PrintBack at the Ranch
EnlargeAbout a block north of the historic Santa Fe Plaza sits a small adobe house with ubiquitous turquoise-painted window frames and half-barrel planters bursting with geraniums on the doorstep. Step inside and you’ll find yourself surrounded by wooden shelves lined with one of the largest selections of custom-made boots in the country. Welcome to Back at the Ranch.
Owner Wendy Henry left behind a successful women’s clothing store in New York City to make her home in the City Different. “I used to go to Santa Fe and take items back and sell them in New York, but I wanted to live here,” Henry recalls. “I finally made it happen in 1990.” Back at the Ranch began as a Western kitsch boutique packed with vintage furniture, Southwestern accessories, and used cowboy boots, but when Western designer Tyler Beard became a mentor to Henry, he encouraged her to start producing her own boot designs. Today, Back at the Ranch packs more than 700 pairs of boots on the shelves at any given time, ranging in price from $1,000 to $9,000. Each pair is handcrafted at Henry’s factory in El Paso, Texas, called — why not? — Boots From the Ranch.
Among the more popular styles is the “Wendy,” a zippered short boot for women that Henry designed to fit under jeans. When Renée Zellweger stopped in, she opted for a pair of El Rancho roughouts, Back at the Ranch’s most popular boot. Other celebrity customers include Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. Visit the store or website to custom design your own pair: Prior commissions have included boots immortalizing a beloved golden retriever and a pair for a cowboy lawyer displaying a redheaded cowgirl wielding the scales of justice.
FYI: Back at the Ranch, 209 E. Marcy St., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 505.989.8110, www.backattheranch.com.
