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.
A Halloween Parade!
Want to participate? Click here
Our first year in a PARADE!! An Oviedo Halloween Parade!!
I signed Cheyne Ranch up for the Songbirds Spooktacular Halloween Parade!
The parade is:
Sunday, October 11, 2026
6:00 PM (meet at 4:30 PM)
Oviedo Aquatic Center
I am very excited, but I will need lots of help. Parades and decorating are not exactly my talent area!
We Need a Theme!
A few years ago, I created this fun Halloween artwork for a Boo Bash at Cheyne Ranch. We are reusing the logos for our parade T-shirts, so they can also give us a good starting point for our theme and decorations.
One possible theme is Skeletons! It works well with the T-shirt artwork and could be fun without being too complicated. But that is only an idea! If you have something better, please share it.
Our basic parade plan is to:
Decorate the Kawasaki Mule and bring it on the trailer, if we can
Bring a few calm ponies or horses to walk
Decorate everything to match our theme
Have plenty of Cheyne Ranch people walking with us
Hand out candy along the parade route
Whatever theme we choose needs to be fun, easy to recognize, affordable to create, and safe for our animals.
Halloween T-Shirts and Fundraiser
People really loved our Cheyne Ranch Halloween shirts when we offered them a few years ago, so we are bringing them back!
Cheyne Ranch will provide a basic T-shirt to our regular workers and volunteers who help prepare for or participate in the parade. It is a small thank-you for everything you do for Cheyne Ranch. If that is you, please include your shirt size when you sign up to help.
The shirts will also be available for our families, friends, and supporters to purchase as a fundraiser for Cheyne Ranch. You do not have to participate in the parade to order one!
Everyone walking with our parade group will need to wear one of the Halloween shirts. The ordering link, available styles, 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!
We Need Help!
There will be plenty to do before and during the parade. We will need help with:
Planning and decorating the Kawasaki Mule
Making safe decorations for the horses and ponies
Preparing and organizing supplies
Loading and unloading
Walking with and handling animals
Handing out candy
Cleaning up after the animals along the parade route
Taking photos and videos
The parade begins at 6:00 PM, but participant check-in begins at 4:30 PM. Cheyne Ranch may need to meet earlier so we have time to unload and get everyone ready.
The parade will happen rain or shine, and there is no rain date.
Want to Join Us?
If you would like to participate, that is awesome!! The more the merrier - please let’s a lot of us show up!
Please tell me:
Anything that you want to help with!
Whether you can help before the parade, during the parade, or both
You do not need to be creative or experienced with parades. I am certainly not! We just need people who are willing to help us put together something fun and represent Cheyne Ranch well.
I think this is going to be so much fun!
Please fill out the quick form below! I can’t wait to do this with you all!
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.
Join Us at Rockin’ for Autism Event
Want to volunteer at this awesome event with us? Scroll all the way down to sign-up for a volunteer shift!!
We are so excited to share that Rockin’ for Autism Awareness is coming to The Barn in Sanford on Sunday, September 27 — with live music, raffles, a silent auction, food, and a full day built around autism awareness and community.
We’re incredibly grateful that Cheyne Ranch has been chosen as one of the beneficiaries of this year’s event.
What makes this especially meaningful is that it came through a community connection — someone who knows Cheyne Ranch thought of us and recommended us. That kind of word-of-mouth support means a lot.
Beyond the financial support, this event also brings more people into the conversation about acceptance, belonging, and creating places where children and young adults of all abilities can be known, challenged, included, and valued.
A portion of the proceeds will support scholarships for Cheyne Ranch students, helping make our programs accessible to more families.
We’ll also be there in person with a Cheyne Ranch table, some of our volunteers, and I’ll be sharing a little about who we are and why this work matters.
If you love live music, want to support a great community event, or just want to come say hello, we’d love to see you there. 💛🐴🎸
Sunday, September 27
The Barn in Sanford
Doors open at 12 PM
Buy tickets and see full event details here:
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.
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
Fall 2026 Programs at Cheyne Ranch 🐴🌿💛
Our Fall 2026 programs begin the week of Monday, August 17, and we would love to welcome your student!
Programs include:
Wednesday Afterschool Nature Club
Friday Nature Club
Fall Schedule at a Glance
Here is what a typical week at Cheyne Ranch will look like this fall! The schedule below includes our Nature Clubs, along with the available days and times for Riding Lessons or PALS.
