The Airtable Empire Behind Cheyne Ranch
Computer in our tack room - with our barn chicken! a hen who refuses to go into the chicken coop. She lives in our barn - and apparently helps with computer work too.
There’s a lot happening behind the scenes at Cheyne Ranch. About 100 students each week, horses and other animals to care for, workers and volunteers to schedule, and all the registrations, waivers, invoices, payments, and donations that come with running a nonprofit.
Our programs are often full, with families waiting for openings.
And tucked behind it all is something families might not expect: our own software system, built in-house using a fancy, colorful database called Airtable.
I love how the things we’ve done along the way find their way into what we do next. For Cheyne Ranch, that includes a software background I never imagined would have so much to do with running a barn.
Graci in the cockpit of an airplane - I couldn’t find a digital photo of me in the Air Force - so here is Graci in 2011 :) And no, I definitely did not fly planes in the Air Force, but I still like this photo.
Once upon a time, I was in the Air Force, where I trained as a Spanish linguist. I ended up working for a colonel who served as an Inspector General and built him a Microsoft Access database to get some of his workflow onto a computer. This was around the year 2000, when keeping records on paper was still the norm, so moving them onto a computer was kinda high tech.
After leaving the Air Force, I went to work for a medical software company. From 2002 to 2019, I worked with doctors and nurses, helping set up their data and teaching them to use what were then “new” electronic medical records.
For five of those years, that work included an Access database that captured every detail of labor and delivery for a big urban hospital in Kansas City. Turning those details into statistics made me very familiar with childbirth through thousands of other women’s experiences. A little ironic to have so much pregnancy and birth data in my head, since during that time we adopted all 4 of our children! 😂
Original “cubby” office 2017 - 2025!!
When Cheyne Ranch started growing beyond spreadsheets, I looked around for software that could handle what we needed. Nothing seemed to quite fit. So, out came those old database skills, and the building began.
I like to describe Airtable as a digital box of Legos. Over time, those Legos became a palace with rooms and space for everything related to how Cheyne Ranch operates. This is what I affectionately call our “Airtable empire.”
There’s a place for student information, registrations, programs, the lesson calendar, waivers, invoices, and payments. A student’s registration connects to their program, invoice, payments, and remaining balance. Our animals’ care, donors’ gifts, and workers’ and volunteers’ schedules have their own places, too.
And all these rooms connect. Information can be entered in one place and used in several others. Automations help move things along, and when the ranch needs something new, there’s room to build it. The system has grown along with Cheyne Ranch, shaped around how we actually work.
Updated office - Fall 2025!!
Families mostly see the horses, the students, and the time we spend together. Behind the scenes, these systems help keep the details organized so more of our energy can go toward the people and animals here.
Building all this is what I do for “fun.” After hours, like around midnight. Because who needs hobbies? Oh wait - this is my hobby.
Data entry still tortures me, though, and unfortunately, databases only work if there is data in there to work with. 😂 So there’s always another opportunity to make that part easier.
The latest addition, built with Claude’s help, is a payment staging table. Incoming payments land directly in Airtable, ready for review and recording. The information is already there instead of waiting to be entered from scratch. Hopefully, that means less time catching up on payments and getting accurate invoices out to families sooner!
So when I get into a conversation and say, “I built our software - on Airtable!!” this is what I’m talking about. Years of putting those little digital Legos together to help keep Cheyne Ranch running, from student registrations to animal care and everything in between.
Who knew your friendly neighborhood nonprofit adaptive riding barn had a whole digital palace behind it? 😂
September 2026 Updates
🍂 Five Weeks of Fall Already!!
Can you believe we have already completed FIVE weeks of Fall 1?!
The first three weeks were rainy. Really rainy. For nine lesson days in a row, lightning showed up somewhere nearby!
We adjusted plans, watched the radar, took shelter when necessary, and continued learning through groundwork, grooming, animal care, barn skills, and time with our horses. Riding is wonderful, but some of the most important learning at Cheyne Ranch happens with two feet on the ground.
Thank you to our families for being so patient and flexible while we worked around the weather.
☔ Please take a moment to refresh your knowledge of our Rainy Day Policy.
📰 If you missed our August Update, you can read it here.
**THANK YOU TO KATIE for most of the photos in this newsletter
🎸 Rockin’ for Autism Awareness
Cheyne Ranch is the nonprofit beneficiary of this year’s Rockin’ for Autism Awareness event!
