Vacationing in Arkansas

Scott Valley Resort and Guest Ranch

An award-winning outfit in the Arkansas Ozarks
Article and Photographs by Fran Devereux Smith

Horses roam the ranch headquarters at Scott Valley.
The red oak totem in the background is a memorial to Tom Cooper

ARKANSAS? They have guest ranches in Arkansas? You bet, and Scott Valley Ranch and Guest Resort has been in business there for 48 years. Owner-operator Kathleen Cooper has run the outfit for the past 15. During that time Scott Valley has made Family Circle magazine's Family Resorts of the Year list in the ranch category three times and has also been declared a "four-paw" resort in the Pets Welcome book. Numerous travel books and magazines also have recognized Scott Valley for offering affordable, family-oriented vacations.

Why Arkansas?

"Tom and I had fallen in love with everything about Arkansas in the '70s," says Kathleen. She and husband Tom met when both were in the Air Force, so the couple had traveled quite a bit. But while living in Minnesota, Tom became a middle-aged victim of corporate restructuring, so the Coopers began looking for a business to buy.

"Later," adds Kathleen, "we liked Arkansas for its simplicity in the everyday little things, like getting a car license. There are such stereotypes about Arkansas, but the people here really don’t care what you think. They are warm and friendly, but everyone just minds hs own business and does his own thing.”

The Coopers originally planned to purchase a small mom-and-pop-type store or restaurant, but things didn't go as planned. Instead, they saw the guest ranch listing at an Arkansas real estate office. At the time Tom had been on a horse once, and Kathleen admits she had ridden only "three times in my life, twice in a pony ring." However, she also had grown up in a resort town and had been in the delicatessen business, so neither the vacation industry nor food service were daunting to her.

"As we drove down the road to the ranch," she says, "I just knew this was the place we were supposed to be-even though the road then was gravel with rocks the size of footballs. Tom," she grins, "was not a handyman. He had just mastered changing a light bulb, and all he could see was the maintenance work."

Nonetheless, the pair made an offer. Everything actually went well their first year in operation although, laughs Kathleen, "We really marveled at how many pipes could break. This is an old place, and it's been an interesting 15 years." After her husband's death in the fall of '97, she reconsidered operating the ranch, "but couldn't think of anything else I really wanted to do."

Now she operates the 640-acre ranch, which is open from March through November, with the help of one of her three sons, Tobin, who manages the office. Family or not, it makes Kathleen nervous when Tobin pays the bills, particularly the feed bill. Kathleen is fond of her horses, but well knows the high cost of maintaining her herd. So, too, does Scott Valley's head wrangler Jana Paczkowski, who has also shared office duties.

The Horses

When the Coopers bought Scott Valley, 32 head came with the property. "First," Kathleen explains, "we learned about feeding them, and then we listened to horse people. And then we found out that not everyone knew what he was talking about, so we hit the books.

"Our vet thought it the funniest thing. He pointed out that some people who have horses all their lives might have only four or five altogether. Then he said, 'But you have 32 at one time. I guarantee if you observe and care for 32 horses for a year, the law of averages says that anything that can happen will happen.'

"So our first New Year's Eve here," Kathleen comments dryly, "we spent working with a colicked horse, and we learned about colic. We had a 32-horse clinic all our own, and they taught us what we needed to know."

In some respects the Coopers' novice approach to horse ownership paid big benefits. "That was when horse psychology and nonresistant training methods first became popular. We were so green," Kathleen admits, "that we were very open to anything that made sense to us. So we imprinted our first babies and saw such wonderful results. At the time, we were not experienced horsemen. But it worked for us, so we have continued the practice."

The day before the interview ranch guests had watched local horseman Rick Wheat start 3-year-old Cody under saddle. "Cody had been shoved to the wayside when Tom died," Kathleen comments, "and should have been worked more. But Rick couldn't believe how easy it was to start him. We usually do the imprinting and a lot of driving training, but Cody really had not been worked at all."

