2012 Spring Issue - Wings of Hope Ranch

www.wingsofhoperanch.org
Spring 2012
Herd the News?
...from Wings of Hope Ranch
Spring 2012
A BEAUTIFUL MORNING
By Diane Pace
Morning
(1978—2012)
RANCH WISDOM
"Just like when a horse
bucks and the balance of
the rider gets disturbed,
when our lives seem like
they are spinning out of
control, we need to let
God be our big, comfortable western saddle. We
need to grab onto the
horn when a horse bucks
and we also need to grab
onto God when our lives
aren't balanced."
Morning was our first
horse rescue. She arrived
at the ranch in October
2006 after one of our founders, Cindy Colon, felt a
true calling to rescue her.
When Cindy arrived to
pick her up, Morning almost ran into the trailer.
Morning was always ready
and willing to be tacked up
and greet the kids. Her fast
pace around the ring gave
her a super-model ―sashay‖
look, and provided a real
workout for her leader.
She also loved to be
groomed—maybe in part to
her allergies that made her
itchy in the summer. If
you drove by the barn in
~ Rebekah Barker
the summer, you might
have seen Morning in full
CONTACT US:
fly sheet apparel. She did804-883-8903 x 2
n‘t mind a bit when we had
Wingsofhoperanch@aol.com
to 'dress' her each day.
Wingsofhoperanch.org
Office Address:
14266 Three Oaks Lane,
Montpelier VA 23192
Ranch Address:
14505 West Patrick Henry
Rd, Montpelier, VA 23192
NOTE: Our business
address, and ranch location
are different places!
For the last seven days of
Morning‘s life, she had
stopped eating, even her
favorite alfalfa cubes.
Then we recognized there
was no poop in her stall.
Our vet, Dr. Carmen, was
tubing her with no significant results, so faithful Calvin trailered Morning on
that last snowy Monday in
early March to another vet.
Upon his examination, he
found a soccer-sized tumor
near her intestine. At her
senior age of at least 33,
we all knew that her time
had come.
Morning was laid to rest on
March 6th. There was still
a little snow on the ground
from the day before. We all
knew our time with her
was limited due to her age
yet it made it no easier to
say goodbye. While I was
not able to attend her burial
because I was too sad, I am
comforted knowing that
Morning was surrounded
by many loved ones
(Calvin, Betty, Alison,
Jane, Dr. Carmen, and Michelle) and that she went
peacefully. Calvin said a
sweet prayer and she was
laid to rest on the Ranch
grounds.
I feel so blessed to have
some truly incredible
memories of Morning. She
was an awesome horse and
so much fun to ride with
the smoothest gait. My
fondest memory of her is a
trail ride Cindy and I took
a few years ago at Lake
Cumberland Park. I don't
think I have ever felt like
such a 'horse-girl'. I'm not
the most experienced rider
but Morning sure let me
feel like I knew what I was
doing.
The night of her burial
when I brought the horses
in, it was strange not to
have Morning there at the
fence waiting to come in.
As I looked around at the
ranch grounds, there was a
beautiful full moon over
the place where she was
laid to rest. I sure will miss
our girl.
“Tho I walk through the
valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil,
for You are with me, your
rod and Your staff they
comfort me.” Ps 23:4
Page 2
He r d t he Ne w s?
2012
EVENTS
May 5
9:00—12:00
May Hay Day
HORSE UPDATE— would you consider sponsoring one of us?
ANGEL
May 19
9:00—4:00
Trail Ride
Mill Stone Farm
New Kent County
May 31
6:30-8:30
July 9-13
August 6-10
9:00—12:30 daily
Summer Camp (new)
September 10—Nov 1
Fall Session
Fall 2012 (date TBD)
Wings of Hope Ranch Hoe
Down Day and
Silent Auction
December 8
Deck the Stalls
Holiday Open House
DAISY
JEWEL
The LEADER of the pack.
One glimpse of Daisy interacting with her buddies, it is
apparent that she has a streak
of Appy in her. Strong-willed
and very funny, she loves
carrots (well … she loves any
food) and attention. What is
it about these Appaloosa
mares? Gotta love ‗em.
Public Open Barn and Hay Drive
End of Season Party
All ranchers, volunteers
and families welcome to
celebrate at the Ranch
Spring 2012
DAISY
Angel is probably our most
reliable pony in the herd,
and oh how sweet she is.
Very mellow, not wanting to
participate in the drama that
the other mares want to stir
up sometimes. Always patiently waits for the other
girls to make it to their stalls
CINNAMON
before making her grand
How we love our stubborn
entrance.
Cinnamon, also a true Appy
mare personality! Cinnamon
BLOSSOM
has had a lot of behavior
Blossom is, well,
training this winter to help her
―blossoming‖. At 10 hands,
stubbornness .. and her desire
she stands shoulders above
to WHOA more than to go.
her barn mates in the hearts of She wants to test her rider in
many of our ranchers. When the beginning, but when she
she strains to peer over her
realizes that she isn‘t going to
stall, one can‘t help but fall in get away with anything, she
love. Blossom is now easily
starts listening . OH and she
tacked, but she is not really
loves to clown around too.
Her kind eye is a giveaway to
this gentle gal‘s personality.
Jewel is the youngest and
newest member of our herd,
and is making true progress in
her training thanks to dedicated volunteers in the round
pen. Always curious, always
eager to learn, always sweet.
Though she has some more
work be done, she has been
saddled and ridden, and we
are so excited about her future
job at the Ranch.
HOW YOU CAN HELP



For details on all of our activities, visit our website,


wingsofhoperanch.org
And click on EVENTS.

