Pole Barn Dance
Thursday, October 24, 2024
What a Joy-full Evening!
It was a DANCE! From start to finish! 100+ guests strolling our big pole barn, illuminated by rows of string lights and bar tables with flowers, tasting delicious wines, cider, brew and oils by our artful purveyors with flavorful plant-based pairings by Chef Rachel Ponce and pasta by Etto. Drinks in hand, they viewed gorgeous images of our horses by Guillermo Gusils, met the design team and explored plans for our ranch upgrade.
Then drinks were put down as Nataly Lola led the first line dance lesson of the night and then her band Ghost Monster played a full set. A second lesson and set followed, with a posse of our Cal Poly student volunteers burning up the dance floor.
In the middle of it all, prizes from The Blending Lab and Life Elements were awarded for best boots and hat! And bottles of Royal Oil and Sunshine Olive Oil were given to those who’d traveled the furthest to attend — a couple from Washington DC and three women from Virginia Beach.
THANK YOU to our wonderful producing partners — The Blending Lab, Blush and Twine Designs, Bristols, Cairjn, Cellar Fermentation, CRUSH Vineyard, Robert Hall Winery, The Royal Nonesuch Farm, Tribeca Wine Collective and Ulloa Cellars — and each and every guest who attended. More gratitude to those who, though they couldn’t attend, purchased tickets to pay forward. That made it possible for our vet techs, ranch hands and aforementioned students to attend.
New images will be posted soon. Tax-acknowledgement letters will be emailed to all guests in November.
Stay tuned for announcements about our next celebration: our 20th anniversary!
Please email us if you have any questions.
Whinnies and neighs of love!
2023 in Review
October 5 / Pole Barn Concert with Dave Tate
Whoa! What a night it was!
Nearly 100 people assembled under the broad roof of our grand pole barn, now empty of the 55 stalls-that-felt-like-jail-cells that had previously filled it (our ranch was formerly a Thoroughbred breeding farm), set in the middle of our pastures of free-ranging rescued horses.
For the first hour, new friends met and old friends re-connected while tasting the beautiful cider and wines of Bristols, Maha / Villa Creek, Maddox Meadery, The Royal Nonesuch Farm, and Tribeca Wine Collective, enjoying the delicious plant-based pairings by Chef Rachel Ponce with pasta provided by Etto, and viewing the spirited art of sculptor Abigail Belknap, watercolorist Jenna Hutton (IG@jenna.l.hutton), photographer Shelley Carlisle (IG@shelleycarlislephotoart), jewelrymaker Susan Blake, and painter Carolyn Walker. In addition to a portion of the art sold, olive oil by Alta Vista and other crafts were offered to benefit the horses.
For the next hour, the soaring vocals and soulful lyrics of singer/songwriter Dave Tate filled the barn and beyond into the warm, star-filled night. “Dave stole the show,” one guest remarked. Yes! That was our intention. :-)
And for the final hour, guests resumed tasting, conversing and enjoying coffee and plant-based desserts also by Chef Rachel, while viewing our new landscape and barn redesigns for the ranch.
See above for more information about 2024 Pole Barn Dance. Visit our Experiences page to learn about our programs. Looking for a fabulous dusty-boot venue to celebrate your special occasion where the venue fee benefits many lives and a meaningful enterprise? Please email us.
“Though special events are the most expensive type of fundraising, they raise the most important aspect of any endeavor: friends! ”
June 23 & 24: Art & Barn Sale
THANK YOU to all who attended, helped, donated to and promoted our first-ever public event at our new home in Paso Robles!
We had a marvelous time! Fifty people came to our Friday night preview and it was a frenzy of purchasing, greeting, meeting and friendships made, old and new.
More than 100 people came through on Saturday (and 30 more the following weekend when we held the sale open again). Many were moved and inspired as they discovered the work we do. In addition to many more treasures finding new homes, our horse + human family grew by the dozens.