There are lots of ranches in San Diego County, but one ranch, less than an hour east of the city, is unique.
The Horse of the Sun Ranch, operated by the Armed Services YMCA, is open to the public but primarily serves military families. The Pine Valley-based ranch was donated to the organization about three years ago by its previous owner.
“There are a lot of pressures on military families that the general population doesn’t understand," said Ken Callaway. He runs the ranch and works for the Armed Services YMCA.
As a vet himself, Callaway understands the unique challenges faced by military families.
“High unemployment, high spousal unemployment, high child care costs," he said. "We bring them to the ranch and let them — especially pre- and post-deployment — connect as a family."
Callaway said there are a lot of things to do on this ranch.
"They can come up here, and mom and dad can enjoy barbecue, and the kids can run and scream and they get to play with the horses, kids get to ride," he said. “Families can come and spend five or six hours here (and) enjoy pony rides for the kids. They can do archery. They can do laser tag, arts and crafts, hiking."
Or families can just enjoy some quiet time in nature. Surrounded by the Cleveland National Forest, the ranch sits in its own little valley with trees and a creek running along side of the property. It is a bucolic scene.
But there is one activity here that happens inside, at the ranch's craft shop.
"Leather craft is part of the horse life, part of the ranch life," Callaway said inside the workspace where kids not only learn about leather crafting but also get to create their own works of leather art.
“A kid or adult can make a nice little bracelet, something they can keep forever," he said.
Everything here is designed to take visitors’ minds off of their day-to-day lives — to forge new bonds, to de-stress.
“With a military lifestyle, there’s obviously a lot of uncertainty for the children and the families. We tend to move around a lot," Cmdr. Peter Birch said.
Birch was there with his wife and three girls on Feb. 17. He is currently based at Naval Air Station North Island, working for Naval Air Forces with the U.S. Navy. Birch is a helicopter pilot with the British Royal Navy.
Like with any other military family, he said the time spent here means a lot.
“To come out to a place like this, be surrounded by nature, also playing with the horses as well — it’s fantastic," Birch said. "It’s a really good grounding experience for the children."
The first military family to visit the Horse of the Sun Ranch about six years ago was Katie May and her 8-year-old daughter Sam.
“I remember times in my lifetime when I was really little and I couldn’t wait to move back to California to see Little Moon again," Sam May said. Little Moon is one of the resident horses at the ranch.
Sam first met him as a toddler and she said she doesn’t really remember that first meeting. A few years later, the family visited the ranch again. They said Little Moon remembered Sam.
“When you started grooming him, he hugged you," Katie said. A horse hug, as Katie explained, is when a horse puts his neck and head around you.
“I love him because he’s super sweet. He’s the calmest and nicest horse I have ever met in my lifetime," Sam said.
Discounts on various activities at the ranch are available to military families. Find out more at the ranch's website.