Some spaces may fill quickly, so please share your first choice and any additional options that could work for your family. Sally Ann will help determine the best fit based on your student’s needs and current availability.
🐴 Riding Lessons or PALS
Offered at select times on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. (Thursdays may be added if needed)
Tuition: $480 per 8-week segment
🌿 Wednesday Afterschool Nature Club
Wednesdays, 3:00–6:00 PM
Tuition: $360 per 8-week segment
🌿 Friday Nature Club
Fridays, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
Tuition: $480 per 8-week segment
Fall Semester Dates
The fall semester runs from August 17 through December 19.
There will be no regularly scheduled programs:
Week of Monday - Saturday, October 12–17
Week of Monday - Saturday, November 23–28
Semester Commitment
Our recurring programs are designed to continue throughout the full 16-week semester, giving students time to build consistency, relationships, confidence, and momentum.
Families will still be invoiced in eight-week segments, so the full semester does not need to be paid at once. Because spaces are limited, we ask families who accept a weekly spot to do so with the genuine intention of participating for the full 16 week fall semester.
Interested in Joining Us?
Returning Families
Contact Sally Ann (email or text)
The program or programs you are interested in
Your preferred day and time
Any additional days or times that could work
Once a space is confirmed, you will receive an enrollment confirmation email. Invoices will be sent later.
Text Sally: (407) 205-7744
Email Sally: sally@cheyneranch.com
New Families
If your student has never participated at Cheyne Ranch before, the first step is to schedule a Family Visit.
This gives us a chance to meet your student, learn more about their needs and interests, and talk about which program may be the best fit.
We are looking forward to another fall filled with animals, nature, friendships, learning, and growth! 🐴🌿💛
See What We’ve Been Up To
Read our summer recap here: click here
See our BIG Volunteer Day with Home Depot volunteers here: click here 🧡
Our big Summer Fundraiser was such a success!! click here
🐴 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.
🧡 What Forty-Two People Built Together 🧡
One-minute time-lapse video of our nine-hour day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hLLgTBc5qXDGAfou5
Look at that sky! We were lucky for this August day with lots of overcast. A storm was rolling in just as the day was ending!
I am still trying to take in everything that happened at Cheyne Ranch today.
For months, the arena has existed in plans, measurements, fundraising goals, and conversations about what our students and horses need. Today, it began to look like the space we have been dreaming of.
Twelve Team Depot Volunteers Built the Arena Fence
Twelve Team Depot volunteers from our local Oviedo Home Depot spent the day building approximately 250 linear feet of four-board arena fencing. That meant digging around thirty deep post holes, setting and aligning the posts, and lifting and securing row after row of heavy 2-by-6 boards in the summer heat.
It was incredibly hard physical work, but the difficulty went far beyond the lifting and digging. They had to navigate underground pipes, work around an auger that was too short for some of the holes, rethink post placement when the marked layout did not match the reality of the ground, and angle fence boards where the shape of the arena required it. Again and again, they adjusted the plan, found a solution, and kept moving.
They measured, carried, lifted, leveled, recalculated, adjusted, and worked for hours. Watching the arena take shape, post by post and board by board, was extraordinary.
Why This Fence Matters
Until now, our adaptive riding lessons took place in the pasture behind the barn, a multipurpose horsey space where the other horses also rested, played, and moved freely. That worked when Cheyne Ranch was smaller. As the program grew, we needed a space built specifically for lessons.
After months of planning, fundraising, and investing in the ground and footing, the new arena was ready for its fence. It was the final piece, turning a prepared space into a working arena.
Many of our students are still building the balance, coordination, and confidence it takes to guide a horse independently. Clear, visible boundaries help support that learning. They help the horse understand where the work is happening, rather than drifting back toward the barn or toward whatever else has caught its attention, and they give instructors a more contained and predictable space in which to teach.
Because of The Home Depot Foundation and Team Depot, students, horses, instructors, and volunteers now have a dedicated place to work together with greater focus, clarity, and safety. Cheyne Ranch serves about 100 students each week, and this arena will now be where our adaptive riding students learn, grow, and build confidence. They completed in one day what will serve this community for years.
The Home Depot Foundation and Team Depot Made This Possible
Through a $4,500 grant from The Home Depot Foundation, Cheyne Ranch received the materials needed to build the arena fence. Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, then brought twelve volunteers from the Oviedo store to complete the project.
