When longtime Estes Valley horseman, musician, songwriter, guitar builder, author, filmmaker, and martial artist Mark Rashid talks about guitars, the stories spill out like melodies — layered, textured, and without a single short version.

“There are no short stories,” says Rashid, a quiet, understated man who grew up in Wisconsin and began working with horses when he was about 10. He has also played music for as long as he can remember.

By the time he was a young adult, Rashid was working as a musician, playing drums and guitar, and scraping by while trying to keep his instruments in good working order. One day, he brought his guitar into a repair shop for what he believed was a simple adjustment. The repair cost him $50 — an eye-watering sum at the time. When Rashid balked, the repairman shrugged and said, “If you don’t like it, do it yourself next time.”

So he did.

Rashid went home, checked out every guitar-repair book in the local library, bought old instruments from garage sales, tore them apart, rebuilt them, and kept going. Word spread, and soon local musicians were lining up at his house for repairs, because he was beating the cost of the local repair shop, whose owner called with an offer: “Do you want to buy my shop?” “I had taken all his business,” Rashid says with a grin.

For what was then a princely sum of $2,500, Rashid bought the store — lock, stock, and fretboard — and began repairing guitars, dulcimers, mandolins, and banjos.

By the mid-1980s, Rashid was ready for a new horizon. After a trip to Colorado with his brother, he inquired about a job as a wrangler at the YMCA of the Rockies. He packed his tools, sold the shop, and moved to Estes, thinking he had left the guitar world behind.

But music was never far behind. He kept picking, playing, and gigging with other musicians as a side hustle, while devoting himself to horses and becoming known as a local horse-whisperer.

Rashid conducted horsemanship clinics to help horse owners train and troubleshoot problems. He also became a third-degree black belt in the Japanese martial art of Yoshinkan aikido. The discipline emphasizes redirecting an opponent’s energy rather than confronting them with force.

Blending his background in horse training and aikido, Rashid developed a hybrid method of horsemanship training that blends Western and Eastern philosophies, which he calls aibado, a term that means “for the love of the horse.” Rashid conducts three-day retreats and provides instruction in aibado, which he teaches in his dojo, focusing on the development of internal and external softness, self-control, movement, balance, and breathing.

Rashad has also authored several books about horse training that address both his technical and philosophical approaches. He also wrote and produced a feature-length film based on his novel, “Out of the Wild.” The story follows the redemption of down-and-out cowboy Henry McBride, who drowns his grief over the tragic loss of his wife and son in whiskey until he finds new love and purpose on a dude ranch. The film is infused with beautiful guitar music that threads and resonates through the story. The movie is available on Amazon Prime and other streaming sites.

The COVID pandemic sparked a return to craft

For decades, Rashid devoted himself to horses, horsemanship clinics, performing music around the area, and Japanese martial arts. But in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, he rediscovered something sitting quietly in his garage—a trove of aged guitar wood, some of it more than 40 years old.

“I couldn’t go anywhere, and I had wood,” he says simply. So, he started building again.

One guitar became two. Then friends asked for instruments. Soon, Rashid found himself busy building custom guitars.

Each year over the past five years, Rasha has crafted a guitar to benefit a charity. He donates the instrument—hundreds of hours of labor and high-value materials—to support important causes.

He also collaborates with a private donor who, every year, pays for a guitar that is given to an individual who cannot afford a high-quality instrument—usually a struggling musician or someone facing extraordinary hardship.

“I remember not being able to afford a good guitar,” Rashid says. “This is one way I can give someone that chance.”

The 2025 American Legion Post #119 guitar: A masterpiece with meaning

This year, the American Legion Post #119 will receive one of Rashid’s handcrafted masterpiece guitars for a benefit raffle.

Valued at $4,800, including a high-end case and a top-tier LR Baggs pickup, the custom-built dreadnought acoustic guitar blends Rashid’s craftsmanship with deep symbolism in the selection of woods and other elements. Rashid, whose son served as an Army scout in Iraq, chose:

  • Carpathian spruce which represents the faraway places service members travel to
  • Bloodwood on the back and sides which symbolizes the sacrifices of military men and women
  • Mahogany on the neck reflecting the unbendable will of those who serve
  • Ebony on the fretboard and appointments, a nod to the darkest, most difficult times troops endure
  • Flame maple rosette representing the home front, and
  • Mother-of-pearl in a flowerpot motif inlay as a tribute to life, liberty, and hope

According to Rashid, one of the attributes of a well-made guitar is that you can actually hear your voice resonate in it when you hold it. This guitar checks that box.

“It’s an instrument you feel as much as you hear,” says former Legion Commander John Minier who helped shepherd the renovation of the local Legion into a community center over the past two years.

In an interview last year with the Estes Valley Voice, Minier explained that American Legion posts around the country are struggling due to aging membership, financial difficulties, and the challenge of attracting younger veterans. Citing a Pew research study, Minier told the EVV that two-thirds of veterans who have served in the Global War on Terror are not proud of their military service.

“They’re not the ones who say, ‘Wow, I’m a veteran.’ They’re like, ‘Okay, that’s behind me. I want to move on and forget that.’ How do we counter that?” said Minier, who said the revitalization of the Estes Park Legion hall is one way the community can support its veterans.

The Legion has remodeled its bathrooms, renovated its ballroom, rebranded its restaurant and bar as the Joseph J. Duncan Tavern, and expanded and paved its parking lot. Minier is excited about the future of the Legion, which he hopes will serve local veterans by serving as a community center for the Estes Valley for years to come. He is thrilled that Rashid’s guitar will be raffled to help support the Legion’s fundraising efforts.

One of the ways the Legion raised funds for its needed renovations was through the Listening at the Legion concert series. The Legion has transformed its former dance hall into a highly respected regional listening room, earning the respect of musicians not just in the state but across the country.

The raffle and Tranquil Valley Radio Hour Variety Show

Rashid’s guitar has attracted the attention of musicians who have entertained at the Legion over the past few months, and excitement has grown for the raffle which will be held Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. at the American Legion during the community variety show, the Tranquil Valley Radio Hour Variety Show.

Raffle tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Legion. The winner can opt to take the guitar or $4,000 in cash. If the winner decides to take the cash, the guitar will then be auctioned with a starting bid of $4,000. In addition to the grand prize, there are additional prizes of gift cards to the Tavern and to Listening at the Legion tickets.

 Show tickets for the Prairie Home Companion-style variety show are $25 each. are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

The show will feature touring singer-songwriter Martin Gilmore, local favorites Brad Fitch and Mark Rashid, Random and True, the Kings of Swing, Share the Road, “and a host of folks from around town you’ll swear you’ve seen somewhere – possibly at the post office,” according to showrunner Nelson Burke.

What’s next: A possible solo show

The Legion is also in talks with Rashid to host a solo “Listening Room” performance, celebrating his songwriting, his stories, and—of course—his guitars. A proposed title? “No Short Stories: An Evening With Mark Rashid.” A fitting name for a man whose life has been shaped by sound, craft, and community.