After teaching skiing at Winter Park/Mary Jane for a season, in the spring of 1978 Carlotta and John moved to Telluride because they heard the skiing was steep and deep. Prior to passing the Colorado Bar exam in the spring of 1979 John worked as a laborer, short-order cook, bartender and waiter; you have to start somewhere and the experience helps him keep things in perspective. In May 1979 Carlotta carved a sign for John out of a 2”x 12” piece of pine wood, “John J. Horn, Attorney At Law”, he nailed it to the front of their home on main street and his professional career was launched. Guided by a two-part business philosophy, (1) provide the best legal representation possible and (2) always do what you promise, in less than two months John had more business than he could handle, he had to turn business away to ensure he kept his commitment to his clients. In the fall of 1980 while maintaining his private practice, John became the County Attorney for San Miguel County. In his capacity as County Attorney, John became was able to develop an expertise in planning, zoning and land use law unmatched in the region.
 In late 1982 John was asked to join the Telluride Ski Company as general counsel to assist in the development of the Mountain Village. Over the next thirteen years John was intimately involved in the conceptualization, development, marketing and sale of the Mountain Village, Raspberry Patch and Elk Run as well as the completion of the final phases of the Ski Ranches and Backman Village. On Thanksgiving Day 1986, John and Carlotta became the first residents of the Mountain Village when they moved into the home they continue to live in today, it was pretty quiet back then, not another light was visible in the night sky. Also during the 1980’s in his role as either owner/developer or developers’ attorney John was involved in the development, construction, marketing and sale of over 175 condominiums in the Town of Telluride
Recognizing John’s extensive development experience and knowledge of planning and zoning law, in late 1989 Albert Aldasoro approached John about developing a portion of his ranch. Along with a partner, John developed what is known today as the magnificent 1550 acre Aldasoro Ranch. As developer of the Aldasoro Ranch, John managed every aspect of the development from personally laying out every one of the 166 lots and building sites to developing the marketing and sales program, infrastructure construction, planning and zoning approvals, Forest Service exchanges, HOA formation and operation, creating the design regulations and design review board, and the list goes on and on.
In 1995, after thirteen years with the ski company and having completed his development work at the Aldasoro Ranch, John obtained his real estate brokers license. A year or so later John was contacted by Steve Cram, managing partner of St. Sophia Partners, LLLP, to manage the development of The Ridge, the residential single family home and condominium development located adjacent to the upper terminal of the Telluride gondola. Once again, John has managed every aspect of development for The Ridge from personally laying out every building site to developing the marketing and sales program, infrastructure construction, planning and zoning approvals, HOA formation and operation, and the list goes on and on. During this same period, John managed the foreclosure workout of the twenty-five unit North Star condominium project for the First National Bank of Farmington, NM and developed forty four deed restricted single family homesites in the Spring Creek, Timberview and Boulders developments located in the Mountain Village. In these developments John once again personally laid out every building site, developed the marketing and sales program . . . well you probably get the drill by this time.
Recognizing a need and desire to give back to the community that he cherishes so much, John has been actively involved in many aspects of the Telluride community. The list of community involvement includes such things as twenty two years on the Telluride Volunteer Fire Department, member of the boards of directors of the Telluride Housing Authority, Mountain Village Metropolitan District, Ahh Ha School, Aldasoro Ranch Design Review Board and Marketing Telluride Inc., boys baseball coach and girls soccer coach (9 seasons). Additionally, through his development involvement John has served on the boards of directors of over a dozen homeowner associations.
As noted earlier, John moved to Telluride because he heard it was steep and deep, and his passion for skiing has not waned over the past 29 seasons as he still skis over 100 days a year. John’s other favorite activities include hiking with Carlotta and their dog Shadow, mountain biking, fly fishing, reading, golfing and cruising around on the Honda XR250 motorcycle he has owned since 1981.
Finally, and most importantly, John is blessed to be married to Carlotta, the love of his life and best friend, and proud to be the father of their two daughters, Emily and Allison, who go to school at Telluride High School. |
