R & R Ranch creates gentle environment for healing, grounding, growing.
“My students know as soon as they are here, no phones are allowed,” she said. “They have to be in the car. My No. 1 reason for bringing kids out here is to get them off the screen and teach them to communicate. They have a hard time communicating with me, to each other and to the horse. But horses keep everything consistent and humble. And actions have consequences. Horses can teach that better than I can.”
Walker shares the story about a girl, living in foster care, who visited the ranch recently. She wanted to pet the horses so badly that she ran toward them. “The horses all ran away, but I let her run. And then I said to her, ‘Look what happens when you run at them. Do you want the horses to come toward you? If you do, walk up quietly, wait quietly and the horses will come to you.’”
As Walker explains, the girl wasn’t used to being calm and patient. Her habit was to run hard at things. “That behavior was pushing everybody away. Maybe this lesson will help her in the future.”
Since Walker was 5, she has been riding horses and harnessing her own life lessons. When life became stressful, time with her horse provided a peaceful respite and the opportunity to get grounded, which is what she now offers to others, like children in foster care and those with special needs.
As a teenager, she also learned that her equestrian knowledge and love for horses could be profitable. “At about age 14 or 15, I was bringing horses to the property behind my house, training them, caring for them and riding them. I found I could make money doing this.”
At age 16, that money paid for her first car, a red 1988 Toyota pickup.
While she was finding work from barn to barn, caring for horses and teaching riding lessons across the Valley, her dreams began to stretch far beyond where that truck could take her. A year ago this month, those dreams dismounted at R & R Ranch. She and her husband, Michael, were able to purchase the 10-acre property on the same land where they had been working.
“All of this is surreal,” she said as she gazed across the wide-open spaces of the Rio Verde area. “I never thought we’d be able to own anything like this. It’s amazing. I love that the property backs up to the desert. The view is incredible, and we’ve built up our business here. It would be very difficult to move away from my clients. And because we’ve been here for so long, we know everything about it.”
In December, with the help of a volunteer board of directors, Walker created the R & R Ranch non-profit organization to invite children and teens outdoors to nurture a bond between them and the horses. Through this gentle environment, her aim is to cultivate essential life skills for relationship building and personal growth.
By January, Walker was welcoming children to the R & R Ranch. “I wanted kids to have this opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise. If they can’t afford to be out here riding horses, we will figure out a way. We are also hoping to work with children’s hospitals and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.”
“My hope is that many sponsors will partner with this program to help numerous children, families and adults experience at least one ranch-life session, leaving them empowered to make positive change,” said R & R Ranch Board Member Marta Gonzalez. “Building trust between horses and humans teaches us to reconnect with ourselves and others.”
Out on the horizon, Walker sees the program building up enough funds so that she can hire instructors to teach additional sessions and help more people gain life-enhancing skills. In addition, she envisions day camps for both her business, Samantha Walker Performance Horses and the non-profit, R & R Ranch.
“Samantha, ‘Sam,’ is a gifted instructor and horse trainer who deeply cares about her students,” said Gonzalez. “She is patient, kind, honest and encouraging. By creating a space that caters to unique learning styles, Sam helps her students recognize how they can best succeed. Horses and humans alike adore and respect her.”
With the non-profit program not yet at full gallop, Walker expects to have more time this summer to plan, network and build her program for fall. “Helping these kids has really helped me mentally,” she said. “It is so great to be able to give back.” QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
For more information about programs at R & R Ranch, visit ranchaz.org. For more information about Samantha Walker Performance Horses, visit swphorses.com.
Photo by Bonnie Stevens: Samantha Walker teaches a ranch guest how to clean out the dirt from her horse’s hooves, as “Cowboy” waits patiently.
