Izzy, a 7-year-old girl, hopped onto a horse at Carousel Ranch. She sprawled her arms out, posed and then flipped upside down on the horse, with the help of her teacher. The crowd went wild.
Carousel Ranch hosted its 28th annual “Heart of the West” fundraiser event on Saturday evening, which featured a dinner, silent auctions and demonstrations of some of the equine therapy they do with special needs children, like Izzy.
Becky Graham, director of Carousel Ranch, started the program in 1997 with Denise Redmond, co-founder and executive director emeritus, whom she worked with at a different therapeutic program.
Graham said that after they both left that program for different reasons, they missed doing the work.
They initially started Carousel Ranch as a hobby, and the program has since grown bigger than what they originally planned for, Graham said.
“Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined this,” Graham said. “When you come to Heart of the West and you see this, it’s crazy. The fact that we have such an amazing property that we can do this [event] on, and that this event allows our program to serve so many children is very surreal.”
Graham also said that while her love of horses may have sparked the interest in starting Carousel Ranch, it is her and Redmond’s passion to help kids that drives them forward.
“I’m very passionate about the horses, but with my own experiences with the horses, I know the magic that they can provide people,” Graham said. “It is truly these kids that others may not see what they’re capable of, but they just rise to the occasion and prove that they can do so much more. We see it every single day and we’re very blessed to be able to see that.”
Taylor Adachi, executive director of Carousel Ranch, started with the program as a volunteer through an internship. She was hired as executive director about two years ago, she said, and she’s been grateful for the opportunity.
“It’s an honor that I get to be an executive director and be here tonight with this community and have them support the ranch,” Adachi said. “For them to believe in our mission and to partner with us means the world to our organization.”
Adachi said that while she’s been working with the organization for a while, she still gets emotional thinking about how the program has been benefiting the children.
“I get to see [the demonstrations] every day, but I still get choked up when I get to see our students thriving,” Adachi said. “That’s really all we’re trying to do, is be here for our students and make sure they’re successful, whatever that looks like for each individual.”
More information about Carousel Ranch and its programs can be found at www.carouselranch.org.
