Kamloops – Jandana Ranch

 

The horse place.  More specifically, the place where my horse, Cedric, hangs out.  I’ve been going up to the ranch for 15 years now to do my horse ‘thing’ and it seemed like a good place to go after Vancouver, since I haven’t seen Cedric for 7 months.  Teresa does not have a horse but she’s very partial to ‘Jimmy’ and he’s a sweet guy.

 

 

Jandana ranch is owned by Janice and Dave Jarvis, just outside of Kamloops next to Pinantan lake.  The 500 acre property sits on the side of a hill with some spectacular views of the valley east towards Pritchard.  It’s a working ranch with lots of critters, but mostly, it’s a horse place.  And it’s pretty special, not only for the horse people but for the horses too.  Besides the borders’ horses, Janice and Dave offer a home to unwanted, troubled, abused, and neglected horses. And they thrive here. They get to roam around, eat lots of grass, and be part of a herd the way horses should be living.  Jimmy, a beautiful buckskin quarter horse, was one of those.  He was a good rodeo horse in his early life but suffered a lot of abuse and became a biter.  By the time he got to the ranch he was known as Jimmy Jaws.  You wouldn’t know it now though.

It’s a two-way street for the horses and when they are healthy, they are expected to do a little work.  Janice has a dressage background and has been involved with horses for most of her life.  Since the early 90’s she has been studying and teaching ‘natural’ horsemanship to those willing to learn.  The horses love it as they are being communicated to with a language they understand, and they get to do some fun things besides eat grass.  The students, such as myself, get a ‘partner’ that’s willing to do just about anything you ask.  And ‘ask’ is the key word here.  There is no forcing them to do anything and the resulting relationship becomes pretty special.  But you don’t have to be a dedicated student to be part of the horse thing at Jandana.  Janice and ranch wrangler Lenox will give visitors a lesson or two and you might even get to go for a trail ride up into the hills. Jimmy has become one of their most reliable workers.

 

Janice and Lenox also run kids camps, offer up horse activities for physically and emotionally challenged kids, and Janice puts on art workshops throughout the year if you are more inclined to draw horses instead of ride them.  If you like horse stuff, Jandana Ranch is a wonderfully special place.  If not, you can always park it in the campground, relax, and soak up the peace and quiet.  And there’s lots of fish in the lake.

 

You can find Jandana Ranch here.