Sunday, September 27
Doors open at noon
The Barn in Sanford
This is an all-ages event, so bring the whole family! There will be live music, food trucks, raffles, a silent auction, and a full day centered around autism awareness and community. A portion of the proceeds will support scholarships for Cheyne Ranch students.
Cheyne Ranch staff and volunteers will be there throughout the day, and I will be there ALL DAY! We would LOVE to see lots of Cheyne Ranch families and friends there. Buy a ticket, bring the family, enjoy the event, and please come find us and say hello!
We also need LOTS of volunteers to help throughout the day. Volunteers do not need to buy a ticket and can enjoy the event before or after their shift.
🎃 Join Our Halloween Parade!!
Cheyne Ranch is participating in the Songbirds Spooktacular Halloween Parade!
Sunday, October 11
Parade begins at 6:00 PM
Participants meet at 4:30 PM
Oviedo Aquatic Center
We are planning to bring our a few calm horses or ponies, lots of candy, and maybe some stickers to hand out!
We need families, students, volunteers, and friends to walk with us. You do not need any parade experience or special skills. We simply need lots of Cheyne Ranch people to show up, have fun, and help us represent our community!
Our Cheyne Ranch Halloween T-shirts are also available for adults and children. You do not have to participate in the parade to order one. Shirt sales help support Cheyne Ranch!
🎃 Parade details, participation signup, and Halloween T-shirts
🐝 Bee Farm Field Trip!
During our October break, we are planning a field trip to Black Hammock Bee Farms!
Tuesday, October 13
9:00 AM
Cost: $15
We will learn about honeybees, beekeeping, pollination, honey, and the important work bees do for our environment. This will be a fun opportunity to learn together somewhere other than Cheyne Ranch! All ages welcome!!
🍯 Field trip details and registration
Space will be limited, so please register early if you would like to join us.
🪜 Our New Mounting Block Is Finished!!
When I say mounting block, I mean MOUNTING BLOCK. It is HUGE!! 😂🐴
Zinn Schwartz (owner of Hamilton and Carter Garage Makeovers Plus) and Evan put a lot of work into making this project happen, and we are so excited to see it finished!
A very big thank-you to The Home Depot Foundation for providing the materials. We are incredibly grateful for their continued support of Cheyne Ranch and our students!
🎓 Investing in Our Instructors
During the first week of November, Cheyne Ranch will pause regular programs while Sally, Anna, Katie, and Erin travel to Phoenix for an intensive four-day Adaptive Horsemanship and Riding Instructor Development Clinic.
The training focuses on safe, effective instruction, adaptive teaching, lesson planning, instructor judgment, and equine welfare. Teaching adaptive horsemanship requires more than knowing horses. Our instructors must understand different physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional, and learning needs while making thoughtful decisions about safety and student progress.
The clinic is led in part by Saebra Pipoly, an important mentor of mine. Anna and I visited and learned from her in 2023, and we are thrilled that Katie and Erin will be joining us this time!
Cheyne Ranch and each instructor are making a significant investment of time, energy, and money. We take this work seriously, and our students and horses deserve instructors who never stop learning. 💛🐴
🤍 An Update on Honey
Honey is doing much better! She is more comfortable, moving better, and enjoying being part of barn life again.
She is still not sound enough to ride, and we are not going to rush her recovery. We are continuing her careful diet management and veterinary care, and she will now receive specialized therapeutic shoeing to support her feet as they heal.
This shoeing will cost approximately $400 every four to six weeks, creating a significant new ongoing expense for Cheyne Ranch. If Honey has a special place in your heart and you would like to help with her care, donations of any size would be greatly appreciated.
And the most important Honey rule remains the same:
NO TREATS FOR HONEY! 🤍🐴
For now, loving Honey means helping us protect her from foods her body cannot safely handle.
👑 Princess Turned 22!!
Our beautiful Princess celebrated her 22nd birthday!
Twenty-two is something worth celebrating, especially for a horse who continues to bring so much patience, personality, and sweetness to Cheyne Ranch.
Happy birthday, Princess! 👑🐴🎂
☀️ Lujen Had a Fantastic Summer!
Florida summers are especially difficult for Lujen because he does not sweat normally. Keeping him comfortable and healthy through the heat takes careful monitoring, cooling, hydration, and a whole lot of teamwork.