Their support provided more than fencing materials and a day of labor. It completed the dedicated riding arena our students and horses needed, making possible a safer, more focused, and more predictable place for adaptive riding lessons.
Special Thanks to Michael and Natalie
I am especially grateful to Michael Smith, who led the Team Depot project and helped make the entire day possible. From the planning through the work itself, Michael carried an enormous amount of responsibility for bringing this project together. His leadership, coordination, and willingness to invest in Cheyne Ranch meant so much to us.
I am also deeply grateful to Natalie Zarnowski, a Pro Desk professional at our local Oviedo Home Depot. Natalie was the person who first connected me with Michael, and that introduction opened the door to everything that followed. She helped with so many details along the way and was consistently kind, personable, encouraging, and generous with her time. Natalie made the entire process feel personal from the very beginning, and I am so thankful for the care she showed me and Cheyne Ranch.
I wish I had caught the name of every Team Depot volunteer who came to help. Each one deserves to be recognized. I may not know every name, but I will remember their kindness, their determination, and the sight of them continuing to dig, lift, measure, and build through such a hot day.
Thirty Incredible People from Cheyne Ranch
We had asked our Cheyne Ranch volunteers to give the Team Depot crew the room they needed to work safely and efficiently. They did that while staying nearby, supporting the day, and continually noticing where else they could help.
They kept ice, cold water, cooling towels, and Gatorade slushies ready for the Team Depot volunteers. They brought tools, helped carry supplies, answered questions, offered tours, introduced our guests to the animals, and shared why this place and this project matter.
Throughout the rest of the property, they were also carrying the daily life of Cheyne Ranch. Our group ranged from young children to adults, and every person added something important to the day. It was long, busy, and very hot, but they stayed involved, helped wherever they could, and worked alongside one another with so much enthusiasm and care.
The People Who Helped Feed Everyone
A day this large also required a significant amount of food and drinks, and several generous people helped make that possible by sponsoring different parts of the day.
Coach Kelly Live sponsored breakfast.
Valerie and Skip Kohlmyer sponsored lunch.
Erica Hall, LMHC sponsored snacks and treats.
MaryBeth McAdam sponsored drinks and hydration supplies.
Their support helped cover the cost of feeding and hydrating more than forty people throughout a long, hot volunteer day. Because of their generosity, everyone had food, cold drinks, and a place to pause and recharge before returning to the work.
I am so grateful to each of them for helping make that possible. 💛
Caring for the Animals and the Barn
Even with a major construction project underway, the daily life of the barn continued.
Every stall still needed to be cleaned. Every animal still needed food, water, attention, and care. Water buckets and pasture troughs needed to be scrubbed, grain needed to be made, hay needed to be cleared, and because it was such a hot summer day, several of the horses needed to be rinsed, cooled, walked, or given a little extra attention.
Our volunteers handled all of it.
Paisley received a medicated bath. Pearl, Lujen, and Edward were rinsed. Eva made mash for Lujen, children added ice to the animals’ water, and Pearl and Honey had their manes braided to help them stay cooler. Other volunteers walked Edward and Princess and made sure the animals remained comfortable while all the activity continued around them.
Everyone was so busy cleaning the only photos available are from our cameras!!
At the same time, the barn received a level of cleaning I am still trying to take in. The walls were brushed from top to bottom, and stall fronts, pipes, shelves, trunks, fans, doors, cubbies, and the wash stall were cleaned. Things were pulled away from walls so packed-in dirt and grime could finally be reached. The barn was swept again and again, and nearly an entire spreader was filled with debris from the walls, corners, and places where the walls meet the floor.
This was detailed, physical work, and much of it was done without anyone needing to be asked. They looked around, saw what needed attention, and began. They pulled weeds, made small areas safer for the horses, organized supplies, cared for the animals, and kept finding one more thing they could do.
A barn is always full of work, and the immediate needs of the animals have to come first, so deeper cleaning often waits. To have so many people notice those neglected corners and give them their time and care felt overwhelming in the best possible way.
They were caring for the animals, the people, the building, and the daily life of Cheyne Ranch all at once.
Twenty Beautiful Ground Poles
The Cheyne Ranch volunteers also painted twenty ground poles for the new arena, and they are beautiful.
