HorseDreams Youth Ranch

Paula Barnes navigates her all-terrain golf cart through the remnants of the gravel road leading towards the barn at the top of the hill.

Horses grazing in the pasture rise and prick their ears at the noise of the rising automatic garage door. A few of the horses take interest and begin trotting toward the well-built wooden structure on the crest of the hill. Paula, standing at the threshold of the barn, sees a mosaic of rolling green grass dotted with some of the still-grazing resident horses.

Painted into the landscape is a corral littered with small jumps, over-sized see-saws and various items pertaining to “horse games.”

The brown dirt of the trails leading out of the deep forest surrounding the pasture look warm and inviting under the sunny blue sky. All of this is accompanied by the vast canvas backdrop of vibrant autumn leaves falling from the trees on the Middle Georgia hills that rise in the distance. With a scene like this, it’s easy to forget that Georgia College’s Front Campus is less than three miles away from where Paula is standing.

HorseDreamsYouth Ranch, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is owned by Milledgeville couple Max and Paula Barnes and lies nestled in the woods off of Kings Road, sporting a fully-stocked 10-stall barn, 47 acres of land and hours worth of equestrian trails. In the summer, HorseDreams serves as a camp for at-risk youth.During the two-week camp sessions, children come and learn the meaning of developing a loving and lasting relationship with a horse while learning responsibility and other essential life skills.

During the off-season the horses need exercise to stay in shape, so HorseDreams has paired with GC student volunteers who come and ride the horses.

“We like riding horses, we’ve been doing it since we were little, and so we came out here and talked to Paula and got everything set up so we could ride,” Laura Hoppel, freshman elementary education major said, speaking for herself and freshman pre-veterinarian major Laura Olmstead.

The relationship that exists between the students and HorseDreams is a symbiotic one: students who might not otherwise have the means to ride horses in Milledgeville are able to do so and HorseDreams is able to keep the camp’s horses in top shape.

The ranch welcomes riders of all experience levels.

“If you don’t know how to ride, you can come out and we’ll start you out from the ground up,” Paula said.

The ability to entertain both skilled and unskilled riders comes from the stress the ranch places on developing relationships with the horses.

HorseDreams uses the Parelli Method, a natural horsemanship training methodology which begins with riders developing trusting relationships with the horses based on the way the animal relates to and communicates with its natural world, according to the horse education program. This Method allows riders to feel comfortable with their horses before they even get into the saddle.

“They teach them how to play with them and move with them, and the horse relates to them and they can see it,” Max said. “So before they even get near to getting on a horse or anything like that, they learn how to work with them.”

During the summer when the ranch has its day camps, young people are able to experience horseback riding and interacting with horses. While HorseDreams’ main focus is younger kids, it also offers a secluded escape far an older crowd.

“We’ve just had a mixed bag of kids that come out. You know, kids who are just going through a tough time that sometimes just wanna come out and hang out,” Max said. “The isolation of the ranch presents a respite from the daily grind, but the horses themselves are sometimes what is needed.”

“Sometime when they’re having a hard time, the love of a horse can be just what they’re looking for,” Paula said.

Simply standing in the barn and watching Hoppel unsaddle her horse, Slider, is undeniable evidence that there is a deep relationship between horse and rider. She brushes down Slider’s sweaty back, talking and complimenting him about how well he rode that evening. Slider talks back, whinnying his agreement on Hoppel’s opinion on how pretty of a boy he is. The yellow lights of the barn play over the pair as Slider is put back in his stall for the night. Poking his head out, Hoppel unties the bridle and rubs his nose one last time for the evening. She even leans down for a kiss on the nose, but Slider is not into it tonight. He ducks back and jumps around his stall, fresh with wood shavings, whinnying softly. It’s a compelling interaction that makes one smile. There’s no hard feelings for the missed opportunity for a kiss; as in any relationship there will be other opportunities, and Hoppel makes sure Slider knows that.

“The most important thing about horseback riding for me is probably friendship,” Hoppel said. “You’re gaining a real true friend.”

Posted by MarkWatkins on Nov 17 2011. Filed under Features, Lead stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.