Lujen was rinsed with cool water every single day. He also received a very wet daily mash made with electrolytes, hay pellets, beet pulp, and most importantly, LOTS of water to help keep him hydrated.
We are very happy to report that Lujen made it through this summer looking FANTASTIC!
This was truly a team effort, led by Grace, who paid close attention to what he needed and helped keep everyone on track with his daily care.
Thank you, Grace, Anna, Katie, Erin, Abby, Eva and to everyone who helped rinse Lujen, prepare his mash, and care for him through another very hot Florida summer! 💛🐴
📅 Upcoming Breaks
There are NO CLASSES, LESSONS during these weeks:
Week of October 11: Scheduled break between Fall 1 and Fall 2
The Halloween Parade and Bee Farm Field Trip will still take place!Week of November 1: No regular programs while Cheyne Ranch teaching staff attend an intensive adaptive horsemanship and instructor development seminar in Arizona
Week of November 22: Thanksgiving Break
Week of December 20: Winter Break begins
Fall 2 begins Monday, October 19. Current students keep their reserved Riding, PALS, or Nature Club spot from Fall 1 into Fall 2 - unless a different time works better for you. Please contact me with any questions.
You can always review our full program calendar here.
Thank You! 🐴✨
There is always so much happening at Cheyne Ranch!
Thank you for trusting us with your students, supporting our animals, rolling with the weather, volunteering at our events, and being part of this wonderful community.
🐴 CHEYNE RANCH, INC. 🌟
Teaching Animal Care & Connection
📬 1963 Genova Drive, Oviedo, FL 32765
📞 Call/Text: (407) 205-7744 | 📧 Email | 🌐 Website | 📘Facebook | 📸 Instagram
💙 Cheyne Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Consider donating: chra.us/give
Our mission: We teach animal care and connection in a safe, inclusive, and accessible community where people of all abilities grow in confidence, develop life skills, and form meaningful relationships.
🐝 Bee Farm Field Trip!
Cheyne Ranch is taking a field trip to Black Hammock Bee Farms during our scheduled break between Fall 1 and Fall 2!
They promise a BUZZ-tastic time, and this sounds like such a fun opportunity to learn together!
📅 Field Trip Details
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Cost: $15 per participant
Black Hammock Bee Farms
2385 Howard Avenue, Oviedo, FL 32765
The tour will last approximately 1½ hours.
🍯 What Will We Do?
Dennis the Bee Guy will teach us how a hive works and why bees are so important. We will also:
See beekeeping tools, smokers, and bee suits
Taste different kinds of honey
Observe the apiary from a safe distance
Try on bee suits and take photos
Visit the farm store after the tour
🐝 Registration Information
Everyone over age one is considered a participant, including parents and chaperones. Please register and pay for every adult and child attending.
Children under one may attend without a paid registration but cannot participate in the honey tasting.
Space is limited, and advance registration is required.
🍯 Register Below!
Please use the scheduling link below to reserve and pay for your spots:
SCROLL DOWN
We cannot wait to learn about bees, taste some honey, and enjoy this adventure with our Cheyne Ranch community! 🐝🍯
Make sure to select quantity right below so you only have to fill out the form 1 time for your entire family.
PLEASE NOTE adults also need to pay to attend.
How People Become Volunteers at Cheyne Ranch
We get quite a few messages from people who love horses and would like to volunteer at Cheyne Ranch.
I understand why. There is something very appealing about spending a few hours at a barn, being around horses, doing useful work, and going home tired and dirty. There is certainly no shortage of work here either. There are stalls to clean, buckets to scrub, water troughs to fill, tack to organize, animals to feed, and something somewhere that needs sweeping almost all the time.
For a long time, I wondered if we should make it easier for new people to come volunteer. I pictured holding an orientation every so often, teaching the basic safety rules, showing people where things are, and giving them a list of jobs.
Then I started noticing that the people who were most helpful here had something in common. They knew Cheyne Ranch.
They knew which gate needed to be closed before another one opened, where things belonged, which horse needed a little extra space, and when someone nearby could use another set of hands. They understood the rhythms of the place well enough to notice what needed doing.
That kind of awareness takes time.
Most of Our Helpers Start as Students
Our volunteers almost always begin as students in one of our programs.
