Raven Rock Ranch NEWS As I scanned the October photos, I felt that October was so long ago and far away. Early in the month, fly masks and sunscreen ruled the days. Later on, the change was significant- deep, bunny-soft coats on all of our horses and raincoats on all of us. I wistfully look at the sunscreen on Justin’s desk as I pass it by. We won’t need that for a while… ravenrockranch.org/monthly%20news%20letter.html Eastside Academy came by again for another work day in early October. Forty kids and a handful of leaders from the Bellevue campus got so much done that day! Weeding, gravel, bark, fence washing, just to name a few projects that were knocked out. These students are ALL great workers! We just love having them out to the ranch. Thank you Eastside Academy! Just before our annual dinner, which took place on October 10, Rachel got stuck on a gate closure. She sliced her shoulder open. It took over 90 minutes to sew her back together- thank heaven for Dr. Dana! She was here in 45 minutes after I called her. I believe Rachel had only done it minutes before I found her. That facilitated her truly miraculous healing. Less than one month later, she is back in the program. I am not sure how many stitches she had, but I would say it was at least 50, but probably more. Some of her kids had a “sub” for the month- Frieda. She absolutely enjoyed sharing some of Rachel’s kids. She soaked in all of the attention and became a favorite:). Some of Rachel’s kids just didn’t want a “sub” for those weeks. They came out and brushed her in her stall, for she couldn’t walk around too much lest she disturb the healing. Those kids just cared for her without complaining, giving her the best they had. Some of the kids helped me wash and flush the wound. We have an equine massage therapist coming to help us with the scar tissue. We will all help- big hands and small hands, too. The dinner featured Leigh Shambo, a dear friend and my mentor in the Equine Facilitated Therapy field. She developed the program we use here at RRR, the “Heal” model. It was wonderful to hear her explain it in detail with stories of success for her clients. Though we had fewer people this year, I believe the people attending were people who really care about the miracles that happen here at the ranch. The attendees were treated to two other moving stories- that of Lys and Madison who both have experienced some miracles of their own here at the ranch. We netted about the same in dollars and cents as we had last year (all of our finances are public record and available on Guidestar). But a very important part of our dinner is to raise awareness of who we are and what we do. The word is getting out! A deep, heart-felt thanks goes out to our corporate sponsors and to all of you who attended and gave so generously to our organization. A special thanks to Ted Robinson, our emcee who did a fabulous job! And a special thanks to Bonnie DeCaro-Monahan who coordinated our event! Great job! Our little darling Gem has found herself a new friend. Gem is our 47 year old who is determined and tenacious. She selected a little girl who has been coming out for a year to the ranch. We’ll call her “Didi.” Didi has been working with Rusty, one of our best teachers of boundaries and self-determination. That is exactly what Didi needs the most. People seem to be able to bully her, running right over her as she makes hardly a sound in protest. Julie (Didi’s instructor) sensed one day that Didi might want to have a change of horse-something we rarely do here at RRR. Didi pondered carefully and chose Gem. But Gem chose her long before that day. She told Julie the story of how earlier this summer, Gem walked, well maybe marched over to her Dad’s car, reached her head inside of the window and slobbered a bit on him. This was pretty hilarious for Didi, but I believe Gem was telling Didi, in the best way she could, that she wanted to be with her. Gem knows Didi’s Mom’s car as well as her Dad’s car- she livens up and comes to the fence whenever they arrive. It wasn’t until this month, that Didi felt the emotional pull. Gem was patiently waiting for “her” girl to respond to her. Didi finally did. Gem gave Didi the same kinds of boundary challenges that Rusty did, but in a way that helped Didi feel safer. Gem comes alive when Didi pulls up every Saturday. I know it is their favorite day of the week. After each session, just before her parent called her to get into the car to go home, Didi took an intimate moment to savor the time spent with a new “old friend”. Gem meets Didi at the fence to stand beside her, as if to wordlessly compare the deep joy of a new friendship that feels comforting and safe. There is something so tender and sweet in these few minutes of shared space, shared healing. Didi has given Gem a lifeline, a purpose, and Gem has made Didi feel valued and important. These are the things that help us all to thrive. Didi’s Mom reports a more confident and secure daughter. For Halloween, they dressed up as cowgirls: The connection here is profound. They are truly giving each other a quality of life that gives me life to witness. I have been in Didi’s “boots.” Halloween brought us so much fun! Many of the kids and horses dressed up- I won’t have enough space to show them all, but they were sure cute! We had a “zorse” and a “zuman” A bandit Reo tries on the zebra costume Crazy bling Everyone had a great time making up costumes for their horses- and the horses loved it too! Smiles all around:) Raven Rock’s horse counselors are special, indeed. It is so important to feel valued and loved, and the kids and horses give that precious gift to each other. I never have “burned out” horses at RRR. These horses get life from their work here. I can tell many stories of horses who come here expecting a fight, and find only love. I can tell stories of kids who come feeling like no one will really care, and find that everyone really does care. It all begins with the horses- that nuzzle, whinny or just seeing them run up to the fence when their child arrives gives a feeling that is indescribable. It fills up the heart with peace and joy. These horses are truly a blessing to us all. The cover for the arena is coming along. As you may know, we have collected all of the money needed to get ‘er done. The county is the hold up, as we are now busy checking boxes on their pre-application list. So many boxes have been checked, so many left to go! But we knew we couldn’t build until drier weather, so our builder is just plugging along. We should have the permit in time for building in 2015. COMING EVENTS: •- Fundraising Ride (April, 2015) •- Friend Raisers (May, 2015) •- Baptism (August, 2015) •- Annual Dinner (October 3, 2015 featuring KIM MEEDER) Sincere gratitude to all of you who make this work possible! Know that all of you are in my prayers! Sandy
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 03:55:32 +0000
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