At the very core of Rancho Chilamate and Big Sky Ranch is a love and admiration for the community around us. We aspire to be a part of that community by not locking ourselves away from it but rather participating in it. In this amazing country and in countries throughout the world you’ll often find a special needs community that is somewhat discarded by maybe a lack of resources or simply a lack of what-to-do-about-it. Thankfully, good friends of the ranch Brooke
Rundle and Bastin Vrancken filled that gap in San Juan del Sur by starting Manos Unidas.
Manos Unidas is a dynamically staffed cooperative for adults with disabilities. Their weekly meetings are packed with education (both in English and Spanish), social interaction, employment training, and a whole lot of laughter! The words Manos Unidas, Hands Together, perfectly describe the teamwork that goes into the hand crafted tote bags made and sold by the group. The profits then go directly towards the participants’ salaries. What an AMAZING group!
We were so moved by what Bastin and Brooke had going, that we had to get involved. Enter our beloved horses! Horseback riding is a uniquely powerful therapy for individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities, and it just so happens that our very own Alex Johnson is an internationally certified therapeutic horseback riding instructor! (See www.PATHintl.org for more info on therapeutic equestrian programs)
On July 4th, 2016, in partnership with our friends at Manos Unidas, we kicked off our first therapeutic horseback riding lesson. The first riders, Gonzalo and Francisco, learned how to halter and lead their own steeds to the hitching posts where they continued to learn about horsemanship and fully groom new buds Negro and Whiskey. They were also joined and supported by family members including little brother Jordan who teamed up with Francisco to give Negro one heck of a cleaning! The smiles speak for themselves!
Each month we will continue to host more of our new friends, and hopefully bring a small reward for all the hard work they are putting in. A GIANT thanks to all of our horses, cowgirls, and cowboys at Rancho Chilamate and to all the leaders, teachers, and participants at Manos Unidas!
