There are some exciting things happening at the Ranch and we can’t wait to share them with you!
November 2021 Newsletter
A message from Tammy, our CEO
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! November is one of my favorite months of the year! It is such a great time to focus on what we are thankful for in our lives. From the smallest things, such as a beautiful sunrise or sunset, to be able to hear the whinny of a horse, to watching a hummingbird drink from a flower, to the love of family and friends, and to the gift of each new day. If we open our eyes to everything surrounding us, we are bound to see things we can be thankful for. Each new day always brings hope. I would be remiss if I did not let you know how thankful I am for each and every one of you reading this newsletter! I am so thankful for all of our volunteers, heroes, horses, donors, and supporters. You all make a difference in my life each and every day! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Last month was an amazing month for all of us at SIS! We sent 7 more Heroes to our SIS Wyoming Cowboy Experience! In our update on Wyoming, we will share some of the comments of our Heroes who attended. It was a life-changing experience for them all!
We spent three days filming for an upcoming episode of Operation Outdoor Freedom which will be shown on the Discovery Channel. When we have the date of the airing we will share it with everyone. What a great time we had with the Host, Jay Garstecki, and his film crew, Josh, Cole, and Alex. They actually stayed here at the ranch so they could experience that family atmosphere that we always talk about. The volunteers and Heroes are truly part of the family and Jay and his crew definitely felt it. This episode featured one of our Heroes, Branden, who suffers from multiple TBIs (traumatic brain injuries), and his journey through healing. Branden was Jay’s wrangler and taught him everything he has been taught by our wranglers here at SIS. Branden and Megan also taught Jay how to work as a team with his horse, Haus, in moving cattle. Jay was so impressed with our volunteers, heroes, and our mission at SIS that he asked if they could film another episode next year! We will be featuring a female veteran in that upcoming shoot. There will definitely be more to come in the upcoming months!
We also held a ranch roping clinic given by Roy Pelkey. Roy is an amazing ranch roper that competes in the Buck Brannaman classic every year! This clinic was geared towards the basics. We had over 25 heroes and volunteers take part in this free clinic. The next clinic will be more advanced as we will be on horseback and practice ranch roping on our fake cows. There was so much joy and laughter as we watched each other try to master this difficult skill!
A huge Thank You to the San Diego Foundation and the Hervey Family Non-Endowment Fund that gave us a grant in the amount of $15,000! We are so honored that they believe in our Mission at SIS and that they support our work in offering mental health wellness and healing for our Heroes by working with horses. If you would like to support our Mission, please visit our website and make a donation today! You can also send donations directly to us: Saddles In Service, PO Box 692, Descanso, CA 91916.
Thank you again to all of our volunteers, donors, and supporters! We could not do this life-changing work without you!
Hugs, Tammy
