our history

How (and Why) We Began

Brave Sky Ranch was founded in 2017 when I (Baier Fine) came to a crossroads and could no longer brush away the unaddressed pain of people in America and the world. No popular solution out there truly offers any hope for those battling immense pain due to years of abuse. I saw the high numbers of suicides, especially in today’s youth, and it broke my heart because I’ve been there - I know what it’s like to have no hope and be in constant and deep pain and to determine to make it stop. (You can read my story here.) Over the years I have learned that what is really needed in people’s lives is someone who truly and deeply cares about them, who wants to help them find joy and is willing to do whatever it takes to walk with them as they pursue a lasting hope. There’s just not enough of it being done.

Before launching Brave Sky Ranch in Idaho, I worked full-time as a first-responder (while hay farming on the side). I had very little free time but I dedicated it to help others with whatever they needed, using whatever resources available to me. I never asked for or expected anything in return for the help I offered, which has included automotive repair, ranching and stable management, property cleanup and maintenance, and general repairs - but often I’ve found that just being a friend is more crucial than anything else. The one thing I’ve done more than anything else is be present and listen, offering the opportunity for someone to vent their frustrations and be validated and valued.

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What We Do

(and How We Do It)

Initially, Brave Sky Ranch was intended to be a horse-centered program (as the logo signifies) to bring young people into relationship with horses - to invite others to learn about the nature of these magnificent creatures - including their language. Horses crave balance, and humans are woefully unbalanced… but when a human desires to partner with a horse, it requires that the human learn how to win the trust of the horse by understanding what the horse needs. Balance is an absolute necessity in becoming a partner with a horse - to fall in lock-step and walk together with a horse requires not only physical connection, but emotional and mental connection as well. Horses welcome us to join them and be balanced alongside them as a partner. This process often produces enormous personal growth and improvement. This was the case for me, as a troubled teenager, for my wife as a frustrated mother, and for our children as impressionable young people. We have had the privilege of introducing others, especially young people, to embrace the balance of the horses, and we have seen incredible miracles occur in the lives who have experienced it.

Brave Sky Ranch may have begun with the focus of introducing the miracle of relationships with horses, but we have found that much of our outreach in the communities does not directly involve working with horses. Our two geldings, Atlas and Cash, are amazing creatures who are not only our friends and partners, but they have also served as a foot in the door to connect us with people who we are meant to meet and serve. We have learned to tailor appropriate methods to the specific needs of the situation and the participant(s) to achieve the best results. We have branched out and are now traveling around our nation - helping wherever the need is. We are willing and ready however needed, to serve communities and people, personally proving that we care about them and that they have enormous value as a fellow human being. We strive to embody the phrase, “Find a need, fill a need.”

Myself, my wife, Anne, and our four children (along with our dog, Harlie) oversee and serve through Brave Sky Ranch in many different ways. This is who we are and what we do, every moment of every day, whether we interact with the horses or not. This is our way of life and it colors every conversation we have and every move we personally make. Our greatest purpose is to serve and help. In doing so, we have striven to focus on 4 main points: RESPECT, MENTOR, HOPE, and INVEST.

• We show RESPECT for all life - we believe this is paramount and inexplicably important. We understand that not everyone will always agree, yet our goal is to show respect regardless of one’s personal situation or beliefs. We also have deep respect for horses and their unique ability to see and reflect the heart and attitude of a human; we aim to increase awareness of and respect for the true mentors that they are.

• We come alongside and MENTOR both children and adults (especially those who have had traumatic pasts and/or difficult circumstances) and we seek to inspire in them a personal positive change.

• We offer HOPE to families by positively equipping all family members with knowledge and strategies for facing life's challenges and finding joy, as individuals and as a team.

• We INVEST however possible! We devote our time, effort, resources, encouragement and hope to pouring into the lives of those around us - we serve with asking absolutely nothing in return. We have been investing in the lives of others long before Brave Sky Ranch began, but we believe that investing time, resources, or anything else should begin at the individual and personal level. This leads to a changed community and a changed world. We have too often seen organizations invest in the community as a whole while forgetting about the individuals who comprise the community. Once invested in, these individuals continue to inspire and pour back into their own community and the people stand on their own, moving forward together. Investments come in all shapes and sizes, but we never forget that investment involves risk, but we focus on the potential for increasing value over time... and we keep moving forward.

Forming and operating Brave Sky Ranch have been uphill battles. We have encountered enormous pressure, opposition and disdain, not because we are offensive, but because what we stand for is so crucial and against the grain. We see the pain underneath the anger, destruction, despair and selfishness that has overtaken our communities, states, nation and world today.

We personally invested every dollar we had to get Brave Sky up and running with all the proper legalities. After finally being approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) Charity, I took a huge leap in faith and chose to walk away from full-time employment outside of Brave Sky. This was a huge step in faith because Brave Sky Ranch does not pay us a paycheck - we are still in existence because many generous and kind-hearted people have also stepped out in faith to partner with us personally so that Brave Sky Ranch can continue.

At this time, we need further funding to continue reaching out and helping where it’s needed. Every dollar we receive goes directly to what Brave Sky Ranch needs to operate daily - every single penny is thoughtfully and wisely spent and stretched as far as humanly possible (sometimes even beyond). We believe that our purpose is so important and necessary that we devote every waking hour to it, and still expect no reimbursement in any way from those we are helping.

We started this GoFundMe campaign to share our story and our commitment to helping and respecting others. We hope that those who have the financial ability to contribute will do so, and this will allow us to continue moving forward and serving everyone we meet.

Every single person we come across is valuable in our eyes, and worthy of the respect we all long for - regardless of where and how we met them, or any other characteristic they may have. This mindset should be important to all of us - and we’d love to see more and more people follow our lead. Our greatest desire is to empower others - and to see them pass it on. Will you join us?