This is not just a horse camp — it's a full ranch experience. Campers spend their days caring for horses, donkeys, goats, and chickens while learning what it takes to be part of the daily rhythm of ranch life.
While horses are a big part of camp, we take a thoughtful, hands-on approach. Campers have a horse-related activity every single day — learning behavior, anatomy, grooming, tack, and care — before getting into the saddle. This builds confidence, understanding, and respect.
Alongside horsemanship, campers take part in animal care, introductory agriculture, and daily ranch responsibilities that develop problem-solving skills, teamwork, and leadership.
Read Our Full StoryHorse anatomy, hoof care, grooming, tack identification, donkeys, goats, chickens — everything before Day 5 when campers get their first lead-around in the saddle.
Horseback riding, trot work, independent riding, daily roping practice, the Roping Rodeo, and a full Graduation Ceremony on Day 10.
Our goal is to expand each year — deepening skills and giving returning campers the chance to continue building their abilities, including more advanced horsemanship as they progress.
The focus at Rysdon Ranch Camp is to teach kids that their daily consistency in feeding and grooming directly impacts the well-being of another living creature. Through these responsibilities, campers develop accountability and grit.
Kids learn practical life skills — feeding, grooming, habitat maintenance — that transform chores into lessons on accountability and empathy.
Leading an animal or maintaining a stall proves to kids that they are capable of handling challenges and caring for something greater than themselves.
Working together on farm challenges moves kids from individual effort to team accountability, forming deep bonds through collective contribution to the land.
One unforgettable summer. Friendships with animals and each other.
Trust your horse. Trust your buddy. Trust yourself. Trust is built one action at a time.
We rise together. No one succeeds alone on a ranch. When you help your buddy, you help yourself.
For the animals, the land, the people beside you. And for yourself.
Show up. Do your part. The animals don't get a day off — and neither do we.
This camp bears the Rysdon name in honor of a Sioux Falls family whose roots in this community run over a century deep. Charles Rysdon founded Sioux Steel Company in a small horse barn in 1918 — and the family has given back to this community in equal measure to everything they built.
Their decades of dedication to programs that shape young people is the reason this camp exists. Walk through these gates and you walk into their legacy.
Read the Full StoryRysdon Ranch Camp runs on community. Donate, volunteer, or stay connected — every bit of support helps us give more kids the ranch experience they deserve.
