Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC

Strong Academic and Trade Skills Program

This is truly our strong point: Through Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC’s strong academic program, plus hands-on ranching and farming, young men develop:

Self-worth and dignity
Positive work ethic
Sense of responsibility
Practical life skills

Each young man is enrolled in the nationally accredited Home Study Program through Our Lady of the Rosary School. Boys also learn that they have control over their actions and reactions when challenged in tough environments.

The Academic Program

Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC offers complete educational services, including a schoolroom, quarterly exams, report cards, tutoring services, and course materials. Each student receives a separate curriculum based on past credits earned and focusing on basic requirements for a high school diploma. Your son can earn a high school diploma.

Older and academically advanced students engage in philosophy and advanced mathematics and science. Students learn at their own pace and receive individual attention. This helps those with learning disabilities, ADHD, ADD, and motivational challenges. We encourage students to take control of their education—our goal at Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC. Many students catch up with their age group within a year. In an environment stripped bare of distractions, most boys focus on their studies, motivated by a desire to complete the curriculum and return home. During their stay at our program, many students develop self-taught abilities that serve them well in pursuing higher education.

The Vocational Training & Trades

.In addition to our strong academic program, Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC offers experiences in vocational work and trade skills that expose teens to alternative professions. Students can earn high school elective credits through the various vocational works and trade skills they experience and learn at Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC. We provide many first-time, hands-on experiences to help each young man discover his God-given interests, talents, worth and potential. Sunlight Mountain’s natural setting takes them ‘outside-the-box’ as they tackle new physical challenges. The skills a boy develops while working on the ranch can potentially lead him to profitable careers, adding a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment to his work.

Students also participate in wildlife and range management, equipment maintenance and repair, welding, carpentry, horticulture, animal husbandry, veterinary assistance (calf vaccination and delivery at birth), horsemanship, and horseshoeing. The cattle ranch trade includes fencing, arrogation, farming, and seasonal cattle drives. Some young men operate farm equipment (tractor, backhoe, bulldozer), crop irrigation, and caring for baby calves.

Cowboy Equine Counseling

Sunlight Mountain Cattle Ranch, LLC realized early on that horses have an outstanding effect on young men. President Ronald Reagan once said, “The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.” We often find that the temperament and disposition of horses reflect those of the riders. The relationship of each boy at Sunlight Mountain develops with his favorite horse forms during real ‘working’ situations. The young man has to practice kindness, patience, attention, and courage to get the desired response from the animal. The guys quickly learn you cannot strong-arm or bully the horses while working on horseback. These key interactions between the horse and the young cowboy help build a sense of dignity and esteem.