NANCY BURCH ARRIVED in northern New Mexico almost 50 years ago, falling in love with the wide-open spaces, great skiing, and miles of hiking and riding trails. An avid horsewoman since her childhood, she was Angel Fire Resort’s first summer recreation director before opening Roadrunner Tours in 1985. Now in her 70s and showing no signs of slowing down, Burch offers horseback lessons, trail rides, and carriage and sleigh rides from her stables.

People love winter horse rides because it’s different. It’s so quiet out there in the snow—you’ve never felt a silence as peaceful as you do in winter, because the snow absorbs the sound. If you stop, just sit there, wait and listen, you’ll experience the phenomenon of the peaceful forest under a blanket of snow. It gives a whole different feeling than in the summer, when there’s more activity and people and animals around. Many people have never experienced that kind of peace.

I enjoy meeting different people of all ages. They come to Angel Fire with real enthusiasm and excitement because there are so many things to do here. I’m on the third generation of visitors—the grandparents back when, then their kids, and now the kids are having kids. I mean, goodness’ sake!

Memorial Day weekend, we’ll have our second Professional Bull Riders event here in our arena. Last year, we had close to 2,000 people in two days. That’s simply fantastic for a little town like this.

For riding, I love all the trails in Angel Fire, but Elliot Barker No. 1 is my favorite. It’s a great hiking, biking, and riding trail because it’s not as steep and rocky as many trails in the area. It’s gradual and easygoing, with nature all around you. Up higher, you can see the whole Moreno Valley, almost to Colorado. It brings confidence }and joy.

Sometimes I say, “I don’t really go on vacation, because I’m already living on vacation.” I get to be with my horses every day.