Yellowstone Ranch Equine Program Reaches Troubled Youth

For more than 45 years, the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch has offered the vision of hope to troubled children and adolescents from across North America. The 400-acre private, non-profit residential treatment center may be the most unique public school district in the United States and has been the saving grace for many youth and parents alike. With the expansion of their successful equine program, Yellowstone is able to offer the optimal riding arena for youth with a new Cover-All® TITAN® building.

Yellowstone’s equine program has proven to achieve a very high success rate in connecting with troubled youth. “It’s hard to explain what happens, but we have found significant breakthroughs with kids working with animals” says Loren Soft, CEO of Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch. “We have minimum problems with kids who enter the equine program. It’s become a very important part of our recreational program and we realized that we needed to expand.” The Cover-All® arena has allowed the equine program to operate year-round, regardless of the weather. The naturally lit, peaceful atmosphere also contributes to the concentration and peace of mind of both horse and rider.

The positive comments from other Cover-All® building owners convinced Yellowstone that Cover-All® was the ideal facility for their equine program. “The research we compiled over the years covered every type of building structure imaginable,” says Soft. “Every Cover-All owner we talked with commented on how much the natural light, wide-open area and healthy environment contributed to their use. Whether it was an equine, dairy or industrial customer, the Cover-All owner was impressed with the performance of the building,” says Soft.

Yellowstone Ranch’s Cover-All® TITAN® building is 160' wide x 260' long. Each of the galvanized steel truss frame systems that holds the patented DuraWeave® fabric membrane in place are positioned every 10 feet to meet Montana’s heavy wind and snow load requirements. The 41,600 square foot building was installed in only three weeks.

“The expression we hear from people when they step inside the arena is usually, ‘Oh my goodness, this is beautiful.’ We’ve had numerous equine groups requesting to lease the building for special events,” says Soft. “Many of these groups are true horse enthusiasts and are genuinely blown away by the scale and wonderful environment of the building. A number of people have commented that this is one of the finest equine facilities in Montana. Most of the major necessities to host events such as an announcer booth, washrooms, concession area, bleachers, and a large parking area have been constructed,” says Soft.

The addition of the Cover-All® building has also enabled Yellowstone to expand additional fundraising initiatives and enhance their Independent Living (life skills) program. “It’s all been extremely positive. Since the facility has been constructed, we have had a lot of outside interest. Our plans are to schedule rental use to various equine groups, which will provide some of our youth valuable life skills experience assisting in the set-up and helping to run events,” says Soft. “Most people don’t comprehend the benefits of life skills; it greatly impacts personal esteem. The youth that come here are batting zero; if we can get their batting average up to 71 percent, we’re doing pretty good.”

“The Cover-All riding arena has definitely become a huge asset to our recreational and equine program, and has also helped raise the awareness of the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch throughout Montana,” says Soft.