Our Story
Fun fact: Free Rein Ranch didn’t actually begin as a cattle operation.
In early 2023, Nick, the owner, was eager to rekindle his love of horseback riding—something he hadn’t done since childhood. He purchased Coyote, an eight-year-old buckskin, from a small equestrian farm in New Hampshire and began making the hour-long drive north from his Massachusetts home each week to train in Western and liberty horsemanship with Libbie Zingales.
At the same time, his young daughter was quickly advancing in her own riding, and Nick knew another horse was likely in their future. As his investment in horses and the lifestyle surrounding them grew, he formally established Free Rein Ranch to manage and protect those assets.
The name Free Rein Ranch reflects two values our family holds close and that continue to shape what we do.
First, it reflects our belief in American liberty—the freedom to steward our land, livestock, and family life with responsibility and integrity.
Second, it speaks to the principles of liberty-based horsemanship, where trust, communication, and partnership allow animals to respond willingly rather than through force.
But where do the cows come into play?
In late 2023, Nick met Gus Franchi, owner of Gus’s Farm in Mason, New Hampshire, after purchasing a pig for processing. Gus’s approach to pasture-raised, regenerative farming aligned naturally with the values behind Free Rein Ranch, and the two hit it off immediately.
Always the entrepreneur, Nick saw an opportunity to expand FRR’s vision beyond horses. He and Gus joined forces, creating a partnership that would ultimately broaden the ranch into heritage cattle breeding.
Today, Gus and Gus’s Farm lead the day-to-day cattle operations, bringing years of knowledge and hands-on experience to the land and livestock. Nick and Free Rein Ranch support the operation primarily through strategic investment and long-term vision—though Nick is never one to pass up the chance to work alongside Gus in the pastures.
While cattle have become the face of Free Rein Ranch, horses remain an important part of our story. Libbie joined the FRR team in 2025, bringing her exceptional horsemanship and management skills to both the training of our horses and the management of our cattle herd. In many ways, her role connects where Free Rein Ranch began with what it has become today.
At its core, Free Rein Ranch is about more than breeding and raising livestock. We believe in living freely, with dedication to our land, our animals, our families, and the work that matters most to us.