My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been volunteering at Challenge Ranch for about 9 years. Over that time, the program has grown some, but has a nice balance between serving a large number of kids, but not continuing to get too big. I have stuck with Challenge Ranch because I have seen the change it can make in a child's life. I have seen children so shy, they would not make eye contact or utter a single word on their first day blossom into outgoing teenagers. Challenge Ranch isn't just about teaching horseback riding, it's about teaching life skills such as eye contact when communicating, thinking about how one's actions affect others, and other common courtesies that many of the participating children might not be exposed to based on their current living situation. Equine Assisted Learning (using the horses to teach) sessions are put together on an impromptu basis when a program participant is showing behavior that might not be appropriate, it is one thing to tell a child something is wrong verses showing them or letting them figure it out through the horses. Now, based on what I have said about the ranch, don't get the impression that Challenge Ranch doesn't teach kids to ride horses, because with all the life skills they are learning, kids actually learn to ride at Challenge Ranch. Challenge Ranch kids participate in games shows, hunter/jumper shows, trail trials, and 25 and 50 mile endurance rides.