40/ MAY 2018 THE RIDER Teen Ranch Celebrating Over 50 Years! Sprawled over 150


acres in the Caledon Hills, Teen Ranch is a dream come true founded by a man who had some of the best days of his life at summer camp. Last year, the not-for-


profit Teen Ranch cele- brated its 50th summer having grown from an old farmhouse and barn to a year-round facility with a western-style dining room, beautiful visitor accommo- dations, and an Olympic- sized ice arena known as the Ice Corral. “Our


first summer


camp was held in 1967. We looked at 65 properties all over the place from Ken- tucky to Muskoka and Sar- nia and Kingston, but we kept coming back to this place,” explained Mel. The location, he be-


lieved, was perfect with its wide open space, striking forest, spring-fed swimming quarry and yet only an hour from the heart of Toronto. With only $70 in his pocket, Mel assured the landowner at that time, a self-pro- claimed atheistic Jew and skeptical at best, “If God wants us to have your prop- erty here, we’ll have it.” The idea of starting a


camp in Canada was born on another continent. Mel traveled to Australia with his gospel music group, The King’s Men, in 1960. Ap- pearing in churches, on shows, radio, and television, they became quite popular with their progressive, up- beat music, even competing in album sales with Elvis. While in Australia the


group promoted the idea of starting a year-round youth camp. Prayer warriors for the youth of Australia be- lieved these men to be God’s answer to that prayer. The only band member with any camping experience, Mel became the first direc- tor of Teen Ranch Australia. He, his wife and growing family stayed on for another five years after the other


band members had returned home. “We arrived home with


$10 and eleven suitcases,” he said of returning to Canada in 1966, trusting that God was calling them to


front camp in Muskoka. The camp had a more profound influence in developing me as a person than anything else, other than my parents. The staff became the exam- ple. They walked their talk. Church did- n’t have as great an im- pact on me as the staff of various Ch r i s t i a n camps went Mel


I plained.


to,” ex- It


was at camp that Mel pledged to God that he would


go


anywhere, do anything and


under


live any


c i r c u m - stances that He may want him to. That began an amazing


start a similar work here. Mel was inspired by his own positive experience as a youth. “I guess it goes back to when I was a kid. I went to camp every year from the time I was nine to 19, either as a camper or staff member. I went to the Salvation Army music camp for six years – a beautiful camp in the Adirondack Mountains - and for three years a water-


adventure that continues to this day. A sign indicating the


distance to eight Teen Ranch’s on other continents sits prominently in the vil- lage circle at Teen Ranch Canada. All are run inde- pendently but with the same vision, to aid in the develop- ment of youth physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. Remarkably, ap- proximately 50 camps worldwide are a direct result of the first Teen Ranch in Australia. Since that opening


summer in 1967, Teen Ranch Canada has grown into a multi-use year-round facility with summer camps, church groups,


boards, hockey organiza- tions, and sports teams be- coming a part of the ranch’s history. International and pro-


fessional hockey clubs come to the Ranch because of the year-round large Olympic size ice surface, comfortable accommodations, and excel- lent food. A ranch from the be-


ginning, there are now ap- proximately 50 horses on the premises. A variety of time-tested


summer overnight and day camp programs for ages 5 – 18, range from English and Western riding at all levels, Intensive Equestrian (geared to the show ring), Horse Mania and Rodeo Camp, to Hockey


camps (Elite


AA/AAA, Girl’s Hockey, Goalie Clinic, Classic), Soc- cer, Adventure (whitewater


kayaking, tubing, caving, mountain biking and canoe- ing), Volleyball, Instar Ath- letics Figure Skating, BMX dirt and WHAM (Where Heaps of Activities Meet) camps. Mom’s and daughters


enjoy bonding over their mutual love of horses during the


Mother-Daughter


Equine Escape weekend each spring. Including rid- ing lessons,


trail rides,


campfires, a host of other activities, it has increasingly grown in popularity. For over 20 years,


hockey, excellent food and accommodation


have


brought dads and sons to- gether on Father’s Day weekend for skills, skating, scrimmages, fishing, trail rides, giant swing, climbing wall, boating and the list goes on. The Hunter Jumper


Horse Show series run each summer attracts riders from the community for friendly competition on beautiful show grounds. Teen Ranch hosts PA,


Christmas and March Break Day camps and even a March Break weekend overnight camps allows kids to enjoy the great outdoors, gain new experiences and make new friends in a won- derful environment with


great role models. Family Day and Satur-


day of Easter Weekend, Teen Ranch staff welcome the community onsite and help families create lifetime memories. The Toronto Catholic


School board books about 26 school weeks yearly to bring grade 7 and 8 students for a much anticipated week-long retreat. SHSM – Specialist High Skills Major - an Ontario ministry-ap- proved specialized program is geared to Grade 11 and 12 students to focus their learn- ing on a specific economic sector while meeting the re- quirements to graduate from secondary school. Teen Ranch has a rich


heritage of committed staff and volunteers that God has used in the building of the facilities, the development of unique programs and in serving guests. Working along with Teen Ranch staff, high school students can bank volunteer hours help- ing weekends and summer weeks. The training is in- valuable. After half a century,


Teen Ranch builds on the foundation of God’s faith- fulness in the past and strives to have a positive im- pact on countless others in the future.


“Visit our website, give


us a call, book a tour. We’d love to meet you!”


www.teenranch.com Phone: 519 941 4501


school


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