Stillwater Stables 

Mission Statement: Stillwater Stables is dedicated to giving children and teens the chance to build relationships, be equipped with leadership skills and the opportunity to discover their purpose in life regardless of their income level or background through working with horses.

SOBERING STATISTICS OF TEENS:

*  1/3 have been drunk

*  1 in 4 use illegal drugs

*  8,000 contract STD daily

*  1 million are pregnant

*  340,000 of us get abortions per year

*  1 in 10 have been raped

*  Many see 14,000 sexual references on TV per year

*  9 out of 10 have seen pornography o n line

*  1/2 are no longer virgins

*  40% have inflicted self injury

*  83% believe truth is relative

*  65% say there is no way to tell which religion is true

It takes everyone working together to help positively impact teens and equip them to avoid becoming a statistic.  (Colson, Rewired)

WHY ARE WE HERE?

It's a battlefield out there for the souls of our children and teens. Teens every day are faced with choices that are harmful to who they will be in the future. "Every day, marketers are shaping the values of our culture". Children are constantly bombarded with messages from sources such as TV, movies, music, video games and peers that tell them what they should want, what they should do, and how they should think.

Stillwater Stables is more then just a riding program. By giving students opportunities to work with horses, we are here to partner up with families to help equip their children and teens to make good choices for their lives. We believe that if children/teens have good relationships, leadership skills and realize that their lives have purpose then  they will be better prepared to make the best choices for their lives in the midst of all the messages they are bombarded with on a daily basis.

We have three primary goals for our students: 

1. To Build Relationships. Students get the opportunity to develop a relationship with a horse, with other students and adults. Through these relationships the students will receive grace, love, acceptance, accountability, a sense of belonging, ownership and be part of a team.  Having good mentors and a strong friend base helps teens to stay away from harmful choices. Friends and mentors can also provide support if a harmful choice is made or if something happens to them that is out of their control. 

"Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecc 4:9-12, NLT)

2. To develop leadership skills. Working with a horse teaches a student to be confident, to communicate clearly, to take responsibility and to make wise decisions. When asking a horse to do something either the horse is in leadership or the student. As the student discovers how to take the leadership role with the horse they will learn how to become a leader of their own life. This will equip them  to be able to stand up for what they believe is  right regardless of what  others may think. 

3. To discover purpose. Everyone is created with a purpose and we are not here on earth by accident. Each child has been uniquely designed by God with unique gifts and talents. Life is more than just being born, graduating from school, getting a job, getting married, having children then dying. It's about living the story that the author created for them to live... to do things that no one else was created to do... to make a difference in this place and in the lives of those around them. Teens who discover their purpose will know their lives have meaning and they will have increased self-worth and self-esteem, from which they will have a better focus and direction.