BJP Youth Ranch: Pearson Ranch

"BJP Youth Ranch’s mission is to provide a safe learning environment for children of all ages and abilities. We wish to enhance their quality of life through a variety of programs that promote education, responsibility and relationships. 

Our equine therapy program is affordable, accessible and effective in supporting our ‘at risk children’ as well as individuals with disabilities of all kinds, helping them to reach their fullest potential in life. Pearsons are members of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). Bill and Jan Pearson retired to Missouri in 1998, from Michigan, and for the first 8 years dedicated the 350-acre ranch to Youth Rodeos and clinics. They began building their Therapeutic Equestrian Program in 2006 and started their program in June of 2007. The Pearsons decided to change the venue because of the great need for help for many disabled children and adults. The ranch is now a nonprofit Youth Ranch that includes many avenues to helping kids and their families. 

The BJP Youth Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Program (www.bjpyouthranch.com) has a dedicated staff of instructors and volunteers that want to see the youth and adult riders shine and get stronger mentally and physically.

In therapeutic riding, the walking movement of the horse is similar to the movement of a person walking. When people ride a horse, their hips move as if they were walking on their own. The riders gain muscle strength, balance and their brain receives signals just as if they were walking themselves. The warmth of the horse helps riders relax and loosens up their muscles.

The horse also gives the rider a huge jump to freedom, as they can go where they want without the restrictions their handicapped body puts on them, something a person without a disability normally does not think about.

Having a daughter of their own with cerebral palsy and knowing first hand the benefits of therapeutic riding, it has become Bill and Jan’s dream to make the BJP Youth Ranch a facility to help handicapped children and adults experience freedom. Mission Statement

 

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