One Heart, One Horse, One Healer
one heart
one horse
one Healer
Why Horses
“But ask the animals and they will teach you.” Job 12:7
As people work with horses, an authentic paradigm shift occurs—an experience in developing congruency between our hearts’ intentions, our minds’ agenda, and the hidden feelings we emote with our body language.
What we discover is that the body has a mind of its own—that while our mind may be saying one thing, our body may be doing another—the incongruity of which is rarely conscious but obvious to the horse and affects the desired outcome.
Our Program
RoundPen is Returning Glory’s program that focuses on groups and/or residential facilities that are typically associated with youth-at-risk and adult survivors of sex trafficking.We currently partner with several local facilities, with weekly sessions throughout the Spring and Fall seasons.
RoundPen is Returning Glory’s equine-assisted personal development program. It is an “experiential learning” opportunity. Experiential meaning participants learn about themselves through experiencing in-the-moment activities with horses.
EAPD is a powerful and effective approach to personal growth—combining body, mind, and spirit. Working with horses in various activities helps individuals define authenticity in their own behavior, whether in personal or interpersonal challenges.
As each participant learns and practices various aspects of horsemanship skills, they will explore a “different way” to be with the horse and experience how those changes affect relationships between them and their horse, as well as develop increased self-awareness and situational awareness.
Skills are developed that literally results in learning to walk the talk. Whether personal or interpersonal brokenness, the participant will gain healing insight into their experiences at Returning Glory.
About Returning Glory
Returning Glory is on a peaceful rural ranch not far from the busyness of life. A place where you can experience relational healing, restoration, and personal growth through horse activities in a non-threatening faith-based environment.Our Mission
The mission of Returning Glory is to provide experience-based relational healing,
personal — family — social
body — mind — spirit
while participating in horse activities.
one heart — one horse — one Healer
Our Vision
The vision of Returning Glory is to positively affect people and people groups in the midst of challenging life issues, (whether personal, family, or social) by providing a safe, quiet, faith based environment for relational healing to occur.
This environment is provided through the use of a ranch setting and one of God’s creatures — the horse — to facilitate an experience-based opportunity for the participant to encounter Hope and Healing.
Our Assignment
Isaiah 61:1–4
The Spirit of God is upon me, because God anointed me.
He sent me to bring good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken.
Announce freedom to all captives and freedom to prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of His grace —
A celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies —
to comfort all who mourn, and care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. Messages of joy instead of news of doom, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness” - planted by God to display His GLORY.
They will then rebuild the old ruins…
Message Bible translation
It is not about getting it done ~ it is about the journey
Get Connected
Pardners are volunteers trained to come alongside the participants at the ranch. In their training, Pardners will experience and discuss how equine activities parallel life and God’s truth and how we can help participants discover their own heart issues and pursue wholeness and healing.
The goal is to not get in the way of the effective and simple ways the horses facilitate this opportunity.
Pardner Training
- Interview prior to the scheduled training.
- Horse experience: NONE
- Age requirement: 21 years old minimum
- Commitment: 3 hours weekly for a 6-week session — spring, summer, or fall
- Pardners needed for morning and evening sessions
- Training precedes each season’s session
Please call Roxanne for more information – (816) 223-9662
Nearly 40 years ago, a God-sized dream was given to me, Gary, concerning a ranch named Shiloh – a place for people to meet God for quietness and restoration. A place to pause — for God to touch a heart.
The realization of this dream began in 2002 with horses and Returning Glory. With the purchase of a buckskin horse in 2001, which we purposefully named Shiloh, the journey called Returning Glory began. With all of Shiloh’s woundedness, she has taught us the unique, God-created ability of a horse to touch a human heart.
Earlier, with our children grown up, thinking that horses and the associated expenses were an extravagance, we were willing to sell everything (horses, tack, and trailer) to go forward in whatever kingdom work God had for us.
After prayerfully considering the decision, we were pleasantly surprised by God’s leading to engaging horses to “do” His healing in struggling hearts—one horse, one heart, one Healer.
Roxanne grew up with an ever-increasing love for horses but did not get her first “real” horse until she was in her 30s. In the midst of raising their 3 children and owning and operating a decorating/interior design business out of the home, horses came into her life via two “miracle horses,” KC and Gunner, from a Kansas ranch.
Then, with limited time, trail rides with “horsey” friends were undertaken whenever possible. After volunteering with a county organization in equine experiential learning for two years, she felt called to begin a similar program with the faith-based aspect as the foundation—inviting Jesus into the experiences.
With shutting down her design business, many trips for training, and the legal paperwork—Gary and Roxanne began Returning Glory.
Gary continues in his tent-making skill—geotechnical consulting engineering. Whatever extra time he has, he operates as ranch manager, keeping busy with the multiple tasks that that involves, as well as being a Pardner.
Returning Glory is now located in Lone Jack, MO, on a 20A ranch. A God-journey.
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In the world’s eyes, we were both “unqualified and untrained” to do the ministry work of Returning Glory, but hearing the call, we apprehensively stepped forward in faith. We began to understand that God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.
God is faithful—He continues to equip and train us each step of the way. He desires total dependence on Him—for His “heart work” is His alone.
Gary and Roxanne Van Riessen