That gives them time to learn the horses, the animals, the property, our routines, and the way we approach safety. It also gives us time to teach the skills that matter here beyond basic horse care.
We teach them what to do when a horse does something unexpected, how to listen to correction and try again, how to finish the job they started, how to ask for help, and how to gradually take responsibility for more.
At first, a student may need someone beside them for almost everything. Over time, they begin to understand how we do things here, and for some students the next natural step is helping.
They may start by cleaning a stall independently, helping a younger student groom a horse, setting up an activity, or putting an area back together after a program. Eventually, some of them become the person showing someone else how to do something they once needed help learning themselves.
I love watching that happen.
Teaching People How to Work
A lot of what we do here is teaching people how to work.
Through caring for horses, people learn much more than horse care. We teach people how to show up, how to be trusted with something that matters, how to be corrected and try again, how to see a job through, and how to notice what needs doing before someone asks.
For teenagers, that can grow into confidence and competence. For adults with special needs, it can become real work with real responsibility in a place where the work is genuinely needed and they are genuinely capable of doing it.
The work is part of the teaching.
What Grows Around the Work
Some of the most meaningful things happening here are harder to put on a task list.
People know one another well. They notice when someone is having a hard day, who needs a little more patience, who needs encouragement, who can handle a job independently, and who still needs someone nearby.
A lot of that grows during very ordinary hours together. They talk while they clean stalls, catch horses, drag hoses around, put away tack, share snacks, and clean up after programs. Over time, those ordinary hours turn into trust.
Some of the people who started here as students years ago are now deeply woven into this place. Families know them, younger students look up to them, staff trust them, and they know one another in the way people do when they have spent a lot of time working side by side.
That sense of being known is one of the things I value most about Cheyne Ranch. People have room to grow here while still being accepted where they are. They can be corrected, encouraged, trusted with more when they are ready, and supported when they still need help.
Over time, they also learn how to offer that same kind of care to the people around them.
How People Come Into It
Our regular helpers become part of Cheyne Ranch gradually. They learn the horses, the systems, the people, and the expectations, and we learn them too.
That is not a screening process to see who is good enough. It is how the skills get built.
So if volunteering here sounds like something you or your child might eventually be interested in, the first step is to come as a student. This is not only for kids. Our PALS program serves adults with special needs, and several of our most trusted helpers came to us that way.
The best place to start is with a family visit so we can meet each other, show you around, and help you figure out which program may be the best fit.
When a Group Wants to Help
Now and then we take on a specific project with an established group, and those days are some of my favorites.
The Home Depot Foundation and Team Depot from the Oviedo store came out to build arena fencing, paint ground poles, repair fence areas, and help us clean up and organize around the barn. It was a wonderful day, and I am proud of that relationship.
Project days like that work differently from our regular volunteer pathway. A group arrives around one clearly defined job, we are all out there together, and the whole thing has a beginning and an end.
We are always glad to hear from 4-H clubs, businesses, civic groups, and other organizations that would like to help with a project when the right opportunity comes along.
The stalls still get cleaned, the buckets still get filled, and the barn still gets swept. But over the years, I have come to see that our volunteer program is doing something much bigger than helping us get the work done.
It gives people a place to learn how to contribute, grow into real responsibility, and become known and trusted within a community where people care about one another.
It’s a Halloween Parade!!
Want to participate? Click here
We’re joining the Songbirds Spooktacular Halloween Parade, organized by our friends at Songbirds Music Academy, another lovely Oviedo business!
This is our first year participating, and we’re keeping it simple, casual, and fun. We would love to have our students, families, volunteers, and supporters walk together and represent Cheyne Ranch. The more the merrier!
When and where (SUNDAY EVENING!!)
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Oviedo Aquatic Center
Arrive no later than 5:00 PM
Parade begins at 6:00 PM
Roads close soon after 5:00 PM, so please plan ahead and arrive on time!
The parade route is about one mile, and our whole group will be walking. We will have no vehicles in our parade entry.
It’s FREE to join our parade group! We would love to have our students, families, volunteers, and supporters walk with us.
No costumes, please! Wear a Cheyne Ranch Halloween T-shirt, a regular Cheyne Ranch T-shirt, or a plain black T-shirt.
