Hi, my name is Charity Swinson, and I am the wife of an amazing husband, Morgan, and the mom of two wonderful kids Riley and Lucas.

My story began many years ago in the country of Chile, South America, where I was born and raised. I spent 19 years there, and during my childhood, I experienced significant sexual, emotional abuse, and witnessed a lot of domestic fights as well as severe physical abuse. This complex trauma I experienced as a little girl and teenager profoundly affected me as I grew up. However, throughout those challenging times, I always had the opportunity to be around horses, which became my safe haven. I've often said, that if it hadn't been for God and horses I most likely would not be here today.

 

Horses provided a place where I could be myself without fear of criticism or judgment. They saw beyond my exterior, valuing who I was on the inside and how I treated them. When I was with them, I felt like I could conquer anything that came my way. When I was 14, my oldest sister gifted me a book by Kim Meeder called “Hope Reins,” which told the story of a youth ranch in Oregon that paired rescued horses with at-risk kids. The transformative impact of these interactions inspired a dream within me to one day create a similar ranch.

 

At 19, I moved to the United States, and within a year, I met and married my wonderful husband. For a while, I wasn’t able to be around horses much, but about four or five years ago, I reconnected with my passion. Despite my insecurities and feelings of worthlessness, I held onto my dream of starting a youth ranch. As it had always been a passion to help the youth in my area who needed a safe haven in which to discover who they truly were meant to be and experience the true healing through Salvation through Jesus Christ.

 

Two years ago, I began working on myself, receiving coaching that helped me grow into the person I needed to be to realize my dream. I came to understand that if this was what God truly wanted for me, then I needed to trust that He would make a way for it to happen. I dedicated myself to personal growth and seized every opportunity that came my way.

 

At the end of 2023, Freedom Reins Youth Ranch was officially incorporated, and in March, we found a location to begin the program out of. The additional horses we needed were provided for us, and we jumped in full force. With the help of a few sponsors, we officially began in April, and started with our first program called Stable Moments, that focuses on those children in foster care. It has been an amazing journey ever since. 

 

We have an incredible Board of Directors and amazing volunteer mentors who donate an hour of their time each week to these hurting children. The change we have been privileged to witness in some of our youth has been worth the wait.  We look forward to a brand new season and we’re excited to help as many children as we possibly can!