Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful. – Hazrat Inayat Khan
When real estate agent Colt Fairley first met Rosie Campanoli, he was aware he was encountering a unique woman. “She’s a ball of energy with a massive heart for horses and their people,” says Fairley. “At 76-years-young she can outwork anyone half her age.”
“The day Rosie decided to list her ranch she took me on a hike. She wanted to show me the beginning of all the horse trails on her hill. I thought it was going to be easy, but the first mile was straight uphill. She out-hiked me and I had to tell her to slow down! Rosie is 76 years old and hikes these trails regularly. If we ran a 100-meter race right now she’d leave me in the dust, cowboy boots and all. She’s a no BS kind of lady and tells it like it is—good, bad and ugly.”
Rosie Campanoli and her late husband, Donnie, developed the 52-acre RDC Ranch in Orting, Washington over many years. Together they built the ranch payday to payday, pole by pole. Donnie died in 1984 in a crane accident at only 43 years old.
“Donnie loved it,” Rosie says. “It was his labor of love. He would come home after work and just start swinging that hammer. It was a process.”
Rosie has been maintaining the ranch for over 50 years—33 years by herself with a bit of help “here and there” and now she’s ready to retire and pass the torch to someone else. Hopefully, the ranch can continue housing horses and welcoming people who want to enjoy their horses in this beautiful setting. The ranch sits along the Carbon River and includes rolling hills and level fields. There are trails along the river, and it has its own spring and a freshwater pond, perfect for swimming.
The ranch has over 50 stalls, 22 paddocks, washrooms, bathrooms, grooming bays, hay barns, and 13 pastures. 42 acres are flat. You can spend all day trail riding. The ranch has a main home as well as two additional living quarters and a four-car garage. There’s an indoor arena plus two outdoor arenas.
Rosie still longs to ride and hopes to find more time for it after retirement. “I love riding my ponies, they are my life. I have three dressage horses; they are my babies. I have a Hanoverian, Westphalian, and a little Dutch horse. I did dressage professionally for many years. I ended up taking home the bronze medal one year. It truly was an amazing accomplishment for me. Now I want to show everyone that no matter what age you are—75, 80, 100, who cares, you can still do it!”
“RDC Ranch is truly magical,” says Fairley. “You really have to see it in person to get the full understanding of what it has to offer. This place has it all and is a dream come true for anyone seeking an adventurous life and business working with horses. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime paradise.”
To schedule a viewing or learn more, contact Colt Fairley of Washington’s Real Estate Team at 253-861-3913 or visit www.searchwahomes.com and rdcranch.com.
Published in the September 2020 Issue:
Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor.
Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United.
Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.
