Connecting Compton's Ranch Camp, an Equestrian and Agricultural Arts Program.

K-12 STEAM education

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

We intend to engage and provide educational opportunities for Compton's at-risk youth through the lense of our resources: horses and agriculture. For decades, the city of Compton has been in dire need for a program representative of its residents that builds on the city's agricultural origins. Connecting Compton seeks to create a differentiated youth equestrian and agricultural program available to children ages 10-17. Connecting Compton has proactively started this initiative and has been able to serve over 60 students since its kick-off in 2022. Our organization currently offers four-week and eight-week sessions. We are striving to continue operations required to support a 4 week summer intensive: Ranch Camp, and then expand in scope to provide year round programming. Our participants will have the opportunity to learn the basic principles of Ranching which includes compassionate animal care and equitable use of the land.

Our campers will quickly learn that Ranch camp is incredible fun but requires hard work and lots of learning. Objective 1: Meet and cultivate a trusting relationship with the horses and animals participants will be working with. Objective 2: Campers with learn how to safely engage with the horses in their care. This includes hands on lessons on Horse etiquette & handling. This includes lessons on how to halter and lead their horse using a lead rope and understand how to communicate with the horses and be able to identify through their horse's gestures what their animals need from their handlers.
Objective 3: Campers will learn the basics of safely caring for their horse. This includes hands on lessons on cleaning, showering, feeding and saddling the horses in their care. With the help of our instructors, participants will clean, shower and feed the horses. Before the campers can begin riding their horse they need to know how to safely place a saddle on their horse and use the helmets and other protective gear and learn what is needed to keep themselves safe.
Objective 4: Learn the basics of horseback riding. With the guidance of our professional instructors, participants will learn proper posture and manipulation of the reins for full control when riding a horse. At the program's culmination participants will have the opportunity to practice what they've learned by performing a fun obstacle course on their own!

If our work is successful residents of Los Angeles County will have a deeper understanding of the City of Compton’s agricultural roots. Per the Executive Directors, Our forefathers and our families are Rancheros. Learning about horsemanship and animal care helped us develop a sense of responsibility and drive towards social justice - removing the financial and social barriers to make our organization’s dream a reality: create a safe space to gather and learn about equestrian arts, animal care and the agricultural lifestyle and find ways to make forge greater connections for Compton area youth. What a feat it would be if we could extend the Ranch Camp experience through support from the LA2050 grant project, and offer our Ranch Camp programming year-round. As one youth described in a video: “When I work with horses alongside the Connecting Compton team it makes me wanna pick up a rope to lasso a horse, and not pick up a gun.”

This is an early stage project. We will define and measure success through the number of participants and through feedback received from pre and post program.
We also can track the success by the number of participants who enroll, and the number of participants who complete our program.