Welcome Home Sun River!

Sun River Equine Youth Ranch has officially moved! Our program will operate at our new permanent address: 6156 Deer Flat Rd. This is about 3 miles west of the Black Cat property. 

As you can imagine, this move has been enormous. We had so much help from our family, friends and families. Thank you all so very much. We couldn't have done it without you!

 Along with our move, we have had to add material, fencing, etc. to our needs. There are many future projects planned along with the necessary set up for our animals. We cannot thank Terry and Susan Thayer enough for their TREMENDOUS donation of sand for BOTH our round pen and arena! 
Terry and Susan have become dear friends of Mike and I and of Sun River. They own and operate Dreamhaven Ranch in Eagle, a similar ministry to ours. Terry and Susan have attended seminars at Crystal Peaks and plan to open their facility in the spring. This will allow for us to reach so many more children and families in the Treasure Valley area. We will be working together to ensure that we are as efficient as possible in bringing this mentor program to as many counties as possible. They have been a rock for us through this move. We will support and encourage each other through this journey.

 The move has required so much of our time. We originally planned to host our second annual Fundraising Harvest Party in October of this year. After careful consideration, we have decided that we are going to postpone this event to the spring. We would like to focus on our little ones and getting our animals comfortable in their new homes. Having the party in the spring will allow us to settle in. We would like the party to be as organized and beautifully set up as possible. We are disappointed because we have really looked forward to seeing all of our families and supporters but know you all understand how difficult such a big move can be. 

Lauren Koller, our beautiful friend and co-founder, welcomed her little girl "Laynie" into the world this weekend. As many of you know, Lauren and I worked closely together to design and operate this youth program. Lauren has decided to step down from Sun River and focus on her family and new baby at this time. With sad hearts we support and respect her new calling. We love you Lauren and will miss you! Thank you for your service, love and understanding over these past few years! We can't wait to meet your baby girl!

Stay tuned for future events! We will revamp our website very soon which will allow for easier viewing of important dates. 

If you would like to partner with us and help in building this ministry, please visit our existing website @

http://www.sunriverequineranch.org/how_to_help/

We are thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you for hanging in there with us as we tackle all of these changes. 

Blessings,
Tanya

Our mission is to bring all children, regardless of circumstance, as well as horses who have been abandoned or abused, together to watch the Lord heal their lives.  

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM."

2 Corinthians 3:17

The Move

 We have thoroughly enjoyed our 2 seasons here at Sun River Equine Ranch on Black Cat Rd. in Kuna. When Mike and I moved here, we never imagined we would be called to this ministry.

God has opened the door and led us to another property just a few miles from here, where we were able to purchase a permanent home for Sun River. Our needs for a place were specific and difficult to find. However, in the Lord's timing, everything fell into place beautifully. We were able to buy a place with land and in the same school district. The entire experience was a testament of how anything can be done with Christ.

The new house closed on July 26th just as we were finishing up this months sessions at the ranch. We quickly started pulling carpet, painting walls, etc. to get the place ready to move. 

Thank you all for your patience through this time of adjustment for us!
 

This season we have been blessed by our amazing volunteers and families! 

Thank you for your generosity and love for our staff and family!

We would like to send out a huge THANK YOU to Chuck and Beth Ambler who bought a bunch of Gator raffle tickets, won the auction and then turned around and donated back!

The next few months are going to be challenging but we are at peace taking it one day at a time. 

Thank you all for your support and love for us!

Ranch Welcome BBQ October 5th and time TBA!

Blessings, Tanya Ambler

www.sunriverequineranch.org

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
-2 Corinthians 3:17
 

 

On Labels

We are often asked if we just serve those with special needs. All children should be accepted and loved and that is what we strive to do here. In our opinion, all have special needs. Sun River Equine serves ALL children, regardless of circumstance. All children can benefit from the connection with animals. We encourage families to come, rest and enjoy. We do not single out those who have a "label." I have seen more joy and humanity from children with the most descriptive labels.

http://sunriverequineranch.org/

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom."
-2 Corinthians 3:17

Leadership Conference and Renewal Trip to Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch

 Mike, Lauren and I had the opportunity to return to Crystal Peaks this spring. Last year we attended the "Similar Ministries Informational Conference" and this year we continued on to the "Leadership Conference."

