Putting a birthday hat on a horse and celebrating another year is one simple step toward a child’s healing and recovery at Reaching Hands Ranch in Powell.

This organization is a one-of-a-kind program for Wyoming’s horses and youth in the Powell area to experience rescue, rehabilitation and life transformation. Since January 2006, the 11-acre Reaching Hands Ranch has rescued 54 horses and hosted 54 children in their afterschool Ranch Hand program.

The ranch received two grants through the Wyoming Community Foundation in 2007 and 2008. Their need comes from veterinary bills, horse training expenses, transportation for the kids, and the money it takes to rehabilitate horses and offer children the gift of the Ranch Hand program.

“I really attribute Wyoming Community Foundation grants to helping us be able to focus on keeping those programs going,” said Jenny Cramer, co-founder and director at Reaching Hands.

On average, six children attend and graduate the quarterly six-week Ranch Hand programs. Jenny said a greater percentage of children in Powell’s Park Country live below the Wyoming and national poverty level, and 50 percent of them are classified at-risk.

Children go into the Ranch Hand programs when they are at-risk or in need of mentoring because of depression, abuse, neglect or loss. A relationship with Napoleon, the oldest horse and unofficial mascot at the ranch, was the right remedy for a girl named Kenzy.

Kenzy lost her father to a heart attack in 2006 when she was 10 years old. She became a ranch hand and fell in love with Napoleon. Even in bad weather, Kenzy stayed outside to brush Napoleon and take pictures of him.

Kenzy talked freely about her father and how he was in heaven taking care of old family pets. But Napoleon was 27 years old at the time, and employees at the ranch were afraid his end would come soon and Kenzy would be further saddened. They tried to persuade Kenzy out of her attachment to the horse, but she wouldn’t hear it.

She graduated the fall program just as Napoleon headed into a tough winter. The old horse became stiff and less mobile, and Jenny worried how Kenzy would react when she returned to visit her beloved Napoleon.

As spring came, Napoleon’s condition improved. Kenzy began to visit during Open Ranch, a weekly time for graduates to reconnect at the ranch and spend time with the horses. Though she knew Napoleon was alive and well then, Kenzy realized and became earnestly concerned with the horse’s mortality. It was a possibility he would have to be put down soon enough.

Kenzy probed Jenny and the staff for answers. What would happen to Napoleon if he died? Could she visit him? Could she make sure he was treated special in the meantime?

They told Kenzy about a big tree on the ranch under which Napoleon would be buried, and that’s where she could visit him. Until that uncertain day in the future, though, the whole ranch would follow Kenzy’s idea to throw a birthday party for Napoleon. Since then, Reaching Hands has a horse birthday party one Saturday each month. The horses wear birthday hats and the kids eat cake.

“Knowing she could still be close with Napoleon helped Kenzy with her dad,” Jenny said.

Napoleon is doing well these days, as evidenced by his prominent role in a book series Reaching Hands Ranch is working to publish. Each book in the series, told from Napoleon’s point of view, will highlight a different value the Ranch Hand program promotes. The first book will focus on trustworthiness, supported by the illustrations of a local artist. Ranch hands and their contributions will also appear in the books. The first is scheduled for publishing in March, Jenny said.

The mission to rescue horses and mentor children at Reaching Hands Ranch has grown and evolved since its inception in 2006. The progress is a testament to the passionate commitment of the program staff and volunteers, and thanks to the generosity of philanthropic donors. The future looks bright with Jenny’s hopes and plans for an indoor facility, a van, resources to host a summer camp and to cover 4-H membership, and to continue the book series.

Jenny said: “We’d like to continue with the four programs a year and be able to have new activities to keep kids’ interest.”