Hope, Horses & Kids

07/12/2026

Thank you 🙏🏻 to all our volunteers who helped serve drinks to the thirsty concert goers at thr Miranda Lambert concert last night. We had an absolute blast, with many laughs and new friends made. A special thank you to Tara Baker for organizing all the volunteers and the California Rodeo Salinas for allowing us to be a part of this exceptional community!

We are beyond excited for big week ahead. Bring it on!! 💪🏼

07/11/2026

On Fridays we forge 🔥. Every Friday at one of our summer camps includes blacksmithing in our Homer Hayward Forge. The energy and focus in the forge while the kids are crafting with fire and metal is palpable - it has to be seen to be believed! What an awesome way to hone creativity with physical output. Greg also offers private sessions - DM us for more info.

07/10/2026

What a couple of days we’ve had! Camp 3 days 3 and 4 were jam packed with activities including Horse Powered Reading®️’s pooper scooper. The kids just love getting creative building ‘ranches’ and even spelling words using colorful balls in their forts. They then used their forts for our ‘treasures’ activity which is a great one for teaching how to set boundaries - a critical life skill that benefits them to learn early!
In our downtime we painted horses shoes and played wiffle baseball of course.

07/08/2026

Camp 3 day 2 was a hoot! We started off with learning some of our crucial equipment needed to get our horses in and ready to ride. This is such a fun way to learn, by moving and doing!
We then encouraged mini donkeys to do hard things like step over scary logs, and the ‘mini herd’ got to show off their tire tricks again 😎.
This afternoon was spent in the saddle, a strong way to finish a day. These shorter days really are flying by!

07/07/2026

Camp 3️⃣ day 1 began with one of our favorite games to teach kids how to consciously partner with their equine counterparts and show them how to control their horse’s feet on the ground. If you don’t have partnership or know how to work with your horse on the ground then it’s a skill that will never be mastered in the saddle 🐎.
We then played some communication painting this afternoon. This develops clear communication, active listening and partnership between friends, all while having fun with our four legged friends too.

07/06/2026

Our 3️⃣rd annual Hoot is just two months away! Mark your calendars 🗓️, purchase your tickets 🎟️ and dust off those dancing boots for a yee-hawing good time 💃🏼.
Visit our barn, meet our team (four-legged and two-legged alike) and sample a beautiful
Menu created specially for HHK by the RCA culinary students. 🤠

📣 New event alert 📣

Our 3️⃣rd annual Hootenanny dinner will be held on September 12th at the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus. This is our largest dinner fundraiser of the year and by attending you support the care of our animals and the continuation of our programs while also -

🍖 enjoying a fabulous meal cooked by the DCA academy
📝 get to bid on exclusive silent auction items
🎶 listen to music under the stars in the beautiful hills at the ranch

We truly appreciate the support we receive from the community, without you we could not continue to do what we do, which is helping youth in the community have affordable access to animals, nature and equine assisted learning activities among much, much more. Thank you and we hope to see you there! 💃🏼

07/04/2026

06/30/2026

Our horses are enjoying a well earned rest 💤 this week before Camp 3 starts on Monday!

🔆 There are still a few spots available for next weeks camp which is a shorter day camp - 10am-2pm. Kids of all ages and abilities 💫 are welcome at all our camps but this one is tailored more towards individual needs and kids who would prefer a shorter day.

🔆 We also have our one day, Back to School 🏫 booster camp on Wednesday August 5th, 10am-3.30pm. This will be focused on our Horse Powered Reading and Math®️ curriculum and will help get little brains back into gear before the beginning of school 📚.

Head to our website to sign up, or DM us to sign up, see you out at the barn! 🐎

06/29/2026

🐴🐴 ATTENTION FRIENDS! 🐴🐴

Fun Adult Volunteer Opportunities Available!

Big Week is a big deal here in Salinas, and it's almost here!

Hope, Horses & Kids is proud to kick off this year's Salinas Rodeo by running the Miranda Lambert Concert beverage booths, and we'd love your help!

🍷 Miranda Lambert Concert
📅 Saturday, July 11
🕓 4:00–10:00 PM
🍹 Help us serve margaritas and wine while supporting Hope, Horses & Kids!

Volunteer Requirements:
✅ Must be 21 or older
✅ California Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) certification required (it's quick and easy to get online—we'll send you the link!)

We're also looking for volunteers during the California Rodeo Salinas:
📅 July 15–19

Volunteering is a fun way to support our nonprofit, meet great people, and be part of one of Salinas' biggest events of the year!
If you're interested or have any questions, please reach out to our volunteer coordinator Tara at [email protected] - we'd love to have you on the team! ❤️🐴

06/27/2026

And that’s a wrap on Camp ✌🏻. First up this morning was horse jeopardy - revisiting all that we learned this past week - body parts, colors and markings, tack, nutrition and also the practical skills leading around obstacles. They blew us out of the park with their retained knowledge! 🧑‍🎓
This afternoon was forging Friday. These kids always amaze us with their focus and skill when the fire gets going 🔥and the hammer starts clanging 🔨. We ended the day with a round of horse bingo. We will miss these kids - ‘til next time! 🫡