Challenge Ranch

The owner and operator of this ranch is a very rude and a misleading person to work with! She says that she dedicates her life to helping kids! After getting to know her over the last year, it appears more to be a place she gets a monthly fee from parents (no set amount for no set dates or times) and than puts the kids to work cleaning up the shit, and feeding and grooming the horses. Less than %5 of the kids time there, do they even get to ride a horse! And the whole time, the kids and parents have to deal with this grumpy, judgmental, mean person! (she will make you feel like you are less than her!) I do not recommend getting sucked into something under a façade of how wonderful it will be for your kids! You will be disappointed. From what I can see they have a very little success rate with a high turn around of kids leaving shortly after starting!

Had a great time at the Challenge Ranch Cili Cookoff last night! Fun, food, live entertainment and line dancing taught by the Challenge Ranch kids. Thanks for including us!

Challenge Ranch is not a place you want your kids! There is a unspoken culture of bullying and favoritism that doesn’t match the Ranch’s glossy online image. My children rode at Challenge Ranch for almost 2 years. During our tenure at Challenge I witnessed a lot of things that made me second guess having my kids there. The Ranch owner has a VERY difficult personality and has a habit of making personal attacks against the kids and parents alike. I rationalized that it was good for my kids to learn how to deal with a difficult personality and focused on the good I thought the Ranch was doing for foster kids. I figured the horses were going nicely and that the kids seemed to be having fun. I was wrong, Challenge Ranch can shatter the self esteem of even the most confident child! The 1^st year we were at the Ranch someone posted a bad Unilocal review and the owner asked the kids to post good reviews to make up for it. The kids scrambled to comply trying to earn favor with the Owner. I remember thinking that it was very artificial and borderline inappropriate to ask the children to write counter reviews. About a year later, my kids started having issues with the owner, but they didn’t want me to talk to her for fear that she would kick them out of the Ranch if I did. I had heard some stories of other families who had been kicked out, not for any wrong doing on the kid’s part, but because the owner couldn’t get a long with the parents. The common denominator was that a parent had spoken up when they felt their kid wasn’t being treated fairly, or had attempted to confront the owner over some demeaning comment she had made that had hurt the kid’s feelings. My kids were kicked out of the Ranch two days after I confronted the owner over her yelling at me unnecessarily. After my kids had been kicked out, they opened up about all kinds of ill treatment they had suffered at the Ranch. The owner had called my son a cry baby in front of all the other kids when he was tearfully homesick at camp. The owner had yelled at my daughter after she fell off a horse even though she was clearly upset and bruised up. The day my daughter fell off, the owner did speak to me, to ask that I participate in fund raiser, but never mentioned the fall. I think as a parent I have a right to know if my kid falls off a horse, or for that matter is homesick! My kids told me they were afraid to tell me about how the owner treated all the kids because they knew whenever anyone complained they would be kicked out of the Ranch. After my kids were kicked out, I attempted to complain to the Board about how the owner had unilaterally kicked out my kids over her being angry with me, not because my kids did anything wrong. The owner taunted me when I said I wanted to report her behavior to the Board, saying, «I’d like to see you try it!» I called a Ranch Board member who refused to pass on my letter on to the rest of the Board. I finally convinced that Board member to give me a mailing address to send a complaint letter. I got the letter returned to me as an undeliverable address! Challenge Ranch doesn’t want the public to know what really goes on there. The Board protects the owner who has a terrible reputation in the greater horse community for being horribly rude and impossible to work with. There are a lot of other local ranches, donate directly to support foster kids through other avenues, and save your kids from feeling belittled and betrayed by Challenge Ranch!

I wish I could give zero stars. I was referred to Challenge Ranch by a friend who just started to attend. I studied the website and thought this would be an a great place for my son. We were abused by my military ex huband who suffered from PTSD and we attend family therapy weekly to help my son cope with his feelings of hoplesness and poor self esteem. The website says «The impact of Equine Assisted Learning can be so profound and far reaching that people who have made little or no progress during countless therapy sessions in conventional therapy will experience life-​changing breakthroughs after just one or two Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) sessions.» This is exactely what my son needed. He goes to normal classes, makes straight A’s, speaks two languages and is very caring. He just struggle swith self worth and settling into new enviorments. I emailed Jane and she urged me to come in. We set a date and time and she told me to bring swim trunks for my son so he could swim with the other children. He was so excited. I left work early that day to make the 45 minute drive there with my son. We checked out horse books for weeks from the library before we visited so that my son could feel prepared and excited to go. We showed up right on time and entered the ranch. Two teen girls informed us Jane was at the pool just up the path. We entered swim shorts in hand and Jane was sitting with all of the kids by the pool. She got up and said that she expected us later (we were on time). My son tried to hug her and she awkwardly moved aside. He continued to look at her rocks and the scenery while we VERY BRIEFLY chatted. I would say 5 – 7 minutes. She grew irate when he touched some rocks she had piled up and I told him to sit down. She then told me he is very young for his age and he wouldnt fit in here. He put his head in his hands and sat down and began to weep. I help my tears in and asked if we could just volunteer then and she told me that if i came with my son i wouldnt be volunteering now would I and that I would be babysitting instead. She offered me a business card with another ranch name and told us to go ahead and pet a horse on our way out. If I would have said another word I would have balled my eyes out in front of her I grabbed my sond hand and lead him down the path we came from. He said he was weird and he hated himself and nobody liked him and just cried. She didnt give us enough time to even settle in. Some children who have experienced traumatic events need a moment to settle in to new scenarios and she just didnt give us the time of day or allow him to swim with the other children. She rejected him point blank from the moment she dodged his hug to the moment she yelled about her rocks and wasnt even considerate enough to think that I lost a half a days pay to make the 45 minute drive there. We both cried the 45 minute drive home and my son continued to tell me he never wanted to go to a ranch again and that he hates that place. I am very concerned about the treatment of other children who have undergone hardships that are being placed there. It is unfortunate that this woman is using this as a nonprofit organization when from my research I have concluded that a majority of the families are being made to make monthly payment that range from $ 250 to $ 500 or being told that their children cannot attend if the payment is not made. This is not considered a donation. This is considered being billed for these «non profit» services.

