Robert Redford’s “Horse Whisperer” Utah Ranch Lists for $4.9 Million

Esquire calls Robert Redford the original artist-activist-maverick. For good reason. He starred in some of the Seventies’ most iconic films—The Sting, The Way We Were, All the President’s Men—and godfathered independent cinema with the creation of Sundance. And that’s not to mention his work as a lifelong conservationist, looking to nature for inspiration to make the world a better place.

A decade before he became an A-lister, Redford started buying up land in Utah. Sixty years ago, he purchased two acres in Provo Canyon for an unprecedented $500. Today, the legendary actor has accumulated about 1,800 acres in the Sundance area—30 of which recently hit the market for $4.9 million.

Located about 16 miles north of Sundance, the Horse Whisper Ranch is a play on the title of the movie, The Horse Whisperer In the film, based on the 1995 novel by Nicholas Evans, a high-powered NYC editor (Kristin Scott Thomas) hires Redford to nurse her injured daughter (Scarlett Johansson) and her horse back to health after a tragic accident.

(Writer’s note: If you haven’t seen this film, check it out on Amazon. It’s Redford in his element.)

“Mr. Redford has found his own visually eloquent way to turn the potboiler into a panorama, with a deep-seated love for the Montana landscape against which his rapturously beautiful film unfolds,” according to the New York Times 1998 review.)

But back to real estate. Located about 16 miles north of Sundance, the working ranch sports seven structures, including a modest 1,460-square-foot two bedroom, two bath farmhouse. There’s also a 2,000-square-foot wood shop, 3,200-square-foot garden hobby house, boat garage, hay barn, covered horse stalls, training ring, and pastures.

The main attraction—other than celebrity allure—is the setting. Located at the northern edge of Deer Creek Reservoir and the Provo River, the ranch overlooks Mount Timpanogos.

The actor originally bought the ranch in 1996 as a place for his horses to exercise during the winter.

“Horse Whisper Ranch is not just a return to a simpler time or a sanctuary for your favorite equines,” according to the Luxury Portfolio International listing. “It is the continuation of a legacy and a stewardship enhanced by one of the most acclaimed film artists and noted environmentalists of our time. Horse Whisper Ranch represents your return to a tranquil life, a life filled with beautiful moments and blessed by all the growing things.”

You had us at tranquil. What could be better in a post-COVID world?

“For the last 25 years, my family and I have loved and embraced this ranch as a base for our horse program, running clinics and serving as a home for our many beloved horses,” says Redford, who also owns property in California and New Mexico. “Looking ahead, we want to focus on expanding the facilities at our ranch located at Sundance.”

Robert Redford: Lightening Round

Redford bought the first parcels of land that became Sundance Mountain Resort in the 1960s. In addition to founding the Sundance Film Festival, he founded the Sundance Institute, an arts nonprofit and a mail-order catalog.

Typical of Redford, Sundance is actually a kind of “anti-resort.” Of the 5,000 or so acres, most have been put into conservation, and only 450 are skiable.

Redford, now 84, will retain his main home in Sundance, according to Jaisa Bishop of Windermere Real Estate/Luxury Portfolio, who shares the listing with Compass’ Steve Mavromihalis.