WEBSITE · BOOKING SYSTEM
Mortenson Ranch
A working ranch and a movie ranch outside Santa Fe, with a website that could tell the story but couldn’t sell a ride. We built one site for all of it, then a booking system the ranch runs itself.
$93,206
booked through the new site across 144 bookings in its first eleven weeks, without anyone picking up a phone (May 15 – Aug 4, 2026, before tax and fees)
20+
wedding and private-event inquiries in the booking system’s first six weeks as the only way to book
364K+
organic Instagram views on ten videos we made for the ranch, as of October 5, 2026. The top one is past 238,000; two sit near 2,000.
THE FINISHED SITE
A first visit, recorded on the live site.
The homepage top to bottom: rides, weddings, events, and Clyde, the movie ranch, the horses with their film credits, and the ranch’s events. Recorded on mortensonranch.com on October 1, 2026.
THE PROBLEM
A site that told the story, and couldn’t sell a ride
Mortenson Ranch sits on Bonanza Creek Road outside Santa Fe: Clint Mortenson’s horses, Clyde the buffalo, Mortenson Silver & Saddles, and Eaves Movie Ranch, a western set that has hosted more than 250 productions since 1969.
Online, the ranch lived on two separate sites: a handsome Framer site for the movie ranch, and a Squarespace store for the silver shop. The movie ranch site told the story of the films well, but it couldn’t sell anything: no calendar, no prices, no way to book. The horseback rides had no page at all.
So every ride, wedding, and event went through a phone number and Clint’s email. The ranch’s busiest person was also its booking desk.
THE RECEIPTS
“Book a tour of the wild west!”
The banner across the top of the old site. There was nothing on the site to book with.
“Book your next event or production at Mortenson’s Eaves Movie ranch.”
Followed by one phone number, Clint’s email, and a message form.
“About · Gallery · Productions · Press · Weddings · Private Events & Tours · Contact”
The whole menu of the movie ranch site. No page for horse rides or Clyde.
THE RULES
Five things a ranch booking has to get right
Horses, kids, weather, and a waiver for every rider. The ranch’s own rules shaped the booking system more than any template could.
- 1
Every rider signs.
A waiver for each rider, by name, before the booking confirms. A parent or guardian signs for minors.
- 2
Horseback starts at 8.
Riders must be at least 8 and between 50 and 250 lb, with the carriage as the alternative. The booking says so before anyone pays.
- 3
No double bookings.
Every ride time has a set number of seats, and a party’s time is held for ten minutes while they sign.
- 4
Card now, or cash at the ranch.
Guests pay online or on arrival. Bookings the office takes by phone go into the same system.
- 5
The ranch’s calendar stays in charge.
Bookings land on the ranch’s Google Calendar. Delete one there and it cancels: refund, open seats, and an email to the guest.
THE PROCESS
Built with the ranch, round by round
The site launched first. The booking system followed in rounds, each one set by what the ranch asked for, and dated in the project’s own change log.
May 15
One site for the whole ranch
Mortenson Ranch and Eaves Movie Ranch go live on one Shopify site: horse rides, weddings, events, film, and Clyde under one menu. Bookings start on an off-the-shelf tool while we build the ranch its own.
May 18
The ranch’s answers, written down
Private rides or shared, how many riders per time, card or cash, the waiver word for word, and a fresh signature from every rider on every visit: settled with the ranch before a line of the booking system was written. The first version, with a lane for wedding and event inquiries, was running the next day.
May 28
Twenty-one notes from the ranch
The ranch’s first round of feedback came back as 21 numbered items: copy, new rides, admin controls, calendar sync, staff dashboards, and guide sheets. Each one became part of the build.
Jun 9
The cowboy cut
The booking design was approved: wanted-poster type, ledger-hand body copy, rubber-stamp labels, and colors called Paper, Ink, Leather, and Brand rust. It reads like the printed West, not a software checkout.
Jun 20
The Western Market
We planned, promoted, and filled the ranch’s Western Market: 35 vendors and more than 500 people through the gate. The vendor fees covered the day, so it cost the ranch nothing.
Jul 22
One way to book
The booking system became the only way to book a ride at the ranch, with the month calendar the ranch’s team was used to and card payments for bookings taken by phone.
Aug 4
Eleven weeks in
144 bookings and 6,000 visitors since launch, and six videos with 110,089 views. A thank-you email now goes out after every ride with links to leave a review on Google, Yelp, or TripAdvisor.
Sept 24
Still riding
A round of ranch notes through October 1: one crew per ride, payments that match Stripe, finding any guest fast, celebrations on the booking form, a daily checklist for the wranglers, and a how-to guide so the ranch team can run bookings on its own.
THE BUILD
A booking desk that never closes
Three pieces carry it: booking a ride on the site, the paperwork that comes with a horse, and a phone-first flow for guests deciding on the drive in.
Booking moved off Clint’s phone.
Pick a ride, a day, a time, and how many are coming. The total updates as you go, tax included, with a choice of card now or cash at the ranch.
The booking app is ours, built for this ranch and set into the Shopify site, so it looks like the rest of mortensonranch.com instead of a third-party widget.
Every rider signs before they ride.
The waiver is part of the booking, not a clipboard at the barn. Each rider signs by name on every visit, and a parent or guardian signs for minors.
The confirmation goes to the guest, and the wranglers get a day sheet: who’s riding at each time and whose waivers are still unsigned. Shown here as the June 9 design preview; the names are placeholders.
Built for the phone on the drive in.
The booking was laid out for one thumb first: big ride cards, a calendar that marks the days a ride is running, and the total in plain view.
The ride rules sit above the Continue button — ages, weight, helmets, closed-toe shoes — so nobody finds out about them at the barn.
THE SHOOT
Shot at the ranch
The site, the social, and the events run on photographs and video we make at the ranch: Clyde at a run, the saloon on the western set, the arena, and the nights under string lights.
Photography by Creative Flow Studio at Mortenson Ranch, 2026
THE SITE, END TO END
Scroll the site, not a picture of it.
The live Mortenson Ranch homepage, captured top to bottom at desktop and phone widths. You drive the scroll. The notes in the margin follow the page as it moves.
EVERY PAGE
Every part of the ranch gets its own door
Rides, weddings, the movie ranch, and Clyde each have a page of their own, with Book Now in the same corner of every one — at desktop width and in your pocket.
THE RESULT
What changed, line by line
Website
BeforeA Framer site for the movie ranch, and the silver shop on its own Squarespace store.
NowOne Shopify site for the rides, weddings, events, Clyde, and the movie ranch, with a link to the silver shop’s own store.
Booking
BeforeCall Clint, or email him.
NowFour rides book online, card now or cash at the ranch. The only way to book since July 22, 2026.
First eleven weeks
BeforeThe site didn’t exist on May 14.
Now144 bookings, 6,000 visitors, and $93,206 booked, May 15 to August 4, 2026.
Waivers
BeforeNot part of booking online.
NowEvery rider signs by name before the booking confirms. Guardians sign for minors.
The ranch team
BeforeEvery booking through one phone.
NowA month calendar, wranglers assigned on their own calendars, a day sheet, and a how-to guide.
The bookings come in on their own now. Clint gets his phone back, and the ranch gets to be a ranch.
The ranch holds a 5.0 rating on Google as of October 2026, and a review request goes out after every ride. Figures through August 4 come from our eleven-week review for the ranch; the newer ones get added here as they come in.
A ranch this big deserves a site that carries it. Mortenson Ranch has one now, and it takes its own bookings.