Some people take years to develop a business plan, but Kevin and Therese Friedman took all of three days to decide to leave their busy Washington, D.C., lives and careers behind and start Fly Spur Ranch in Tumalo.

“If you told me six years ago that we’d be running a ranch and business like this, I would’ve said, ‘No way,’ and laughed,” said Kevin Friedman, 44, who owned a successful construction company on the Washington Beltway.

But the couple tired of the commuting and constant traffic just 12 miles from the White House.

“Now I step outside my door, and I’m at work,” he said. “My saddle is my office.”

The name of the Friedmans’ ranch, Fly Spur, combines the couple’s lifelong passions of angling and horses.

Their original business plan when they bought the property in 2005 was guiding backcountry fly-fishing trips on horseback. But as the economy soured, fewer tourists booked trips and Therese began reading more articles about people abandoning their horses on federal land or struggling to feed the animals.

Sharing horses

“You’ve heard that necessity is the mother of invention? Well, that’s how we came up with an additional business plan we call EquiShare,” explained Therese, 49, who owned an advertising and marketing company in Washington.

EquiShare is short for equine share. For a monthly fee of $100 to $300, a rider can take out any of 35 horses on the ranch and ride from six hours a month to as many hours as he or she wants.

“This enables people who love horses to keep on riding — it’s a monthly cost, but we pay for everything from the boarding and feed to the vet bills,” Therese said.

Available horses include Arabians and Tennessee Walkers.

People can do EquiShare every month, or one month at a time. Some people don’t like to ride in winter, so they can pick when they want to ride, according to Therese.

“Horse leasing is nothing new, but we put a new twist on it,” Kevin added as he saddled up his own horse, El Torro, for some exercise. “Basically, you’re leasing from a large pool of horses, you can take out any of our horses, and there’s no scheduling conflict or extra fees.”

The couple started the program in August 2007, just as they heard their neighbor, Rock Springs Ranch, was selling.

Rock Springs, two miles down the road, was a seasonal guest ranch that catered to tourists for decades.

“We went to the (Rock Springs) auction and bought a couple of their horses and a lot of their tack,” Therese said.

One ranch was ending its long business and another starting something novel.

“It’s ironic that we started EquiShare, an enormously capital-intensive business, at the start of the recession, but somehow we turned lemons into lemonade,” Therese said.

Adding a ranch

Rock Springs was eventually sold in fall 2008 to the Howard S. Wright Cos., but the equine ranch area stood dormant for more than a year. That’s when the Friedmans developed a more complex business plan.

The EquiShare program was growing on the 10-acre Fly Spur Ranch, but Rock Springs had more than 25 acres of pastureland and stables that were not being used, so Therese developed a proposal to lease the Rock Springs equine area.

She sealed the deal in June and now uses Fly Spur and Rock Springs for EquiShare.

The Friedmans convinced former Rock Springs Ranch head wrangler Heather Barklow to work in EquiShare.

“Initially, I was pretty skeptical about this EquiShare program. I had never heard of anything like it,” said Barklow, 32, who worked for Rock Springs Guest Ranch for eight seasons and was responsible for 75 to 80 horses. “But as it played out, I realized that this was a fabulous idea, because it’s an affordable way for people to have horses without the full responsibility of owning one.

“EquiShare makes it more affordable to enjoy horses, and it’s really great for the horses, too, because they are ridden all year long, not just the summer months.”

Through Barklow, another former Rock Springs wrangler, Chad LaValle, also returned to work on the EquiShare program.

“For both Heather and I, (Rock Springs) is home,” said LaValle, who was elated that the Friedmans managed to access this part of the property. “When I heard they were going to reopen this place, it was a no-brainer to come back and work here. This is what a ranch is supposed to be used for, horses. It is a great program because essentially for the cost of just boarding, you can ride as much as you want every month. To own your own horse, it would cost at least $700 to $800 a month if you had to board and pay for your own vet fees. It all adds up very quickly.”

The Friedmans also devised a plan for horse owners who board at their ranch to participate in the EquiShare program.

“We call it ‘free leasing,’” Therese said. “(That) means if you board with us, and you let us use your horse in EquiShare, we give you 50 percent off on your boarding fees in the winter, and it’s free during the summer months when we’re really busy.”