Although Scott Valley has supported as many as 95 head of horses, "I'm down to 70 now," says Kathleen. "I raised most of them, which is definitely not the cheapest way to go. But if you really want to know what you have horse-wise, it's the only way to go in this business. I need a horse who's reliable-it's astounding what these horses will put up with from people. I want a horse with a nice disposition and the conformation to keep him on his feet. He has to walk on rocks because we grow a great crop of them here."

Kathleen stands two stallions at Scott Valley. One is a registered Missouri Fox Trotter, who Kathleen expects to cross well with her registered Fox Trotting mares. Although the stallion is young, she particularly likes his "nice size and his nice mind." Diamond, her other stallion, isn't registered although his sire and dam were, one a Tennessee Walking Horse and the other a Missouri Fox Trotter. Diamond has a great disposition and a comfortable gait, both considerations when raising horses for guests to ride.

Kathleen's horse program seems to be working. Guest Billie Ratliff of Canton, Mich., for example, wanted granddaughter Molly Innes to experience horseback riding, so she gave Molly a ranch visit for her birthday. Both made the most of the riding opportunity. Billie had been a lifelong rider until health problems made it difficult for her to mount up. However, her mount at Scott Valley didn't care how long it took Billie to get in the saddle-and neither did Billie, considering the smile on her face as she rode.

Grandparents Carl and Doris Simmons of Hot Springs Village, Ark., invited grandchildren from Oregon, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee to join them for the week at Scott Valley. But no matter the ages and riding expertise of the "Granny Camp" members, as they called themselves, Scott Valley had a horse each could enjoy.

Amenities and Attractions

Doris & Carl Simmons, Hot Springs Village, AR,
invited several grandchildren to attend "Granny Camp" at Scottvalley

When most people think of guest ranches, they think of log cabins in the Rockies. That's not the case at Scott Valley. The wooded Ozark terrain, although challenging, isn't as extreme, and guest quarters are white-painted buildings with porches, both a concession to the southern heat.

Don't expect a concierge or bellhops at Scott Valley. When people call to inquire about the facilities, Kathleen responds, "Think of it as a 1955 Holiday Inn without a television or telephone, very basic. The rooms are for bathing and sleeping. We take great pride in the fact that we don't have room TVs because we really believe that people need less television and more time interacting with one another. Half the fun in being at a place like this is meeting the other people."

And that's what happens shortly after guests arrive and pile in a horse-drawn wagon for a quick tour of the Scott Valley headquarters. Wagon driver L.D. Searcy of Violet Hill, Ark., provides the commentary, teammates Barney and Bud supply the horsepower, and guests of all ages share an alternative mode of travel.

A good host, Kathleen often cautions prospective guests, "In the summertime if you don't like children, you probably won't like it here. We want people to feel like they're at home, not a motel."

Business travelers, tired of motels and hungry for home-cooked meals, often stay at the ranch. Meals, according to Kathleen, are easy to prepare thanks to plentiful Arkansas beef and poultry and a long growing season for fruits and vegetables. But she feels the big mealtime attraction is that "the food is made the way people used to cook-before they opened the microwave and threw in the little pan." It's no surprise that guests tend to linger over their meals, especially the evening meal served each week on the water at Lake Norfolk a short distance away.

However, cooking for the crowd (as many as 95 at one point) is the least of Kathleen's concerns. "Actually, it's wonderful because I know how many people I have to feed and what time they're coming to eat. Then," she grins, "there's my wonderful menu with two choices-take it or leave it."

Truth to tell, she and her staff can accommodate any guest's dietary needs. Rosie Gillett is a mainstay in the kitchen; she's spent the past 15 of her 82 years working alongside Kathleen. Julia Buck has been part of the kitchen crew for about nine years, and even business manager Tobin and ranch wranglers are sometimes subject to kitchen duty.

