Farmers Weekly Review

By Stephanie Irvine

The success of HHH Ranch’s December 2024 fundraising campaign, which raised $55,000, has empowered the animal sanctuary and therapy facility to expand its services and programming this year.

“We’ve never had anything like that. The most we had before was like $7,000. It was overwhelming and very much humbled me that so many people care,” HHH founder and board president Christine Doran said of the huge donation.

HHH Ranch serves as an animal sanctuary for animals in need, primarily equine. But a main focus is on those needing mental health support, providing therapeutic riding lessons and other therapies for those with disabilities.

Part of the reason HHH offers such a wide array of therapies is that Doran feels there is a huge need. It’s personal for her.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury and had to spend a lot of time relearning basic skills — even falling in love with her husband again — so she empathizes with those who need that type of help.

“We are big in mental health. We find that we get a lot of adolescents who are suicidal. The youngest has been 10 in our program; the median is 12. I think social media has a huge part to play in it. We do a lot of building-up programs and teaching programs. We’re giving you a toolbox with tools on how to survive outside of here,” Doran explained.

Doran also wants to see adults with disabilities find ways to live a more fulfilling life by establishing an agriculture program to help those with disabilities get into farming.

“We need something large enough because we also believe in our adults with disabilities. Too many times, they’re just told that they could stock shelves at Walmart. That works out for some, but that can’t be for everyone,” Doran said, hoping to relocate to a larger property one day to start her Ag program.

She explained the adult farming program would involve a one-year commitment where the individual learns how to farm or do other agricultural work. Once sufficient, HHH would help them establish their own LLC, where they can practice and cultivate a plot of land.

If successful, HHH would help them work with the Department of Agriculture to buy land and equipment. If they aren’t, they’d have HHH to fall back on.

“We could really make these adults with disabilities self-sustainable,” Doran said, also noting how it could help meet a need in agriculture when younger generations are selling and leaving the industry.

Most welcome donations

The landmark end-of-year donations helped the ranch purchase a new side-by-side vehicle and a manure spreader, restore a walkway and cover six months of hay expenses.

Doran said the donation windfall helped establish new connections and pay for a grant writer who can help secure even more funds.

“It has cascaded the ball rolling for us. There are just so many good things coming for us this year because of it. We are going to be able to grow our programs exponentially this year,” Doran said.

Not only do they have 15 horses on the property, including three that were just taken in on an emergency basis from an animal cruelty investigation, but HHH also has two alpacas, a llama, a pig, a Highland steer, a Holstein cow, nine goats, seven sheep, ducks, chickens, miniature horses, donkeys, and a mule.

And that’s not all; they rescued a 12-year-old Great Pyrenees dog to live out his twilight years on the ranch.

“I don’t dream small,” Doran said.

She’s not joking, either. Running an operation of HHH’s size isn’t for the faint of heart, as it requires significant funding to cover expenses. Equine care, grooming, and more Doran estimates to cost around $5,000 for one horse per year.

Last year’s public tax filings for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization reveal that HHH Ranch brought in approximately $123,408 in revenue in 2023, with expenses totaling $110,040.

However, the year prior, 2022, wasn’t as successful. Expenses exceeded their revenue by over $3,000 — showing that it hasn’t always been an easy road.

Volunteers needed

Although many volunteers have come and gone since the inception of HHH Ranch, a core group of about 10 to 15 always shows up, along with several others that fill in. They are always looking for more as there is always a need to fill and a task to complete.

Before COVID hit, Doran said they had about 50 volunteers, which dwindled to three during the pandemic. They have struggled to reach pre-pandemic levels. The organization requires donations and volunteers to stay afloat, as they really have only one paid employee, she said.

Despite the difficulties of running a volunteer and donation-based nonprofit, HHH isn’t in danger of closing. In fact, with programming expansion and Doran’s big dreams, they intend to not only continue operations, but expand them by moving to a much larger farm this year.

The current facility, located in rural Manhattan, sits on just 5 acres and spills over onto neighboring property, which Doran says neighbors graciously allow them to use. She’s searching for a larger property, approximately 120 acres, to bring her dreams – like the ag program for those with disabilities — to fruition.

She saw the sign

At some point, she’d also like to offer residential therapy for troubled girls, similar to the residential facility she said was “a sign from God” that led her to open HHH Ranch.

Doran described how, as a teen when she was living in Missouri, she was searching for a career path. One day, she prayed for an answer. When she opened her eyes, she saw a sign advertising the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch, a residential treatment center. Doran said she knew then she was destined to do something similar with her life.

Doran recently announced the ranch is implementing a program called “Stable Moments” in the spring, which focuses on a long-term 10-month program in which kids in foster care or post-adoption are paired with a volunteer and the same horse for weekly visits. The program would help build up the child’s self-esteem and self-worth.

“There is such a large need out there that we need a lot volunteers. We’re trying to get the momentum for it,” Doran said.

Volunteers don’t need experience or know how to work with horses.

“We’ll train them,” she said, stressing she just needed people who would consistently volunteer.

Doran also said they’re looking for instructors who can give horseback riding lessons, as they recently lost two instructors after one left to travel and the other went to college.

“We are searching for people. They do not have to be certified, even if they just have a want to be certified, we are very much looking to add to our team,” Doran said.

While they’re always searching for more volunteers, instructors, and donations, HHH Ranch recently celebrated 10 years, Doran said. She expressed how grateful she was for those who have stuck by her.

“It allowed me to create something that was really beautiful. We can build the program to be more and more each year,” Doran said.

Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.

The HHH Ranch in Manhattan focuses mostly on equine rescue, but has an ark-like population needing TLC. (Photos by Stephanie Irvine)