CHARIS YOUTH RANCH HOME OF NEW LIFE THOROUGHBREDS

Charis Youth Ranch’s mission is to provide a sanctuary for kids and horses. We are a youth ranch and horse rescue located in Fort Collins, Colorado, which serves at-risk youth ages 5-18 in our community through Equine Assisted Learning programs.
Charis Youth Ranch is a safe haven for horses to heal and rehabilitate. We currently have 15 horses who come from all walks of life, from all over the country. Our horses are rescued from the slaughter pipeline. We have racehorses from off the track, auction horses purchased to save from the kill buyer as well as owner surrenders seeking a safe retirement.
Once the horses are in our care, we evaluate and rehabilitate them for use in our youth programs. Many horses will live their lives in sanctuary at the ranch. Occasionally, we adopt out to approved homes when there is a perfect match.
Charis Youth Ranch provides several different youth programs. The Rescue Ranch Bible Camp is a summer program for children ages 4-11 to experience the fun of the ranch while learning about Jesus and horses.
The Triumph Youth Program is for at-risk teens ages 13-18. This is a structured program lasting 10 weeks, specifically created for teens dealing with trauma, abuse, neglect, drug abuse, abandonment, etc.
The Junior Volunteer Program is for teen girls ages 12-18 who love horses and want to learn more about horses and the ranch. They learn more intensive horsemanship, volunteerism and community outreach. This program runs periodically throughout the year as weather permits.
Our goal for the kids who participate in our programs is to know their worth and value, know they are loved. Through learning horsemanship skills, connecting with our equine partners, they gain self confidence, responsibility, stewardship and pride in accomplishment. By working with the horses, the kids also learn leadership. Horses give respect only when it is earned and trust only when one has shown him or herself to be a worthy leader.
One important and unique aspect of our program is that we share our horses' redemption stories. We tell why we rescued each horse, what his/her story is, why he/she was thrown away (if we know) and why we choose to value each one. We hope each youth will identify with the horses' stories in one way or another and know that as much as we value and love our horses no matter what their challenges or past may be, we love and value each child or youth more. Because we can demonstrate that we have loved the unloved, it opens the door for them to believe that we love them too. We believe that when a child or youth knows he or she is loved and accepted unconditionally, it lays the groundwork for them to continue to build healthy lives.

We currently provide several Equine Assisted Learning programs to at-risk youth in our community. We serve kids ages 5-18 and use our rescued horses in the programs. A goal is to increase horsemanship learning opportunities to kids as well as our volunteers. We also endeavor to increase learning and healing opportunities for our rescued horses and thus add value and purpose to their lives.
Our programs and volunteer opportunities invite the community to participate in what we are doing to serve kids and horses.

Our ranch is supported by 17 volunteers who daily feed and care for our 15 horses, maintain the property and participate in leading and teaching the youth in our programs.
We have 9 plus volunteers committed to conducting the Rescue Ranch Bible Camp each summer which serves 66+ kids ages 4-11 for nine, three hour sessions in June, July and August.
3 volunteers plus an outside instructor oversee the Junior Volunteer Program each summer. This program is 10 weeks long in the summer as well as during spring and fall as weather permits.
We are a similar ministry of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch located in Bend, Oregon.

Over the last 12 years, we have rescued 55 horses and either use them in our youth programs, give them sanctuary for life or have placed them in safe, adoptive homes. We began our youth programs 12 years ago with one or two individual sessions per month and by providing quarterly clinics for The Matthews House.
We provided a yearly program for The Matthews House and have provided for 6 years consecutively and 8-10 week summer program for teen residents at Turning Point Youth and Family Development. The staff at Turning Point saw such improvement in the kids' demeanor and attitude after attending our program twice a week all summer, that they asked us to extend the program through fall, which we did.
Since 2018, we grew our community outreach through our youth programs and open house opportunities. Our Harvest Festival each year draws the public to our ranch for games and fun and also to learn about how we serve the community. We grew mentorship of community youth in our Junior Volunteer program. Our goal was and is to teach improved communication skills and leadership as we engage our local community through volunteerism, sponsored horse clinics and events. This has increased awareness in the community of who we are, while inviting them to participate in what we do.