Don't expect antiseptic surroundings once you leave the dining hall; animals roam the ranch headquarters, sometimes right outside a guest's room. "People know I won't turn an animal away, so I end up with all kinds of critters," says Kathleen, who once raised Cecil B. DePossum in her pocket and describes her cats and dogs as refugees. "Our guests seem to like it, though, especially the fact that a horse is standing outside the door. Of course, we always ask guests if they're comfortable with that or, for instance, if they're allergic to the cats, so we can make arrangements." Guest dogs are welcome too.

Guests come to Scott Valley from almost every state and many foreign countries. Many visitors come from Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and numbers from eastern seaboard states are on the rise because most consider Ozark summertime weather cooler than their own. Although hot, muggy weather sometimes visits the Ozark resort, generally afternoons are pleasantly warm, even in July and August, and a light jacket might be necessary in the evenings.

Kathleen Cooper & the view from the Hilltop Hideaway

Guests come to Scott Valley from almost every state and many foreign countries. Many visitors come from Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and numbers from eastern seaboard states are on the rise because most consider Ozark summertime weather cooler than their own. Although hot, muggy weather sometimes visits the Ozark resort, generally afternoons are pleasantly warm, even in July and August, and a light jacket might be necessary in the evenings.

Although Travis Horn, for example, had come from nearby Missouri, Don and Marilyn Krupp and daughters Andrea and Abigail had made the long drive from Wisconsin to Arkansas. Two Texas families sought refuge from last summer's oppressive heat-David and Ceil Jekielek and sons Alex and Eric of Houston and Suzanne and Hazem Nasser with Samantha and Adam from Grapevine.

A growing trend Kathleen has noticed: More single parents, particularly fathers, come to the ranch, which she calls "the perfect place for single parents. They don't have to hassle with the kids over what to eat, argue about where they're going, or keep them entertained."

A case in point: Terry Picklington of Marshalltown, Iowa, readily admits he isn't a horseman, but spent the week riding with teenage twin daughters Ann and Amy at their request. Laura Parker, however, obviously had been horseback before she and son Michael of East Ridge, Tenn., visited the Arkansas ranch.

Ranch entertainment includes a large recreation room, which does have a television, video and book libraries, arcade and board games, and ping-pong and pool tables. Youngsters enjoy the petting zoo and playground, and most everyone enjoys the swimming pool, badminton, shuffleboard, and volleyball. Although the tennis court serves the purpose, Kathleen laughs, "Pete Sampras is not fighting to play on my court."

Plans call for a putting green, but for now there's the crolf course. Crolf, a croquet-golf combination, resulted when the Cooper family buried coffee cans in the ground and then challenged one another to see who could get a ball in the coffee can with the fewest strokes. Son Tobin, according to Kathleen, "had to go me one better and made his version a combination of miniature golf and croquet."

Guests can also enjoy area attractions, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns and the Ozark Folk Center. For those who enjoy water sports, jet skiing, sailing, and scuba diving are available minutes away at Lake Norfork, which has 550 miles of shoreline. The nearby White River offers world-class trout fishing and canoeing. "If people come to fish," says Kathleen, "I can literally guarantee them their limit if they fish with a guide. The guides know these waters."

Then there's the Hilltop Hideaway at Scott Valley, which will accommodate 16 comfortably, just right for more private family gatherings or for those who prefer to bring their own horses to ride. The Hideaway includes a small barn, fenced area for grazing, swimming pool, and catch-and-release ponds for those who prefer fishing. Best of all is the 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains.

Three guest packages are available, says Kathleen. "One: Guests go there, do their own cooking, and bring their own horses. Another package: We take the horses, the food, everything up to the guests. Or, three, they can stay at the Hideaway, but come to the ranch headquarters to eat and ride with the group."

No matter your preference, Scott Valley Ranch and Guest Resort has something to offer. Take your family and your horses to the Hilltop Hideaway and do things yourself, or stay at the resort headquarters and let folks do things for you. Either way, you're sure to enjoy the Ozarks.

[Home] [Rates] [Ranch Life] [Map] [Contact Us] [Vacationing in Arkansas]