Ranch Visit Offers Kids Unbridled Fun

Nine-year-old Melissa Aguilera had never touched a real horse before Tuesday, but now she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.

“I like taking the dirt off their shoes,” she said.

Melissa was one of about 70 kids from Thousand Oaks who spent the day learning to be ranch hands at the Two Winds Ranch in Newbury Park.

The children, who live in low-income apartment complexes operated by the affordable-housing group Many Mansions, are on vacation from school. Were it not for the outing, many would have spent the day home alone.

Instead, they rode horses, played games, ate barbecued burgers, went on a hay ride and learned about some of the responsibilities that come with working on a ranch.

“It’s a really neat experience for these kids,” said Lisa Safaeinili, Many Mansions director of resident services. Safaeinili organized the event with ranch manager Alvin “Bully” Cadin.

The children do not have the transportation or money to get involved in extracurricular activities like soccer or martial arts, she said. And too much spare time with too little to do makes kids more likely to get involved in gangs or drugs. “Everything in Thousand Oaks costs money,” Safaeinili said. “This is a way to give them the same opportunities other kids in Thousand Oaks might have.”

Jackie Montalvan, 8, said she would have spent the day just hanging around at home. “It’s boring when we don’t go anywhere,” she said.

In her first visit to a real ranch, Jackie said she learned how to brush a horse. “It’s real important to do it right,” she said as she demonstrated the proper stroke in the air.

Cleaning shoes, brushing manes and fastening saddles are skills Cadin hopes will spark a long-term interest in horses for some of the kids.

“If you get even one of them really involved with horses, you’ve got one who will stay out of trouble for the rest of his life,” he said.

In the last few years, Cadin has invited groups of kids from all over the county to be cowboys and cowgirls for a day. “I get a kick out of it, being able to help somebody,” he said.