Many busy horse owners don’t have time to exercise or ride their horses every day, she said.

“With EquiShare, we find suitable riders for their horses.”

Good rides

At Rock Springs, EquiShare riders, Kiah Toepfer, 9, of La Pine, and her grandmother, Dianne Toepfer, of Sunriver, came in off the trails.

Kiah dismounted her horse like a pro, albeit a little saddle sore, but her face lit up as she named the horses she’s ridden at the ranch. “So far, I’ve been on Tanner, Tasha and Opie.”

Dianne Toepfer guided her quarter horse to the stable and unsaddled it. She said the program is the most reasonable way to have a horse, without owning it.

“To be able to spend time in the saddle is fantastic, and I split my EquiShare hours with Kiah’s other grandmother, who also loves to ride, so we can both spend time on horseback with our granddaughter,” Toepfer said, patting Chester the horse on the neck. “Every time we come, we try different horses.”

EquiShare customer Cindie Derrickson, who rode into the stable area a few minutes later, said riding is her therapy and release time. She recently euthanized her 34-year-old horse after a lifetime of riding him at her parents’ ranch in Albany.

“This is the next best thing to owning a horse, maybe even better,” Derrickson said.

She originally signed up for 12 hours a month of EquiShare riding time, but has upped that to 20.

“All the horses here are so good and so well-behaved, it’s so much fun, it makes my whole day,” she said.

Working in a ‘park’

The Friedmans said their dude ranch and EquiShare program are their passion — and neither feels like work.

“I do put in more hours now than I did when I managed my own company in D.C., but I love this work; it’s like a park out here,” said Kevin Friedman, gesturing to his green pasture on Fly Spur Ranch with views of the Cascade range. “The most pleasant surprise has been that our EquiShare customers have become friends, and I tell them that this is their ranch, too, because they’re paying for a piece of it.”

But the EquiShare business hasn’t been without its bumps. Finding a company to insure the business was challenging, Therese said.

“I was rejected by 14 different insurance companies because they didn’t understand what we were trying to do; it wasn’t exactly renting a horse, or leasing a horse, and it wasn’t just trail riding, either,” explained Therese, who believes this is the only EquiShare program in the state.

She originally got the EquiShare idea from a barn in Maryland that ran a similar program, but she said she’s never seen this type of business in the West.

Eventually, the nation’s largest equine insurance company provided insurance.

The Friedmans haven’t done much advertising, and much of their business is word of mouth, yet they say it’s continued to grow every year. They attribute that to diversifying and modifying their business plan.

The ranch also rents out three overnight sleeping quarters, allowing visitors to spend several nights riding and fishing.

Accommodations include a vintage silver Airstream camper; cozy cabin, complete with a wood-burning stove and deck; and teepee that can sleep eight and includes a small fire pit.

“We had an entire cycling team during the (Cascade Cycling Classic) staying in our quarters here,” Kevin says. “… No, they didn’t ride any of the horses, just their bikes.”

Right choice

After five years at Fly Spur, the Friedmans can’t imagine having any other career.

“I remember when we first came out here, I was, ‘Oregon? Doesn’t it rain all the time there?’” Kevin said. “I had never been to this state, and within 45 minutes of landing here, I was standing on this property and dreaming about this life,” Kevin added as he rode his horse around the outdoor arena. “Within three days, I had bought this ranch on a handshake while riding horses with the owner, who also sold me his best horse, El Torro.”

So what was originally slated to be a little vacation in Central Oregon, visiting Therese’s aunt in Eagle Crest five years ago, turned into a lifestyle change for the Friedmans when they happened to see the “For Sale” sign of a small private ranch on a small Tumalo country road. While they were scoping out places to retire, having visited towns in Colorado and New Mexico, they had never seriously thought they’d leave D.C. behind so quickly. But the ranch spoke to them, and gave them their dream, which they say has turned into a profitable and fulfilling business.

The business plan doesn’t end here for the Friedmans. Therese said they’ve been contacted by ranches in Hillsboro and Northern California that are interested in starting EquiShare businesses. She expects the couple will consult with the ranches this winter.

The best thing about the business?

“We are providing a service, a recreation that (makes) people very happy,” Therese said. “I’ve never regretted for a minute leaving D.C. This is what we were meant to do.”