WHAT THEY DO
The Challenge Ranch program offers
children a desperately needed break
from their seemingly hopeless
circumstances through an equine
enhanced lifestyle. Jane teaches
them not only to take care of their
horses and equipment, but also to
ride at a very competitive level.
And what fantastic little riders
they are! The Ranch even provides
the proper clothing (donated) to the
children so they immediately fit
right in and hit the ground running.
About a third of the children
that attend the ranch come from
healthy, well balanced homes. Jane
feels that in order for at risk
children to overcome the challenges
of their dysfunctional home lives,
it’s important for them to
experience firsthand what normal,
healthy relationships look and feel
like. The older kids who’ve been in
the program the longest are the
leaders who set the tone welcoming
and initiating the new kids into the
program. They guide and encourage
the others to do the same. Without
exception every participant is
committed to mentoring and
supporting each other and operating
as one big family.
So far, the
transformative effect on the lives
of children from group and foster
homes has been very impressive. It
is oftentimes their only exposure to
healthy, loving relationships and
they are able to move beyond many of
their antisocial issues almost
immediately once they start
attending the ranch.
Once the
trust kicks in, the magic
transformation from believing “I’m
worthless, no one cares about me,
I’m disposable” to “I’m worthy,
people care about and love me, I
have something to offer” starts to
take place. Grades, posture and
complexions improve, excess weight
drops off, temperaments stabilize.
Overall health improves, eye contact
is made, tight lips turn upward in
the corners every so often and
nervous smiles melt into soft
laughter. Most noticeable is the
twinkle in their eyes that shows
itself in spurts at first then grows
brighter and more consistent over
time. If you pay close attention,
you can actually feel the healing of
their young souls as yours joins in
the chorus.
Jane attributes
her innate knowledge of what these
kids really need and crave to her
own painfully difficult childhood.
She has an insider’s personal
perspective and a big heart full of
love and compassion. Her energy
never ceases, her eyes are electric;
she never stops moving. Her heart’s
on fire. Failure is never an option.
She has the most unique way of
seeing the silver lining and the
road to “YES” in every situation. A
more positive, upbeat individual you
will be hard pressed to find. Jane
will not stand for an ounce of
negativity without a pound and a
half of something positive to
counter balance it. Absolutely
anything is possible for anyone
who’s willing to work for it and
Jane is an ardent believer of that
philosophy. She is living proof, so
she knows of that which she speaks.
What better role models for
the children who flock to the Ranch
to explore a life offering hope and
love outside the despair of their
daily existence? Ron and Jane are
the kind, respectful and loving
surrogate parents most of these kids
never had and they welcome each and
every individual into their lives
with the same enthusiasm and
compassion they have for all those
who came before them.
The San
Diego Courts have supported the
Challenge Ranch and the Tomczaks in
successful attempts to keep the
children from being completely
swallowed up by the well meaning,
yet admittedly inadequate Department
of Children and Family Services.
What most people don’t know is
that when children are removed from
their homes and processed into the
system, they are almost always
medicated with anti-depressants and
sleeping aids, sometimes
excessively. The policy to medicate
is in place to keep them submissive
enough to avoid disruptive behavior.
These medications have known side
effects of drowsiness, anxiety, lack
of mental focus, short term memory
problems, depression and suicidal
tendencies.
The kids are
often treated accordingly as if the
side effects were actual
characteristics inherent in the
individual. In an hour or less in
their first therapy session, they
may be labeled ADHD, ADD, autistic,
bi-polar, etc. They may be deemed
incapable of learning, disruptive,
uncooperative, angry, unresponsive.
The very system designed to save and
protect them litters their lives and
alters their futures with many new
obstacles in the form of unfair
labels. Most of the children have no
one to champion their cause for
them. They are powerless to resist
without making things worse. Reduced
to being a case file, they are
completely alone.
It is a
double tragedy that’s piled on these
precious children at such a young
age. However, typically within two
to three weeks, Challenge Ranch
participants are oftentimes able to
persuade their counselors to reduce
their medication. Also, the need for
twice or more weekly therapy
sessions for depression, anger and
other behavioral issues declines and
sometimes diminishes altogether.
