There are experiences that stay with you forever, and this was one of them.
What began as a partnership between Broken Arrow Wranglers, an amazing team from Common Spirit (Community Health Improvement grant funding that made it all possible), Shine His Light (Kaleigh Rogers), Equine Connections (Virginia McCarthy) and Chandler Unified School District became so much more than a pilot program. It was the creation of a group of people who were willing to show up for one another. Students. Staff. Counselors. Social workers. Teachers. Administrators. Volunteers. Rescue horses. Families. Every person brought something unique, and together we built relationships that will continue long after the final session.
In 2024, through a conversation at our son’s baseball game, Crisini Ryan (a Chandler district counselor) made some contacts and set up a meeting with the leaders for counseling and social workers. Thank you Natasha Davis for you and your team’s support!
We submitted the grant application to Common Spirit. Part of the process included a short presentation where we got the chance to focus on the relationships. After reviews – we received the approval and they gave us the green light to go and serve our community.
What we do with Broken Arrow Wranglers is meant to be an experience. People, ranches, horses, leaders/guides and people in the community uniting under a common purpose. Honesty and freedom – having the courage to live out who we really are.
instead of trying to explain it to the counseling team, we invited them in. As each of them got in the round pen…we noticed something was happening. This crew was passionate, they were invested in what they do for their staff and students. They got real, and they felt what it was all about.
The feedback was this “We need this. The staff needs this. The administration teams need this.’ We were focused on the kids, the students…we hadn’t considered all the endless efforts and hard work and potential burnout and resilience required of all the people who support these students. Done. We adjusted and changed our approach to make sure we brought in a team of the staff to go through the 6 weeks, and a group of students in another round.
Next step in the preparation was to share it with the social workers in the schools. They were all about it and through coordination with the leaders (Emily Phares…you are amazing), we had over 15 social workers sign up. We got to see the heart of this crew as well. They supported each other, they experienced the beauty of this…and they were dedicated to being part of this as Wranglers…to find the students that needed it. We worked on the strategy to make it move.
Setbacks happen, spring break…emergencies…the heaviness of the day to day work for this team was unreal to observe. We identified kids that needed help, sent out flyers in two languages…discussed logistics and tried to find ways to get these kids from school to the ranch and then back home.
Summer hit and we missed our window.
We went back to the drawing board. A lot of prayer. We felt like we were failing on our end. Then Sara Hetrick and Emily came together with the idea to take this to Hill Academy. One visit to this school and we were blown away. The energy and vibe was noticeable the moment you walked in. The team feel, the attitude and encouragement for the students…this was an environment geared for growth and change. In one day, Sara Hetrick with Hill academy knocked down all the barriers that had held us back. Travel? “We will take the bus or van and get them there. We will have the parents pick them up after.” She brought in kids right there on the spot, told them about the horses…got them fired up…and send them out to tell others. We toured the school, saw the connections, relationships and trust…this is how it was supposed to be. (No doubt part of the leadership established by the principal Luke Hickey.
Newsletters went out, a list was built. We had our staff and our students. We had dates. Virginia McCarthy at Equine Connections stepped up and offered her ranch and her horses…as well as her expertise. We had it all lined up…game time.
As we went through the sessions, the participants opened up slowly. Hesitation, uncertainty…”what is this?” I thought we were training horses? Aren’t we going to ride? Then…as they started connecting, listening, the horses were revealing who they were, deep down…the honest and authentic self that was uncovered in each of the individuals that was willing to show up real and honest. Bonding. Transformation. Life stories. Pain. Hurt. Healing. Growth. What a gift to be part of this process We healed with them.
The horses played their part as only rescue horses can. They met every person exactly where they were. There were no titles, no expectations, no pretending. Just honest moments that led to honest conversations. Watching these horses help people discover courage, trust, and freedom reminded us once again why this work matters.
We watched walls come down, confidence return, and leaders emerge. The courage and vulnerability we witnessed were real, raw, and deeply encouraging. We saw students find themselves again, regain confidence, take on new challenges, and begin changing the lives of the people around them. That is how culture changes. That is how the world changes—one person at a time.
We got to lead with a process called Unique Design Framework (thank you Alan Briggs and Stay Forth) in the 5th session, designed to draw out each person’s gifts and how to empower them and give back, based on their God given talents and passion. Then the showcase, where they got to bring family, friends, colleagues…to experience it and share in the story. My favorite parts were hearing the stories, watching how much each had found their stride in their authentic self as they got into the round pen…and watching Gabe, a tall senior with a gift with horses that found a reconnection with his upbringing on the Navajo reservation…he got Principal Luke into the round pen to show him what it was all about. Leadership on display.
I broke down just trying to share how much I could see in each of them. How I could relate to what they were going through. I could see the spirit working and it was pretty humbling to be part of something like this.
This carries on…we see the kids at graduations…they don’t even look the same, they are changed…going after their dreams…it’s beautiful that we got to be part of their life.
In the middle of all this, the funding from Common Spirit also supported us pursuing an ongoing relationship and growth with the school districts. We have plenty of ranches to work out of, more than enough rescue horses. We are training with veterans to help run the experiences and the ranches. We have everything we need. Now we have a pilot under our belt on how to get the contracts set up, the vendor agreements, the communication, the proess to get it established, the leaders to look for. And to know that once it gets started, the lines are at the door and people want this. The experiences, the relationship. Volunteering. The community. Freedom.
If we have people we can share life with, get into the deep and the brokenness…take off the mask and live where we know we are supported…half the mental health issues go away. This is the ranch…we are the ranch. This is the Kingdom…here and now.
Keep the prayers coming, this needs to keep going…people are lined up. We have the systems in place. We can get every school in the valley access to horses, ranches and leaders in the next 5 years. Let’s connect the resources to make this reality come to life. . “I am the gate…they will go in and out and find good pasture” -Jesus
Our focus was never just on delivering a program. It was on walking alongside people. We got to work with students and staff who were all in—people who had the courage to show up, the willingness to be honest, and the desire to grow. We watched walls come down, confidence return, and leaders emerge. We saw students find themselves again, regain confidence, take on new challenges, and begin changing the lives of the people around them. That is how culture changes. That is how the world changes—one person at a time.
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 60:1
Sometimes the greatest success of a program can’t be measured by attendance numbers or statistics.
That is exactly what we experienced through the Wranglers for Freedom pilot with Chandler Unified School District.
Every person matters, and every person deserves the opportunity to experience freedom.
From one of the awesome students that went through this with courage and authenticity:
“I am so happy…you helped me heal so much and I feel like my true self in a way I haven’t felt since I was little…I will always appreciate you.”
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