Jane Tomczak came from England 33 years ago. Coming here on a vacation, she then fell in love with America. Working with horses in England, she awed the wide-open spaces and thought she could do so much more here. Unlike most people, she had nobody in England to keep her there. Tomczak had a rough childhood, living on her own since 14, but had always managed to make a living with horses.
She quickly found that finding a job in America was more difficult, so she started her own business that is still in operation today.
Jane Tomczak came from England 33 years ago. Coming here on a vacation, she then fell in love with America. Working with horses in England, she awed the wide-open spaces and thought she could do so much more here. Unlike most people, she had nobody in England to keep her there. Tomczak had a rough childhood, living on her own since 14, but had always managed to make a living with horses.
She quickly found that finding a job in America was more difficult, so she started her own business that is still in operation today.
“America turned out to be just what I wanted it to be,” she said. “A land of opportunity.”
In 2000, Tomczak made a decision that changed her course forever. She went to her husband Ron and asked if she could get a child from the Polinsky Children’s Center, a facility for the temporary emergency shelter for children separated from their families for safety reasons or inadequate care. Her only desire—to let a troubled child ride a pony.
“That was all I ever intended to do, was to help one child on a Saturday morning and my husband was all for it,” she said.
Having a horse of her own, she bought a pony. Her first child was a 10-year-old girl, who had been in and out of the center several times because her parents were drug addicts. Tomczak said she was a quiet little girl with her shoulders hunched over and would hardly speak. She loved the pony, but still would not speak for weeks and Tomczak said you could see the severe depression she suffered. The child had never done anything wrong in her life, and her consequences were not her fault.
After six weeks, she asked the young girl, what it was that she liked about coming to ride the pony and Tomczak said her words still stick with her today and it is why she and her husband do what they do.
“She said, ‘Here, it is like I am not in jail,’” she said. “’There are no fences and I am free.’”
A couple of weeks later, the child asked if she could bring a friend. And that, unknown to Tomczak at the time, was the beginning of Challenge Ranch. By 2004, they were seeing around 10 kids every Saturday. They bought four more horses.
Clare Maudsly of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego would see Tomczak with the children at local horse shows, and eventually took it upon herself to call her at home to find out what she did with all of these children. Noticing the positive difference in the children, Maudsly and the Legal Aid Society did all the legalities to make Tomczak’s help with the children a nonprofit organization. She and her husband only had to sign the documents.
“If that had not happened, I probably would have never done that,” she said. “Since 2004, we have a lot of kids. On any given Saturday we have around 25 kids here from 8:00 a.m. until it gets dark.”
Challenge Ranch takes in children from all over San Diego County. Tomczak said to the kids they work with, this program is now life saving big. Its doors are open to children six days a week all year round.
“They don’t come to us for an hour, like Make a Wish,” she said. “The kids we have are with us four to six days a week with some of the kids having been with us for many years. They become independent and consider themselves special, because they can do things that other kids can’t do. They get a tremendous self-confidence and responsibility. We receive really nice horses and these kids push themselves to be something.”
Since 2000, Challenge Ranch has had no child drop out of high school and all of those are employed, in the military or in higher education. Tomczak said the kids do more than just ride, they do everything that can be done with a horse. It does mostly English riding, but also western. Leon Harrel, world champion cutting horse trainer takes a group of kids three times a year to Texas after meeting the children and seeing the potential they have with horsemanship. Challenge Ranch is well known in the Endurance community.
It also teaches horsemanship, horse management and theory and each child is in charge of caring for their horse and the equipment. Psychiatrists and psychologists come in from all over the country and it provides equine assisted therapy where qualified therapists learn how to use horses in therapy for clients.
Tomczak said they had children on therapy for years on the “government’s dime” with no results, but a few month of coming to Challenge Ranch they see a tremendous breakthrough. It works closely with the county system, all children are approved to come to ranch and its reputation with the county is impeccable.
“We are still a very small organization,” said Tomczak. “We still struggle for funding. We do not take any government or state funds. We are entirely privately funded. Mostly, money comes from someone who has met one of the children and realized the difference this program makes in their lives. For many people it is better than putting money into a large charity where they really don’t see where their money goes. Here they can see the change in every child we help.”
Tomczak said when children come to them, they come with very low aspirations in life, but ask that kid two years later and their aspirations are much higher.
“This is what my husband and I do for fun,” Tomczak said. “We have to work, but we have managed our schedule to work around this place and what we do here. I have a former child, who now runs a similar charity in Canada coming down to help me in a few months because we are getting so busy here.”
Everyone that works at Challenge Ranch is a volunteer. It has eight horse volunteers and volunteers do all of the grounds maintenance and building of facilities. Tomczak said the military sends troops in to do large jobs and community volunteers do everything and anything that is needed.
Challenge Ranch now has 25 Thoroughbreds, Arabs, Welsh, Tennessee Walkers, Mustangs, Quarter Horses and one mule.
“This place is never what I thought or expected it to be,” said Tomczak. “It has just evolved because it works. And we intend that this place will always keep going, even when we are too old to run it.”
Last year, Challenge Ranch gave more than 14,000 hours of horse time to underprivileged children. On August 11, the Winchester Widows will put on its 24th Annual Pancake Breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Lakeside Elks Lodge at 1633 Woodside Ave, Lakeside. In 1800 period clothing of the Old West, Winchester Widows will serve breakfast for an $8.00 donation for adults and $4.00 for children.
Tickets available from a Winchester Widow or at the door. There will be raffles and door prizes and all proceeds of this event go to support the operation of Challenge Ranch. For more questions call Lorrie Bernard at 619-334-7118. Those desiring to donate directly, send all donations to Challenge Ranch, Inc., c/o Jane Tomczak, 5973 Stallion Oaks Road, El Cajon, CA, 92019.