if a person could get a word in edge wise they probably would were were very giving and were very unreasonable, we hv since moved on to bigger better and better thing safty for my kids do dnt need to be screamed or even the kids of color, really ashame you even lied on here I would donate or support you again, but it a good tax write off for many, and let me point ive no reason to lie its not doing me any good or benifitting me, id be careful how you treat kids when you think no one is around listening. good luck on your endevours

I attended this ranch for about 9 months when I was younger. We had just left a previous ranch that had been stealing our tack. And needed a new place to ride and take lessons. My sister and I, 7 and 10, started lessons. We loved the fact that we had our «own horse». But. As time went on. We slowly started to see the flaws in this ranch. The claim to let most riders ride at no cost. Yet charged us an arm and a leg because we could «afford it». We were told families were welcome. But in no way is that true. If you are involved parents, do not bring your kids here! Family involvement is very discouraged. Almost frowned upon. I would often show up to ride, and not be allowed to because I wasn’t high on priority. And my sister RARELY got to ride. When she did, she was just taught basic info by another student. After getting into a disagreement with Jane, we were sent a letter in the mail. My father was allowed back, only to to labor, my sister had to be 8 before she would be allowed back, i was allowed back but only on Saturdays, and my mother was told she was never welcomed there again. I have heard countless stories TIME AND TIME AGAIN of people leaving and being screwed over by Jane. I’ve been riding and training horses as well as giving lessons for 10 years now. That is NO WAY to run a «family friendly» business.

My daughter has been riding at Challenge Ranch for about 8 years! It is amazing how much a part of her life the ranch is. I totally disagree with the review about parent involvement. Jane always wants parents to be involved, and encourages it! Challenge Ranch is awesome!

I’ve been volunteering at Challenge Ranch for over a year. I can’t even say how grateful I am to have met Jane and everyone there. I grew up riding on the East Coast and I’ve been a part of many stables. Challenge Ranch is completely different from any of them.
Most stables only accept students for an hour or two per week, so students rarely get to see all aspects of horse care and stable management. Here, kids are encouraged to come often and stay all day. Everyone is welcomed and treated equally, no matter their background. There is absolutely NO pretentiousness, which is what drove me away from riding many years ago.
Young people learn not only how to be versatile and conscientious riders, they learn how to be better people in general. All the kids here are responsible, assertive, compassionate and respectful. They are seemingly fearless. The teenage riders prepare for, and compete in, 25 mile and 50 mile endurance rides. They do this with 100% enthusiasm and expertise. New riders make amazing progress in a short amount of time by being given responsibility and having older riders teach them.
As far as the horses, it is not a coincidence that all 20+ horses at CR are awesome. They are extremely happy and well cared for. Many have been mistreated in the past, and they show a remarkable improvement in their behavior and health in just weeks after arriving at the ranch.
I could go on and on. I just hope CR is around when my daughter grows up. The amazing kids, horses and scenery make Challenge Ranch a piece of heaven on Earth. Thank you Jane and Ron!

I have been attending CR for over 8 years. This ranch is an amazing opportunity for kids to learn how to ride, and to make lifetime friends. My family is very involved with the ranch, and they all love it too. The horses here have a special way of being able to brighten your day, even on the worst ones. When I first arrived here, I had very little confidence. Now, if anyone saw me walking down the street, they would think I had every confidence in the world. And its all thanks to Jane & Ron.

Stay away if you are an involved parent!!! Jane does not welcome parents. She likes to control the kids that come there… Beware Most families that have been involved have been asked to leave? Not very fun experience!

I had the privilege of attending a training at Challenge Ranch in El Cajon. I was surprised at how close the ranch was to the local freeway and the Sycuan Resort and Casino. This ranch has 10 wonderful acres. There are many different sized pens that are used for a number of different equine activities. Over 20 horses are housed at Challenge Ranch, and they are all different breeds, sizes and personalities. I have to add that they have the most amazing and organized tack room I have ever seen.
This is a non-​profit that has many different classes to learn horsemanship, riding and jumping. The wonderful part of this organization is exposing youth and adults to equine experiences to help them heal, grow and thrive. They are open 6 days a week and host a number of different events throughout the year. I had three amazing days at Challenge Ranch that absolutely changed my life. Thank you Jane and Ron! I can’t wait to visit again.