What to wear
No costumes, please! (to keep the horses from spooking)
We’re keeping our group casual and coordinated. Please wear:
Please wear:
Your Cheyne Ranch Halloween T-shirt, if you have one.
A regular Cheyne Ranch T-shirt.
Or a plain black T-shirt.
It is sadly too late to order a Halloween shirt for the parade, but we still want you to join us!
Wear comfortable shoes for the one-mile walk.
There’s no cost to participate, and you don’t need to buy a shirt to join us!
Horses and decorations
We plan to walk two horses, probably Emoji and Edward. We’ll make the final choice that day based on how they’re feeling.
We’re keeping decorations minimal. Ms. Erin has supplies to help our horses get into the Halloween spirit!
We need wagons!
We’ll pull wagons and carts carrying candy, stickers, and Cheyne Ranch business cards to hand out along the route as part of the parade’s giveaway rules.
We also need a wagon for our muck bucket so we can clean up after the horses. Every parade crew needs a poop patrol! 💩
If you can bring a wagon or cart, please let us know. We would love help pulling them and handing out goodies, too.
Want to carry a sign?
Ms. Katie is working on signs for our group. If you or your child would enjoy making a Cheyne Ranch additional signs to carry, that would be wonderful!
The parade will happen rain or shine, and there is no rain date.
Come be part of the fun!
You don’t need parade experience or decorating skills. This year, we’re simply showing up together, having fun, and learning as we go.
We would love a big, happy Cheyne Ranch crew walking through Oviedo. Thank you to Songbirds Music Academy for bringing our community together!
Please include whether you can bring a wagon or cart or help with giveaways.
Halloween T-Shirts and Fundraiser 🎃🐴
Our Cheyne Ranch Halloween shirts are SO cute! Everyone loved them when we offered them a few years ago, and we’re excited to bring them back.
You can still order! Shirts usually arrive about 7 days after ordering, so there’s still time to enjoy yours before Halloween. They just won’t arrive before our early parade on October 11.
Every purchase helps support Cheyne Ranch, and you don’t have to participate in the parade to order one!
Walking with us in the parade? Wear your Halloween shirt if you already have one, a regular Cheyne Ranch T-shirt, or a plain black T-shirt. We would love to have you join us!
Browse the available styles, sizes, and prices below.
Adult Sizes
• 100% ring-spun cotton
• Sport Grey is 90% ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Dark Heather & Heather colors are 65% polyester, 35% cotton
• Graphite Heather is 50% polyester, 50% cotton
• 4.5 oz/yd² (153 g/m²)
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Quarter-turned to avoid crease down the center
• Blank product sourced from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti or Guatemala
Disclaimer: Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
• 100% ring-spun cotton
• Sport Grey is 90% ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Dark Heather & Heather colors are 65% polyester, 35% cotton
• Graphite Heather is 50% polyester, 50% cotton
• 4.5 oz/yd² (153 g/m²)
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Quarter-turned to avoid crease down the center
• Blank product sourced from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti or Guatemala
Disclaimer: Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Youth Sizes
• Sport Grey is 90% cotton, 10% polyester
• Fabric weight: 5.3 oz./yd² (180 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Classic fit
• Taped neck and shoulders
• Tear-away tag
• Made with OEKO-TEX certified low-impact dyes
• Blank product sourced from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, or El Salvador
Disclaimer: Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
• Sport Grey is 90% cotton, 10% polyester
• Fabric weight: 5.3 oz./yd² (180 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Classic fit
• Taped neck and shoulders
• Tear-away tag
• Made with OEKO-TEX certified low-impact dyes
• Blank product sourced from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, or El Salvador
Disclaimer: Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Our Rainy Day Policy
Why We Teach on Rainy Days
Students learn groundwork & horsemanship in the safety of our covered barn, tack room, guest house, other protected covered areas.
Groundwork / Horsemanship lessons are important & essential lessons
These are regular paid lessons - if we cancelled or rescheduled every time it rains, we could not afford to remain open.
Why do we teach groundwork?
Groundwork and unmounted horsemanship are core parts of riding instruction. Students need to learn how to handle, understand, and care for horses, not only how to sit on one.
I believe most students would benefit from more groundwork, and earlier. Some horse professionals I deeply respect require months of groundwork before a student ever gets into the saddle, and I think they are onto something. Rain gives us a natural opportunity to go deeper into skills I already believe students need.
