Jane and Randy Smith, currently living and working in Houston, started looking for a home away from home many years ago when their kids enrolled in Texas State.  They wanted to be able to visit on weekends and also give their kids a place to feel at home while they were in college.  Logically they settled on San Marcos.  However, many months later they discovered Wimberley while driving over Fulton Ranch Road into the Blanco River Valley. They were hooked.

Randy started checking Google maps for the highest elevation, while Jane leisurely drifted down back country roads that beckoned with promise as they dipped and curled through the live oak and cedar groves edged with aged stone fences and dotted with green pastures.  Four years ago her meanderings paid off and she discovered a "For Sale" sign on a property that would eventually become Bridle Ridge Ranch.

Appropriately named, this is their uniquely styled horse-country.  From the large rustic two dimensional horses attached to the fence as you enter the property, to the three dimensional life sized bronze stallion that greets you when approaching the house, to the two live horses that vocally say hello to visitors, to all of the statuary and paintings within the home. One of their guests took the time to count the number of horses seen within and without the home and came up with the number 132. Randy decided to take the horse count himself and says, "I think it is more like 134," he adds, "...and growing."

Outside you are greeted by an extensive covered porch that wraps around three sides of the large ranch style house. It is dotted with comfortable chairs and numerous tables as well as a rustic swing, one like grandma would be proud to own. "There is always a breeze here," says Jane. "It’s wonderful to sit and swing."

Being the highest point in Wimberley with an unobstructed panoramic view on a clear day you really can see forever.  Jane speaks to the beauty of the vista saying, "My favorite place to be on New Year’s Eve is in the hot tub with a glass of champagne, looking at the stars blanketing the sky, and the fireworks dotting the countryside from all the little towns that circle Wimberley."

Inside there are enough bedrooms to sleep a very large family during holiday outings, and a generously proportioned master suite available for the parent-owners to escape to when all the celebrations get just a little too hectic. The great room, where all the festivities are taking place, is truly great and encompasses the entire width of the house. There are two seating areas: one for lounging and watching TV, another for fireside conversation.  You will also find an impressive dining area and a kitchen large enough for the entire family to pitch in and help prepare that Thanksgiving feast. The expansive space is decorated in elegant dark leather, rich woods, and accented by upholstered pieces that whisper the colors of autumn.

Jane and Randy are truly hooked on Wimberley, and the peace, solitude, and beauty of the hills that surround them. They look forward to the day retirement becomes a reality, and any given Sunday will find them stalling, not wanting to return to the hustle and bustle of the city, and sitting on the porch, looking at the sky, and asking, "Do we really have to leave?"

Luckily, most of us don’t have to leave, and will be here to experience and enjoy their world as well as many others during the 2012 Annual Tour of Homes presented by the Wimberley Civic Club on November 9 & 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

» Click here to visit the Wimberley Community Civic Club