Four-year-old Emilia Olmos rode her horse around the performance area Saturday evening at Carousel Ranch, located on Sierra Highway between Santa Clarita and Agua Dulce. As she passed a crowd of more than 500 people, she let go of the saddle horn and raised her arms, earning a round of applause.
During Carousel Ranch’s 29th annual “Heart of the West” western-themed fundraising event, three riders from the equestrian therapy ranch for children and young adults with special needs showed off their skills. The sold-out dinner, auction and riding demonstration raised funds to support the ranch and its programs.
According to Denise Redmond, one of the founders of Carousel Ranch, the annual “Heart of the West” event, which is the nonprofit organization’s largest fundraiser of the year, also gets bigger every time they do it.
“This night is really important to us,” Redmond said during an interview at the event, “not only for the money that it raises, but also for the new people we meet, who then have appreciation for what Carousel Ranch does. And maybe they want to get involved, maybe they want to participate, maybe they want to donate.”
Carousel Ranch serves hundreds of children and young adults with special needs through individualized equestrian therapy and vocational training programs that promote physical, emotional and job-readiness development. According to its website, the ranch strives to create an atmosphere in which every student can succeed.
Redmond said that in addition to those doing riding demonstrations, ready-to-work kids in the program were also helping with the auction, working the general store, greeting guests and more.
Wearing a cowboy hat and jeans, and carrying a lasso, Genevieve Gonzales was one of the greeters. She was with her mom, Alexandra Gonzales, at the front of the ranch saying hello to guests as they arrived. Genevieve Gonzales, 42, has been riding horses at Carousel Ranch since she was 5 years old. She didn’t take part in the riding demonstration on Saturday.
“Tonight is about the younger kids,” her mom said. “Those are the kids that you’re going to see the most strides in as far as how this program is able to reach those who might seem unreachable for a number of reasons.”
Both mother and daughter said they have loved going to the ranch because it’s given so much to them. Carousel Ranch is their family. It keeps Genevieve Gonzales young, her mom said, which is the magic of what the ranch does. Riding horses there has brought Genevieve so much joy, accomplishment and confidence.
Spectators watched that kind of confidence grow before their eyes when 7-year-old Rylan Reagan stood up on his horse during his riding demonstration, and when 22-year-old Katie Kimes maneuvered her horse onto a wood plank at the center of the performance area, and when 4-year-old Olmos let go of the saddle horn on her horse and raised her hands and arms into the air.
After the demonstration, Olmos’ parents spoke about how proud they were of all the work their daughter had put in and all she was able to do. According to Olmos’ story in the event’s program, the young girl was born with clubfeet and hypotonia, having to endure years of feeding challenges. She was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy and developmental and speech delays.
Her mom, Jenny Olmos, said her daughter has been riding at Carousel Ranch for a year and nine months.
“Oh, my goodness, she feels so special right now,” Jenny Olmos said after the demonstration. “She keeps asking for her ribbon.”
Emilia Olmos, who was sitting next to her parents, said riding horses was her favorite thing to do.
She and the other two riders each received a sunflower and first-place ribbon after their demonstrations.
Reagan had showed off his skills after Olmos. He’s been at the ranch since he was 3 years old. According to his story in the event’s program, at 2 months old, he began experiencing neurological spasms and stiffness, and at 3 was diagnosed with autism.
On Saturday evening, he rode with his hands in the air, showing his confidence and balance. At the end of his ride, he impressed the crowd by standing on top of his horse, prompting enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Kimes, who gave the final riding demonstration of the evening, performed with skill and a big smile on her face. She started at Carousel Ranch when she was 7, after being diagnosed with autism at age 2. According to her mother, as shared in the event program, Kimes’ time at the ranch has greatly improved her conversation skills, social development, and work ethic.
Redmond said the ranch has a powerful impact on the children and young people it serves. It’s something she first witnessed at a similar event in 1985. That experience ultimately inspired the creation of Carousel Ranch.
She was 18 years old at the time and a newspaper reporter covering a demonstration that a group called Ahead with Horses was doing in Sun Valley.
“I saw them do a demonstration similar to this,” Redmond said. “I saw these three or four young kids in wheelchairs, walkers, braces. I saw this one girl — this moment changed my life — get up on a Clydesdale. It was a big, huge Clydesdale. And this little girl — she’s like 8 years old — throws her braces down, gets pulled up on the horse, does a hand-to-hand handstand. You know how high that is on a Clydesdale?”
Redmond said it moved her in a way she’d never experienced before.
Moments after that, she found and told someone from the program that she was willing and able to fill an office position if one ever became available.
Four months later, Redmond received a call and, over the next 12 years, gradually worked her way up while learning everything she could about the organization’s work.
In July 1997, Redmond and Becky Graham founded Carousel Ranch. According to the ranch’s website, the program started with just one student and one horse in Graham’s neighbor’s backyard. Over the years, the program steadily grew, and by October 2005, they completed the current 10-acre permanent facility.
The “Heart of the West” event on Saturday celebrated the ongoing success of the ranch and its programs. Following the riding demonstration, guests enjoyed a dinner catered by Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co. Large screens at the front of the dining area played videos featuring the three horseback riders seen earlier in the evening, sharing their personal stories. The night concluded with a live auction.
Four-year-old Olmos sat at her table with her family just beaming. Her parents were, too. Her dad, Ignacio Olmos, shared his emotions about the evening overall.
“This is such a such a heartfelt moment for us,” he said. “It’s huge. This place does amazing things, and we’re just extremely proud of Emilia and everything that this place has accomplished with her. For us, it’s life changing.”
For more information about Carousel Ranch, go to CarouselRanch.org.