 We arrived Wednesday May 22nd and were welcomed with open arms. Upon setting foot on this beautiful ranch, we all felt a sense of peace and rest. 

It was a time to come together and pray, worship and listen. Each morning we met in the Crystal Peaks Barn for worship time led by Troy Meeder.

 Following morning worship we broke into personal Bible study and prayer. This was a quiet time of reflection and time to grow closer to Christ. 

Mike and I found a quiet place near the chicken coop and back horse corral. We felt at home hearing and smelling the horses.

 Meet Eclipse. She is Troy's personal horse and has a very gentle demeanor.

 So Blessed to have been able to spend another week at this amazing place with Lauren, my great friend and co-founder of Sun River Equine.

 View from my Bible Study spot ( :

 One of the Crystal Peaks riding areas. This is "Sandy Pants Arena." What a view!

 Detail and careful planning in every building. Town Marshal building, "Lightfoot Memorial" and Troy's office.

 Now this is an arena!

This journey has been truly divine. We have had our struggles but have grown closer to the Lord and each other. THANK YOU to Crystal Peaks staff and volunteers for the awesome week of spiritual renewal! We miss each and every one of you!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
-2 Corinthians 3:17

How you can help:
http://www.sunriverequineranch.org/how_to_help/

Ready . . . Set . . .

It is already April and we are a few weeks away from the beginning of season two here at Sun River. In the beginning of April, Amy Bowman @ Mustard Seed Photography, donated her brilliant services and captured some amazing moments with our families. We hope to add them to our website very soon! Thank you Amy!

Many of you who follow our Facebook page, may have heard about the recent emergency with one of our star program horses, Babe. She suffered sand colic at the end of March. Her severe pain caused balance issues and disinterest in water or food. Blaney's Vet Clinic, along with Kortnee Fleming rushed out to our aid. 

Her condition slowly began to improve over the following couple of days. We tried various remedies, including essential oils, to ease her discomfort. We are thrilled to report that she has recovered 100% and is back to her quirky self. PTL!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sun-River-Equine-Youth-Ranch-Inc/286619888022836

We will be planting and preparing the grounds throughout the month of April to greet all of our families beginning in May.

 

 Sun River Kuna High School day at the ranch. These amazing young adults enjoyed some bonding time.

Lauren, John and "Scrapper."

We would like to thank all of our new volunteers for your dedication and willingness to stand along side us for this ministry. We are so thankful and humbled to have the opportunity to work with all of you!

Thank you to Atlas Pallet Company for filling ALL of our lumber needs at this time. We have some very special plans for these materials which will be revealed very soon ( ;

McAlvain Group of Companies has generously offered their equipment to help improve the property. We are so very thankful for their support and partnership!

Upcoming events:
April 17th: Scheduling begins for the month of May. Those interesting in sessions, please contact Lauren Koller @ 208-863-7906 beginning at 9:00am.

April 26th and 27th: Sun River Fundraiser Yard Sale begins at 8:00am. If you have any items you can donate, please let us know. We are humbled by your generosity in helping us get through this very cold winter. All horses are thankfully healthy and happy! Please share and help us get the word out ( :

You can also help by visiting:

http://sunriverequineranch.org/how_to_help/

Looking forward to another blessed season!

Tanya Ambler
(208) 249-8436
tanya@sunriverequineranch.org
http://sunriverequineranch.org/

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
 is freedom."
-2 Corinthians 3:17 

 Who ever said it doesn't get below zero in Idaho! Negative temperatures in January caused our water line to freeze. We were challenged with running hoses from the house, out to the horses and then draining and bringing them in at night. 

All our animals weathered the cold very well. We didn't have any incidents of colic or other major illness which we are very thankful for. With the temperatures nearing 50 this past week, we have been able to get out and start the much needed cleanup and preparation for our upcoming season.

Big THANK YOU to Western State CAT for donating a backhoe for the weekend to help us with some of these major projects. They have been such a generous supporter of our program.
 

We have been working with our horses every afternoon. They are enjoying the sunshine and opportunity for some exercise. 

Time to get our equipment cleaned up and ready! Sierra and Maddie "painted" saddles yesterday as we began the process of organizing tack. 

Thank you all for your support this winter! Newsletter coming out very soon with some wonderful stories . . . 

