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And now that Kris’s eyes have been opened to the horrors of the horsemeat industry, she’s unable to look away. “Before I knew it, I was down a rabbit hole into horse rescue. It just went crazy.”
Two years later, in 2016, Second Chance Cheekye Ranch becomes a registered charity and the horses just kept coming, along with a few donkeys and pigs! In the 10 years since Kris first spotted the For Sale sign, 382 horses, donkeys, mules and minis have been brought into SCCR and 332 of those equines have been rehomed. “We focus first on giving the horse a safe place to be and give them the space needed to be comfortable with us. We take the time to build a trusting relationship and then build a skill set that people can work with and nourish. We can have multiple adoption applications for one horse and we choose based on what’s best for the horse.”
Even with more than 100 volunteers and a small support staff including excellent horse trainers, it's not much of an exaggeration to say that if Kris is awake, she’s working. There are the endless ranch chores, the pressures of finding funds to support the care of SCCR equines, and the very emotional labour involved in deciding what horses to bring in from amongst the hundreds going to auction every month. But in 10 years there have also been many moments of pure joy, gifts from the horses to their benefactor. “In 2017 Cohen was one of 18 scrawny yearlings and 2-year-olds we brought in from a wild herd around Pemberton BC. Cohen was the smallest and most withdrawn of the bunch. My relationship with him was one based on pure trust and patience. After 3 months Cohen would follow me everywhere and come to his name. He knew all my voice signals – ‘walk on, back up, stand please.’ I could groom him and pick up his feet, but I couldn’t get a halter on him. Then one morning, almost a year to the day he came in, we were playing in the paddock doing obstacle work when he just dropped his head and I put the halter on him. He had surrendered his wild side to me. I cried like a baby in that moment. I felt sadness for his surrender but also extreme happiness that he trusted me.” “There’s no question that running this place is hard work, but I get special moments with every single horse that comes in here. Some nights I do think what the hell am I doing. But then every morning about 5:30 am, I hear the donkeys at my back door braying for breakfast and it just makes me smile. I’m ready to go again.”
Over the years Cheekye Ranch has welcomed thousands of people to events held on the property and been the venue of choice for upwards of 80 weddings as well as providing equine experiences for children and families. But mostly this is a place of peace for the many four and two-legged souls who have come through the gates.
Asked what’s in store for the next 10 years, Kris responds “more of the same” with a smile on her face. Happy Anniversary Kris!
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