The courts have realized that a
weekly trip to Challenge Ranch for a
day is in many cases enough to
reduce and sometimes eliminate the
need for harmful methods of subduing
children whose lives have become
chaotic and unstable. At the three
month mark, some much sooner,
previously mislabeled children are
proving to themselves and the world
that they are highly intelligent,
capable, sensitive young people with
a lot of try and enormous potential.
Jane and Ron have created a family
environment that provides the type
of parental guidance, family support
and unconditional acceptance these
kids so desperately need at this
time in their lives.
WHY JANE DOES THIS
In England, a friend’s horses were
greatly responsible for helping Jane
cope with a physically and
emotionally difficult childhood.
Without that lifeline she would have
had no little or no hope and nothing
to look forward to and fight for.
The time she spent with horses gave
Jane the self confidence to be self
sufficient when she left home at the
age of fourteen to escape an
intolerable situation. Horses
instilled in her the confidence to
leave her native home for America.
Many told her she couldn’t make it
work. She was 28 years old and she
did. Jane came to America alone, she
knew no one. She started a business
which became very successful and
lived the American dream settling in
the San Diego area. She combined
forces with Ron Tomczak who was a
business competitor. They teamed up,
bought a few acres of their own to
rescue and have some horses and were
living the life they thought they
always wanted. But something really
important was missing.
One
day Jane signed out a very small
eleven year old girl from the
Polinsky Center. The Polinsky Center
is where children are taken when
first removed from their homes or
abusive situations. She was very
tiny. Withdrawn, painfully shy and
unresponsive when spoken to, she was
always hunched over looking at the
ground. This only made her appear
even smaller. She was incapable of
making eye contact and was exactly
the type of child that an
overwhelmed social services system
would easily let slip through the
cracks. She just wanted to be left
alone and that’s mostly what
happened.
Her life had been a
series of tragedies that no human
should ever have to deal with – at
any age. The fact that this tiny,
precious little creature had
survived was a miracle in itself.
She didn’t speak to Jane or Ron
for weeks, however the staff at the
group home noticed the change in her
attitude from the very first visit.
The next week when Jane went to pick
her up, the staff observed that her
spirits were higher than they’d ever
seen before and she was ready and
eager to go hours before Jane’s
arrival. Each week her enthusiasm
increased and her situation at the
home improved. People wanted to
spend time with her and she began to
welcome it.
When Jane
eventually asked her one day what
she liked most about the ranch, the
little girl’s response surprised
her. Instead of, “I like grooming or
riding the horses” she said “What I
like best about coming here is there
are no big fences. Here, I feel
free.”
Such a poignant
example of how far off the mark our
system is. We try to help as best we
know how. We donate to charities,
pay our taxes, delegate the
responsibility of day to day
procedures to nameless, faceless
individuals and agencies. That done,
we get on with our lives assuming
everything’s taken care of and we’ve
done our part. These are children
most of us never see in our daily
lives.
How ironic that
little girl was removed from her
home for her own protection and
rather than feeling safer, she felt
as if she’d been imprisoned. An
unexpected twist.
HORSES N KIDS
Horses are always looking to their
riders for leadership, direction and
confidence. They are wonderful
mirrors for us. They don’t care what
we look like and they may not know
what we’re thinking, but they always
know how we feel. They need to know
if they should trust us or run for
their lives. Children also operate
on feel, it is what makes them such
a magical combination. They relate
to one another on a level few adults
still have the ability to. In spite
of their shared past traumatic
experiences, in a unique way they
are still so pure, as only children
and animals can be.
SUPPORT
AMERICA’S CHILDREN
By supporting the Challenge Ranch
youth, we can grow both their
confidence and their prospects for
their future.
Donations are are always welcome,
there are a variety of ways to
contribute and become involved, even
at a minimal level. I encourage you
to take a closer look at these
wonderful programs that are quietly
and effectively transforming lives,
they are well worth our time and
efforts to support.
Click here to view what it costs
to sponsor a child.