Lazy L Ranch

Benson , NC – Ron and Sharon Lunn, owners of the Lazy L Ranch, said their ranch has undergone many changes in its first 10 years. We remember when we first started the ranch, our families and a lot of people didn't think we were going to make it. Well, the Lunn’s proved them wrong.

When the Lunn’s started their Benson mini-horse ranch in 2000, there wasn’t much of anything but the main home. The weeds had grown up, trees covered the property, and none of our buildings were here. Ron and Sharon began clearing the land, running off snakes, building fences and barns and made it what it is today. And they keep building or replacing worn out or broken corral fences and continue to battle keeping their pastures filled with enough grasses to sustain their animals. Both Ron and Sharon now consider this a safe home for their retired lesson horse, Mustang, Palomino, mini-donkeys and mini-horse.

Today the ranch buildings are all painted red, more of an aide to those that are looking for us, kind of a visual landmark. We have come a long way and now we feel that we can offer our assistance to others to learn about horses and farm life. The Lunn’s’ believe that the most important building project to come is not a new barn or fence, but to build children.

Through the years, the ranch has provided a source for a lot of adults and children to ride a horse for the first time or some that come to learn basic horsemanship. Now, being that the Lunn’s are people that want to help others appreciate horses, they have opened their hearts and ranch to underprivileged children from Raleigh by providing a free ½ -day camp, where they learn about horses, farm life and the respect for themselves and others.

The Lazy L Ranch has many staff volunteers who come out on the weekends to assist with teaching the underprivileged children something new, a new experience for their growing lives. Each of the staff is in charge of 10 to 15 children, and works to build a relationship with them.

The children can spend time playing sports, participate in a nature walk, create a craft, play a game, or just work with the horses under the supervision of the Lazy L Ranch staff. We all realize that many of these children have never been in the country before, so the children are constantly given messages of encouragement and told they are cared about and can do whatever they set their minds too in life. We all believe that we can change lives and teach the children to respect themselves and others. Many of the children have already said that they would like to have a horse of their own some day. Our hopes are that with the experience of being on our ranch, their parents or guardians will see changes in the children after their time with the horses and being on the ranch.

“The whole experience is really good," said one of the volunteers. “It makes us all feel so good that we get to spend time with them and maybe can help turn their lives around.” The Lunn’s said his biggest challenge would be getting the word out that we are willing to help other children. We can provide some needy children with summertime activities they can enjoy and learn something new each time they come to the ranch.

I believe that the future holds a lot of things for our children and us. Even though we only have these children for a short time they leave with long time memories. We have been blessed with a lot of good people who volunteer and work to help our children.

The Lazy L Ranch does not charge a fee for the children and runs their operation solely through donations by local merchants, non-profit organizations, and caring parents.