Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooklyn Stephens.
Hi Brooklyn, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Horses have always been a safe place for me; I have felt drawn to them as far back as I can remember. My parents decided to let their little girl chase her dreams of having a pony, and from that point forward, horses have always been a reminder of the purest/most authentic version of who I was created to be. Through the years, I have been able to compete across different equestrian disciplines, from dressage to endurance rides to barrel racing in rodeos. The through line in these competitions was always the relationships with the horses. They have taught me to be a better human: to listen to what is not being said, to live a life of gentleness, and to value relationships above the tasks we were trying to accomplish.
After graduating college, I worked in Montana at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch as a wrangler, leading trail rides for guests worldwide. Through that time, I saw the power that horses had to be a place of rest and renewal, not just for me but for the hundreds of guests we saw throughout the season. The place where I realized that horses could change the trajectory for people was in my next job, running the equine program for a high-potential youth who grew up in under-resourced communities. I saw fear transform into confidence and compassion. I saw deep pain being healed in unspoken ways through the horses and these fantastic individuals seeing themselves more clearly than before.
This birthed in me the desire to start a business here in North Carolina that could be a safe place to bring all of your burdens and an opportunity for people to wake up to the fullness of who they are. I know that God has used horses powerfully as a catalyst for growth and changes in my life, and I have seen it repeatedly in others’ lives. I opened Arise Ranch in 2020 with that hope and prayer in mind. Arise Ranch is an equine-facilitated counseling and wellness facility with horses, cats, dogs, and chickens that all welcome people into growth with themselves, others, and God.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The roads that teach us the most are never smooth, making me tremendously grateful for the bumpy road. The challenges are what shape our character and grow us the most. Some of the struggles I have encountered have been internal and others external. Internally, I have had to work through my doubts and fears in stepping into this dream to help others along their life journey. Externally, 2020 was a challenging year I had planned to launch into, but the pandemic had other plans. Through it all, the thing that kept me grounded was keeping my eyes on the one person or animal in front of me. To know that even if Arise Ranch’s beginnings didn’t go as planned, I could still understand that all of it was worth it if one person was changed for the better.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Arise Ranch?
Arise Ranch is an equine-facilitated counseling and wellness business that aims to help people wake up to the fullness of life in a ranch environment. We offer 1 on 1 counseling, group programs, and summer camp options at Arise Ranch to help support social-emotional learning. The foundation of our work at Arise Ranch is centering on relationships with the horses and letting personal learning/growth come from there. We incorporate grooming the horses, doing groundwork, and riding into the time at the ranch, depending on where each person is on their journey. We offer this unique approach to mental health and wellness to all ages. If you have hit a plateau with other forms of support, this can be a great catalyst to get your soul, mind, and body involved in the healing process. Our approach is relationship-based through the lens of integrative somatic trauma therapy and a faith-centered perspective.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is in the small, holy moments of presence. Success is a child smiling. Success is seeing the light come back to someone’s eyes; Success is a tear gently rolling down a cheek, a bottled-up story that no longer drowns a person. It is when someone can see and be who they are meant to be!
Contact Info:
- Website: ariseranch.com
- Instagram: @ariseranch
- Facebook: facebook.com/ariseranch
Image Credits
Chris Facey (@coco.butter.shutter)