Riding is an important part of our program, but it is only one part of the larger horsemanship education we provide. At Cheyne Ranch, we teach riding and groundwork alongside each other.
What makes a lesson valuable?
Families are paying us to teach horsemanship, not purchasing minutes in the saddle. Sometimes a full lesson happens entirely in the tack room.
When it is safe to get here, showing up matters. Community is built by people who keep showing up, even when the day looks different than expected. That consistency helps students build relationships, responsibility, and a real sense of belonging in this community.
What happens when it rains?
Safety always decides. Please only drive if conditions are safe. If lightning is nearby when you arrive, please remain in your car.
Our staff decides what is safe for the horses and for riding. We ask families to respect that decision. We take a conservative approach to lightning distance because we know our horses and want both students and animals safe. Even when a storm is far enough away that the horses are not in immediate danger, a loud crack of thunder can still frighten them. Most of our students are not yet ready to remain safely mounted if a horse spooks or moves away quickly.
If you can get here safely, please do! We have a plan for the lesson and will be in the barn, ready and excited to teach your student.
Cheyne Ranch closes for weather when Seminole County Public Schools closes.
Because Cheyne Ranch is an adaptive barn, some students need a plan adapted for their needs. If an unmounted lesson is not appropriate for your student, I will communicate with you directly about shortening, modifying, or rescheduling the lesson.
How do makeups work?
A makeup is a second staffed lesson. It requires us to pay an instructor and reserve another place in the schedule. If severe weather prevents safe attendance, we will try to offer one as a courtesy when we can.
Makeups are not guaranteed and are limited to available Sunday mornings.
If we rescheduled around every Florida thunderstorm, we really would spend the semester rescheduling the semester.
What are we building?
Our goal is to develop well-rounded horse kids. We want students to work safely around horses, respect and care for them, and grow through the slow, steady process of becoming capable horse people. I hope families will value that whole education, rather than measuring a lesson by how many minutes their student spent in the saddle. 😂
🐴 CHEYNE RANCH, INC. 🌟
Teaching Animal Care & Connection
📬 1963 Genova Drive, Oviedo, FL 32765
📞 Call/Text: (407) 205-7744 | 📧 Email | 🌐 Website | 📘Facebook | 📸 Instagram
💙 Cheyne Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Consider donating: chra.us/give
Our mission: We teach animal care and connection in a safe, inclusive, and accessible community where people of all abilities grow in confidence, develop life skills, and form meaningful relationships.
August 2026 Update
There is always so much news to share!
The first few days of August were amazing. HOTY ended, our huge volunteer day happened, and we got an arena fence!!
This past week, we have spent the past week getting ready for our students to return.
It is HOT. It is August. We are rinsing the horses who do not sweat as well at least once a day, and every afternoon we are mixing up what I can only assume are very delicious horse concoctions of beet pulp, mash, electrolytes, and whatever else each horse needs to stay hydrated and comfortable.
Now classes are about to start, Honey needs some extra care, and there are a few really exciting things coming up.
So here is a little Cheyne Ranch catch-up.
🤠🐴🔥 HOTY HAS ENDED! 🔥🐴🤠
HOTY is officially over, and I am still taking in what this community did for our horses.
Together, you cast 694 votes and raised about $3,500 for the care of the Cheyne Ranch horses.
People chose teams, recruited friends and family, followed the leaderboard, made surprise comebacks, and kept voting right up until the end.
And our very first Cheyne Ranch Horse of the Year is...
🏆💛 EMOJI! 💛🏆
Emoji finished with 149 votes, followed by Lujen with 128 and Arrow with 112.
One of my favorite things about looking through the final numbers was seeing how many different people supported individual horses. Twilight actually had the largest number of unique online voters, followed closely by Emoji and Arrow. There were big gifts, lots of $5 and $10 votes, people who supported more than one horse, and people who recruited their own friends and family to join their team.
I also want to recognize our top five HOTY contributors: Vicki McGrath, Leigh Tepper, Heather Mitchell, Rebecca Ning, and Kelly Mawhinney. Together, these five supporters contributed more than half of everything raised through HOTY.
Thank you to every person who voted, shared, cheered, followed along, or became a little more attached to one of these horses over the summer.
This was our first HOTY. I have a feeling it will not be our last. 💛
See the final HOTY results and photos:
https://cheyneranch.com/blog/202683
🧡 Forty-Two People Built Something Together
The same day HOTY ended, something else pretty extraordinary was happening here.
