year, so stay tuned for that. Ann Marie shared her advice for the youth in the community.
“I would say it’s amazing to me—like we were just talking about, we have people from all over the world that come here, but there are a lot of locals, like you, who have never been here before,” she said.
“I would say to the youth, get out and explore your own backyard because we live in one of the best places in the world, so get out and see it,” Scritchfield continued.
By Jared Henderson