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."-2 Corinthians 3:17

www.sunriverequineranch.org

Our First Year Behind, A New Year to Come...

With one year behind us, what a blessed first year it was. It exceeded ALL our expectations. From the amazing children we served, to the financial and monetary donations. We are grateful and so so excited for next year!

Thank you to all our families for bearing with us as we figured our way through the first year! We ended the season with a joyous Harvest Party! This event was held as a thank you to all our families and supporters as well as a way to raise some money going into the winter months. We sat back in awe of the people who came and reflected on our whole year in a few hours of both fun and chaos. I wished I could have bottled those few hours and have it all fresh in my memory. We were amazed at all the support. It brought tears to our eyes, tears of thankfulness, tears of joy and tears of hope for the seasons to come. We all got so caught up in the 'to do's' of the party we didn't take pictures of all the fun and activities!

However, the day after the party, we did get some pictures of our horses. They were decked out in paint, bells and ribbons thanks to Megan and Kelsey!  Thanks you two SO much for helping bless us, our kids and our guests! Here are a few pictures of how our sweet horses were dressed for the occassion!

Each of the words on the horses holds a special meaning as to their story and what/who they were for a handful of the kids that came to the ranch this summer. That to me, is perhaps my most favorite part of the whole party and season.

If I were to speak for Mike, Tanya and I, I would say a few of the most valuable things we learned this year are:

1. With God, ANYTHING is possible. God has given us an amazing family. Without our families, we could not have gotten through our first year. Without eachother, and grace and hope, we could not have gotten through it all. Without GOD, we could not have grown and learned how much he loves us, fights for us, and is there every time we seek Him. We are proud to say that we are stronger in our faith, stronger in our friendship and stronger for eachother than ever. We know that when God calls us to something, there will be trials and bumps in the road. This year, and the years to come, there will be. But we know we can get through ANYTHING with God as our leader and guide, and with eachother by our side.

2. God answers prayers. Yes. He. Does. There are numberous prayers that He answered this year. From providing food for our horses, to bringing us amazing people to serve along our side. We also have been praying for Him to orchestrate our board of directors. And, though it took a while, He answered. He answered on his timing. I've been learning to crave His timing.... because it is always the perfect timing, not always what I think it should be, but I would rather have his timing than mine, because He has a perfect plan. All of the people on our board are God loving, fearing and passionate people who have a love for our calling and support us in every way. As we sat down the other day to our first official board meeting with all our members, an analogy came to mind that describes what our purpose, goal and hope for the board members is. The vision was, Mike, Tanya and I in the front seat of a pick up truck driving along, steering the program (as we follow God down the road), and our amazing board members guiding the pick-up on each side, holding us accountable to follow our mission and keep us on track, spiritually and financially, lest we ever veer off track.
One of our first prayers as we started this adventure was to find a vet who would be completely on board and believe in our passion and purpose. Someone who would help us at some point when we would have the opportunity and blessing to rescue horses. Well, we're so thankful to say, through an amazing and unexpected first rescue situation, we met Dr. Becca, and she is on board! We are rejoicing in the fact she is excited to help and be a part of the program and board.

3. 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.' 2 Cor. 3:17
Oh the freedom we have felt and seen..... words can hardly explain. Many days we would start the day off with a circle of prayer. Prayer for protection over the little ones and horses, prayer for His light to fill the place... and if I so humbly may say, He did. He came and filled the ranch with Him. Here are a few pictures of our sweet kids that we were blessed to spend time with and the joy that is in their eyes and on their face - says it all.

A work of art!



Practice makes perfect!

A fine balancing act..

Joy - pure joy. We love you!

 This sweet girl below, was told she would never walk or crawl again. At the end of the summer, she was riding almost on her own and CRAWLED up this rock hill with me. It was an amazing moment - I'm so proud of you girl!!!!! Her joy and giggles filled our hearts each week. I miss her so much and can hardly wait to see her next spring!

As we prepare for another year, 2013, we are praying for each of the kids God has for us. We are working diligently to make next year another fun filled year! Thank you more than words can say to each of you who have been a part of our first year, and hopefully the years to come. We cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store!

So, as we continue to enjoy the quiet winter months, though they are cold, we want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and holidy season. We are rejoicing in the birth of our Savior and the reason for the season!

Merry Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families!

Blessings,

Your Sun River Family