Twelve Team Depot volunteers from our local Oviedo Home Depot came to Cheyne Ranch and spent the day building approximately 250 feet of four-board fencing around our new arena. The approximately $4,500 in fencing materials were made possible through a grant from The Home Depot Foundation.
And while they were digging post holes, lifting heavy boards, measuring, leveling, adjusting, troubleshooting, and somehow continuing to work through an August day in Florida, about thirty people from Cheyne Ranch were working all around them.
Our volunteers cared for every animal, cleaned the barn from top to bottom, painted twenty ground poles for the new arena, carried supplies, helped our guests, kept cold water and cooling towels available, and found one useful job after another.
A day that big also takes a surprising amount of food and hydration, and several people generously stepped in to help us take care of everyone who was working. Coach Kelly Live sponsored breakfast, Valerie and Skip Kohlmyer sponsored lunch, Erica Hall, LMHC sponsored snacks and treats, and MaryBeth McAdam sponsored drinks and hydration supplies. Because of them, more than forty volunteers had food, cold drinks, and a chance to recharge throughout a very hot, very long day.
There were 42 of us here.
Team Depot built the fence that surrounds our new arena.
Our Cheyne Ranch volunteers cared for everything that gives that arena its purpose.
And several wonderful people made sure all of us were fed and hydrated while we did it.
I am just beside myself with gratitude.
One of my favorite parts is that our security camera caught the entire arena project from beginning to end, so we now have a one-minute time-lapse of the day. Watching that fence appear in sixty seconds after knowing how many hours of hard physical work went into it is pretty incredible.
See the time-lapse, photos, and the whole story: https://cheyneranch.com/hd
🐴 Fall 1 Starts MONDAY!
After our little August summer break, regular Cheyne Ranch programs begin again this Monday, August 17!
Our riding lesson schedule is FULL! If you had a spot last spring and we talked about your student continuing this Fall, please still reach out.
We do still have a few openings in Wednesday and Friday Nature Club, along with a few PALS spots on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
📅 Important Fall 1 + Fall 2 Dates
Fall 1 begins: Monday, August 17
Fall 1 ends: Saturday, Oct 10
Fall Break: Sunday, Oct 11 - Sun Oct 18
Fall 2 begins: Monday, October 19
Thanksgiving Break: Nov 23 - 28
Fall 2 ends: Saturday, Dec 19
Current students keep their reserved lesson/PALS/Nature Club spot for both Fall 1 into Fall 2 unless you let us know you need a change.
Full calendar + details:
https://cheyneranch.com/blog/26fall1
🤍 An Important Update on Honey
Our incredible Honey is going to be taking some time off.
Honey has developed laminitis, sometimes called founder, which is a painful condition affecting the sensitive tissues inside her front hooves. She will likely be out of riding and regular program work for at least several months while we help her feet heal.
One interesting thing about horses is that grass and some types of hay can contain a surprising amount of sugar. Most horses handle those sugars just fine, but some horses, like Honey, have a harder time processing them. When that happens, it can cause painful inflammation inside the hooves, especially in the front feet.
So right now, part of taking good care of Honey means being very careful about sugar in her diet.
Which brings us to the most important Honey rule:
NO TREATS FOR HONEY! 🤍🐴
No carrots, apples, horse cookies, handfuls of grass, or other treats unless a Cheyne Ranch staff member specifically says it is okay.
Even when she looks at you like she has never eaten a single meal in her entire life. 😆
You may also see Honey wearing a grazing muzzle. It may look a little strange if you have never seen one before, but it lets her spend time outside while limiting how much grass she can eat. We will be teaching our students what it is, why she wears it, and how it helps protect her feet. Limiting pasture and dietary sugars is a standard part of managing horses at risk for metabolic laminitis.
Our wonderful sports medicine vet, Dr. Brooke Richards, is helping us take very good care of Honey.
For now, loving Honey means helping us protect her from foods her body cannot handle well.
So please remember: NO TREATS! 🤍
If Honey has a special place in your heart and you would like to help with her care while she recovers, we are always grateful. Give here
🌱 A Reminder as We Begin a New Session: Faster Is Not Our Goal
The beginning of a new session feels like a good time to come back to something we talk about often at Cheyne Ranch.