wild about having the saddle
on her back. Regular round
pen work and holding a couple of riders on her back are
GREAT strides for Blossom!
PRAY for the Ranch and
for us to honor God
DONATE a Working
Mower (push or riding)
SPONSOR a Horse (see
website for details)
LIKE us on Facebook
DONATE an item for our
Fall Silent Auction
ATTEND one of our
events in 2012
** MAKE A
**
DONATION
Cinnamon
fast and easy on our website
www.wingsofhoperanch.org
He r d t he Ne w s?
Spring 2012
YOUTH
YOUTH LEADERS
LEADERS IGNITED
IGNITED
Page 3
by
by Alison
Alison Boyd
Boyd
What started as a spark of an idea in late 2010 has grown into a burning blaze of genius! Perplexed with the challenge of trying to
create space for new children to attend our ranch program, we tossed around the idea of creating a new ―Youth Leader‖ position for
13 – 18 year olds. The idea was to open this opportunity for existing youth participating in the program as well as teens in the area
that had expressed desire to get involved at the Ranch .
This mission of the ―Youth Leader‖ was to become an assistant to the adult leader, then a role model and mentor for the younger
child. Like a fuse, the idea grew and God provided exactly what and who we needed to move this idea to reality.
When proposed to our existing students, a handful of them were excited to participate. Coupled with another group of teens from the
community, our maiden group of ―Wings of Hope Ranch Youth Leaders‖ was established. Being the militant, safety minded person
on the board, I was worried that having too many youth on the site at one time might become overwhelming. Of course, Jesus had a
plan for us, and like the titanic, I could only see the tip of the iceberg. ―Fear Not‖ He says!
God has blessed us with exactly the right young people to accomplish our mission. Many began by participating in the Spring and
Fall 2011 sessions as youth leaders, then others participated in the summer and winter ―off season‖ training sessions working in different ratios (1 Adult :4 or 5 youth leaders) with the horses. Each Youth Leader chose a horse to become an ―expert‖ with in the
round pen, tacking, leading and riding until each felt comfortable enough to safely work with a child. In addition, Calvin Stanley
and Jeff Cantrell taught all of us round penning skills, ―college level leading‖, and many more training techniques. We have always
wanted to learn how to ―break‖ a green horse, and this winter we made great strides in learning these skills. These brave youth leaders were right alongside us in the process, eager to learn and help out.. They are a true blessing to Wings of Hope Ranch. .
Because many of the older Youth Leaders have now graduated to adult privileges this Spring., more spots for new children were
opened up. Currently, we have a total of 50 people attending or working at the ranch EVERY WEEK, including 20 adult leaders, 7
youth leaders and 23 child ranchers, which equates to 1000 visits for the year! This is the largest group we have ever had participating in the ranch program at one time, and the most opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in our history. We appreciate all of your support as we launch this new program. Thank you for making this all possible through your generous donations that
keep the ranch program going, and free to everyone involved. TO DONATE EASILY, visit www.wingsofhoperanch.org.
AROUND THE RANCH
INAUGURAL YOUTH LEADERS
Brenna
Rachel S
Kimberly
Lily
Emma
Thad
Rachel B
Rachel W
Rebekah
Meghan Fe
Hailey
Selena
Meghan Fo
Alexis
Sydney
Bobby
THANK YOU FOR BRAVELY STEPPING OUT IN SERVICE
Life in a wheel chair at age 12 can
be complicated. So can a severely
injured leg and missing time at
Wings of Hope. But last week, Will
returned to the Ranch with his
usual smile and good humor, awaiting his time with a horse. Little did
we know that his biggest fan would
be Blossom! Usually timid around
new things, Blossom curiously
checked out Will’s “contraption”,
then walked right up and rested her
nose on his shoulder and began to
nibble at his ear. True friends meet
each other right where they are.
CONGRATULATIONS. Rancher Lydia, age 6,
was recently accepted into the Virginia School
for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton. We will miss
your infectious smile, Lydia!
Business Office: 14266 Three Oaks Lane
Montpelier, VA 23192
Phone: 804-883-8903 x 2
Fax: 804-883-7708
E-mail: wingsofhoperanch@aol.com
Wingsofhoperanch.org
Youth
Global
s
Service
Day
BETA
Club
does t
he
Dirty
Work
SPECIAL THANKS
CALVIN STANLEY—Thank you,
Calvin, for being available with
your truck and trailer on a moment’s notice. You picked up our
new round pen, you have improved the drainage around the
barn, you have helped train the
horses (and us), you transported
Morning to and from the vet,
and you dug Morning’s burial
spot.
CORY FITCHETT—Thanks, Cory, for
JEFFREY CANTRELL—Thank you Jeff
tripling up on your volunteer hours last for the generous use of your round pen
season, and for completely rewiring the and for sharing your training expertise.
barn last fall.
LMS BETA CLUB—Thanks for your hard
BETTY KNIESCHE AND IRV—Thank
work at the Ranch on March 31.
you Betty for your graciousness in hostALEXANDRA BALLARD—Thank you
ing Wings of Hope Ranch. Also, thank
Alexandra for all your dedicated work
you Irv for helping Betty recently to
during your externship with Wings of
clean up the space for us to use as an
Hope Ranch this winter.
office and have access to the bathroom.
CHARLIE BOYD—Thanks Charlie
for supporting Wings of Hope in
all aspects. Thanks especially for
lending us the use of your backhoe to accomplish all the large
jobs around the Ranch.
JUD HATZ AND CLAY NEAL—Thanks
for your hard work at the Ranch this
winter.
HAILEY MCGRAIN AND LILY ELIAS –
Thanks for working our booth at Global
Youth Services Day in March.
ALL FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE
RANCH —Thank you to all the families
who bring your children to the Ranch, to
all of our faithful volunteers, and to our
SUPPORTERS … YOU are the reason
we are able to live out God’s mission to
serve kids and horses in need.