On a hot summer day, girls practice their riding skills while learning the pole bending pattern.
They sit awkwardly in saddles and try to remember how to encourage the horse to go faster or slower and how to turn. While handling reins and sitting in a saddle on a 1,200-pound animal, the girls are also trying to remember the pole bending pattern.
In 2022, J’Nae was one of those girls, just learning how to ride and perform in rodeo events. By the time the annual Boys Ranch Rodeo came around, J’Nae had some experience, but she and her horse, “Savvy,” didn’t have the best times. It was a
frustrating experience.
This year, she was excited for rodeo practice to start. She has a goal and a plan to get there.
“I’m staying with my beautiful horse,” J’Nae said. “We went on a trail ride. I picked him because he’s my favorite horse, even though he frustrates me a lot. I actually went fast on him that time. So, I’m thinking if I keep practicing and practicing, I’m going to get better, and I could win a buckle.”
That rodeo goal fits in nicely with J’Nae’s other goals. She loves biology and wants to be a veterinarian.
“Animals are my favorite thing,” she said. “At school, I like to read and to write poems. My favorite part about living at Boys Ranch is the opportunities out here.”
When J’Nae arrived at Boys Ranch, she was a little bit afraid of horses, even though she longed to ride.
“I used to walk the horse around the whole arena—not getting on, just walking,” she said. “I’ve grown from that so much. There was one time I was on ‘Popcorn,’ and he wouldn’t go. I got so frustrated that I started crying. I was taught that horses feel your emotions.”
J’Nae realized she needed to control her emotions to control her horse. She has also learned to plan how to achieve her dreams. She now enjoys writing poems about her life. She has played sports and is a cheerleader for the 2023-24 school year. Her peppy personality suits the sport.
“I’m looking forward to being in cheer and spending time with my cheer sisters,” she said.
J’Nae is confident and strong—exactly the sort of girl who would excel in athletics and also in life. She loans shoes to her housemates. She dresses with her Western-urban flair and offers advice on accessories when others need help.
J’Nae loves the spicy spaghetti that one of her houseparents makes at Lutz Home. Cooking and baking remind J’Nae of being at home with her parents, sharing time together in the kitchen.
J’Nae was adopted into a large, loving family when she was 18 months old. She has brothers who wrestled with her and taught her to love sports. It seemed like the perfect situation.
Before J’Nae arrived at Boys Ranch, she struggled with her attitude and behavior.
“My life at home was very rough,” J’Nae said. “I lost friends due to gang violence. I got into this relationship with a boy. I didn’t want to listen to my mom. I didn’t want to listen to anybody.”
In her teenage turmoil, she flung hard words at her parents, particularly her mother.
“I called her lots of names that I regretted calling her, and I told her she wasn’t my real mom,” J’Nae said.
J’Nae’s mother, seeking answers, discovered Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch and the healing oasis that donors have provided for teens like J’Nae.
“In my mind, I was like, OK, maybe let me give this a chance,” J’Nae said. “And I’m here now. The hardest part of being here is not seeing my family and not being with them. I talk to my mom and dad every single day, and I video chat with my brothers every weekend.”
Loving houseparents and caring counselors have helped, J’Nae said, along with chapel attendance.
“There was a time when me and my family didn’t go to church because of my issues,” J’Nae said.
“But now I can feel what it’s like to actually go to church and listen and learn. My counselors are telling me to live on my dreams and not go down the wrong path. So that’s what I’m trying to do.”
J’Nae says she’s grateful for everything at Boys Ranch.
“I would like to say to the donors, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing,’” she said. “Now that I have come here, I focus on me. All the bad choices I made weren’t worth it. I think if I keep making those choices, I won’t go anywhere. So, I think if I’m here, then I will get somewhere and go on the right path.”