Faster is not our goal.
It is natural to think about progress in riding lessons as the next riding skill. When will my child trot? When will they ride independently? When will they move to another horse?
Those things can absolutely be exciting.
But the work we are doing here is bigger than moving as quickly as possible through riding milestones. Our mission is animal care and connection, and riding is only one of the ways we practice that. We are also watching students become safer around horses, communicate more clearly, remember routines, take responsibility, tolerate frustration, work through something difficult, notice what an animal is communicating, help another student, and gradually realize how much they are capable of doing.
Sometimes those changes happen while sitting on a horse.
A lot of them happen with two feet on the ground.
As we begin another eight weeks together, that is the kind of progress we will be looking for.
Read more about what progress looks like at Cheyne Ranch:
https://cheyneranch.com/blog/202661
🎸 Rockin' for Autism Awareness
And we have something really fun coming up!
Thank you to Matt and Larissa Morgan, Cheyne Ranch has been selected as one of the beneficiaries of Rockin' for Autism Awareness, happening Sunday, September 27 at The Barn in Sanford. The event will include live music, raffles, a silent auction, food, and an afternoon centered around autism awareness and community.
A portion of the proceeds will support scholarships for Cheyne Ranch students, helping more families access our programs. We will also be there with a Cheyne Ranch table, some of our volunteers, and an opportunity to share what we do with people who may not know us yet.
Doors open at noon, and we would LOVE to see some familiar Cheyne Ranch faces there. 💛🐴🎸
Tickets and full event details:
https://cheyneranch.com/raa
August has already been full, and we are only halfway through it.
Thank you for cheering for our horses, showing up to work, trusting us with your students, helping us care for Honey, and being part of this community in so many different ways.
I am very grateful for all of it.
See you at the barn. 💛🐴
🐴 CHEYNE RANCH, INC. 🌟
Teaching Animal Care & Connection
📬 1963 Genova Drive, Oviedo, FL 32765
📞 Call/Text: (407) 205-7744 | 📧 Email | 🌐 Website | 📘Facebook | 📸 Instagram
💙 Cheyne Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Consider donating: chra.us/give
Our mission: We teach animal care and connection in a safe, inclusive, and accessible community where people of all abilities grow in confidence, develop life skills, and form meaningful relationships.
🎸 Rockin’ for Autism Awareness
Want to volunteer at this awesome event with us? Scroll all the way down to sign-up for a volunteer shift!!
Sunday, September 27 | Noon–9 PM | The Barn in Sanford
We are so excited that Cheyne Ranch has been chosen as one of the nonprofit beneficiaries of this year’s Rockin’ for Autism Awareness!
This is an all-ages, drop-in event, so come for an hour, stay for the afternoon, or hang out for the music all day.
There will be live music, food trucks, raffles, a silent auction, and lots happening throughout the day.
🎟️ Tickets are cheaper ahead of time, but you can also buy them at the door.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1737531554058810/
We’re very grateful to Karen Lazer and everyone behind Rockin’ for Autism Awareness for including Cheyne Ranch in this year’s event.
Come hang out with us!
Cheyne Ranch will be there all day with a table, volunteers, and lots of familiar faces.
If you love live music, want a fun Sunday with the family, or just want to come say hello, please come out and join us! 💛🐴🎸
What makes this event especially meaningful is that Cheyne Ranch was recommended through a community connection. Someone who knows our work thought of us and helped make this opportunity possible, and that kind of support means a lot.
A portion of the proceeds will support scholarships for Cheyne Ranch students, helping us continue making our programs accessible to more families.
The event also brings people together around autism awareness, acceptance, belonging, and creating communities where people of all abilities are included and valued.
🤝 Want to volunteer with Cheyne Ranch?
We would love some help throughout the day!
Volunteers do not need to purchase an event ticket.
Scroll down to choose a volunteer shift, or contact Sally if you have questions about where you can help.
Event Details
Sunday, September 27
Noon–9 PM
The Barn in Sanford
All ages
📎 Full Rockin’ for Autism event information
We’re very grateful to Karen Lazer and everyone behind Rockin’ for Autism Awareness for including Cheyne Ranch in this year’s event.
Scroll down to sign up for a Volunteer Shift!
The volunteer form is below. If you have trouble seeing the form, you can open the form in a new window here: Open form in new window