These poles will become part of everyday lessons. Students will ride over them, around them, and between them as they practice steering, balance, focus, and communication with their horses.
While Team Depot built the structure of the arena, our volunteers created some of the pieces that will bring it to life.
Look at all this incredible hard work!
Two People Who Help Carry Cheyne Ranch
Ms. Katie and Erin are two of the people who normally help carry so much of the daily work at Cheyne Ranch, and on this day they gave even more.
Ms. Katie came on Sunday to help me think through the details and prepare for such a large day. Then she arrived before sunrise on Monday and stayed for eleven hours. She is a true right hand to me, someone who helps me plan, notice what I may be missing, and keep moving when there is a lot to carry. She also brings her incredible veterinary technician skills to the care of our animals, which gives me so much confidence and peace of mind. I am so deeply grateful for her steady presence and everything she gave to the day.
Erin worked incredibly hard from beginning to end. She brings so much willingness and enthusiasm to everything she does, including the tough, physically demanding work. She kept noticing what needed attention, helped make sure every volunteer had a meaningful way to contribute, and treated people with so much kindness and patience throughout the day. She is good to everyone and especially wonderful with the kids, keeping them involved and part of the real work. Her energy, kindness, and wholehearted willingness to help are such a gift to Cheyne Ranch, and I am deeply grateful for her.
Forty-Two People, Working Toward One Purpose
By the end of the day, Team Depot had completed an extraordinary amount of difficult construction work.
Around them, the Cheyne Ranch volunteers had cared for the animals, welcomed our guests, painted twenty beautiful ground poles, kept everyone cool and hydrated, guided the younger volunteers, and transformed the barn.
There were forty-two of us here, including me, and every part of the day mattered. The Team Depot volunteers built the fence that will surround our new arena, while the Cheyne Ranch volunteers cared for everything that gives the arena its purpose.
What We Will Remember
I am so deeply grateful to Michael, Natalie, every Team Depot volunteer, The Home Depot Foundation, and every Cheyne Ranch volunteer who gave their time, energy, care, and heart to this day.
In the days ahead, students will ride inside this fence, horses will walk over these ground poles, and volunteers will move through this beautifully cleaned barn. The care that went into this day will still be here, woven into the way this space is used and loved.
We will remember the heat, the tools, the cold drinks, the paint, the dust, the tired faces, and the way so many people came together to make Cheyne Ranch better.
Thank you for building this with us. 💛
Our Cheyne Ranch Volunteers
It was such an incredible day, and I am deeply grateful to each of you.
Abby, Aine, Amelia R., Anna, Chandra, Christi J., Christie R., Christopher S., Cole, Emily M., Emily P., Emma, Erin, Eva, Evan, Grace, Jason, Joseph, Juliet, Katie, Katelynn, Kayla, London, Olivia, Oliver, Rosie, Sophia, Talyn, and Zinn.
🤠🐴🔥 2026 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 $3,500 for Cheyne Ranch’s horses.
People chose teams, recruited friends and family, followed the leaderboard, made surprise comebacks, and kept voting right up until 6:00 tonight.
And now it is official:
🏆💛 TEAM EMOJI is our 2026 Horse of the Year! 💛🏆
Emoji finished with 149 votes, followed by Lujen with 128 and Arrow with 112.
I was also curious about which teams had the most different online voters, not just the most total votes. Each person was counted once per team, even if they voted for that horse several times.
Most unique online voters
Twilight: 10
Emoji: 9
Arrow: 9
Lujen: 8
Honey: 7
Misty: 7
Edward: 5
Klare: 4
Mini Squad: 4
Nelson: 4
I love this part of the results because it shows how many different people showed up for these horses. Some teams had larger gifts, while others moved forward through lots of $5, $10, and $25 votes.
I also want to recognize our top five HOTY contributors:
💛 Vicki McGrath, Team Emoji
❤️ Leigh Tepper, Team Arrow
💚 Heather Mitchell, Team Lujen
🐴 Rebecca Ning, Teams Lujen, Misty, and Nelson
🩵 Kelly Mawhinney, Team Twilight
Together, these five supporters contributed more than half of the funds raised, while dozens of other donors carried HOTY forward through gifts of every size.
Thank you to every person who voted, shared a post, encouraged someone else to join in, or simply followed along with the fun.
This was our first HOTY, and it brought so much affection and enthusiasm to the horses who make Cheyne Ranch what it is.