Senior twins Olivia Clouser and Alexis Clouser have devoted their time and found a passion in taking care of horses as a part of the Barn Kid Program led by Brandi Reinert and Steven Des Jardins at Moonrock ranch in Roseville for the past six years.

The program is designed to teach kids horse responsibilities in exchange for working with the horses and eventually learning how to ride them.

“The program is volunteer and only word of mouth. Kids who are interested contact me and we meet and I explain the program,” Reinert said. “If they are interested, they follow up and I add them to my waiting list.”

Olivia and Alexis have been intrigued with horses ever since they were little.

“I remember when I was about three or four years old and walking past the horses on our nightly walks always trying to grasp their attention or get one to come over and smell my hand,” Olivia said. “We started out shy and relatively clueless about horse care because the closest thing we’d ever had to a horse had been large dogs.”

According to Oliva, Reinert and her mother Joanne Clouser met and quickly became friends with Reinert a few years ago but she and her sister weren’t accepted into the program immediately. “It wasn’t until a few years later that we finally got the call saying that there was a spot available for my sister and I,” Olivia said.

According to Alexis, her horse Simon has continually challenged her and taught her responsibility.

“He forces me to be creative, to think in a million different directions and outside of a million different boxes,” Alexis said. “I have learned to be more understanding and empathetic as a person when dealing with others and I’ve become much braver than before.”

Olivia’s horse Max has also given her the same learning experience as Alexis’s horse.

“Every day I would be greeted by a pair of warm brown eyes, wondering what kinds of adventures we would do that day,” Olivia said. “That one horse makes me strive to be a better person in every shape and form.”

Joanne is grateful that her daughters have grown through this program.

“It’s been a very good experience for them and they love to do it,” Joanne said. “Working on the ranch has helped tremendously in their growth in relationship to animals, working ethics, and responsibility.”