Meet Melody Wilcox Pratt | Executive Director, Exodus Ranch (501c3) and Southern Association Youth Rodeo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melody Wilcox Pratt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melody, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
We have two entities of our “business.” One is the non-profit (Exodus Ranch) and the other is our rodeo association (Southern Association Youth Rodeo – S.A.Y. Rodeo.) The Exodus Ranch’s mission is to facilitate healing to the most vulnerable in our community in the following ways.
*We host special, fun days, full of all kinds of activities, for Foster children and Foster families. We offer Equine Assisted Therapy for Foster children who struggle with abuse and abandonment issues.
*Allowing the Equestrian Special Olympics to use our facility and our horses
*Hosting a day of healing for women in crisis
*Inviting veterans to come and enjoy the peace of the ranch
*Allowing the use of our horses and our facility to facilitate Hippotherapy for special needs individuals
*Offering Special needs group homes the opportunity to come to the ranch and interact with the animals
*Visiting Senior centers with our “pups and ponies.”
*Christmas for kids in needy neighborhoods. The horses get their saddle bags packed with toys and Santa and his elves head out, on horseback to give out toys and goodies to the kids!
All of these activities are offered without cost, to those participating. Many youth step up to volunteer and help with these programs.

S.A.Y. Rodeo offers an opportunity for youth, ages 2-19, to learn and participate in the sport of rodeo. We offer one rodeo a month cumulating in a finals, in October. These youth can participate in many events, including bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, mutton busting, bronc riding and more. These kids work hard to be the best they can be. They learn to encourage each other, help each other, how hard work makes you a better athlete, why volunteering to help is important (it is mandatory,) how to care for livestock and why sportsmanship is important. We have a special needs division and the athletes learn that it is okay to be different. They learn compassion in helping each other and the special needs athletes. They compete for many awards, including scholarships that can be used for college or trade school. We give scholarships for many things, including; sportsmanship, leadership, volunteering, high point, learning scripture verses, peer to peer and more.

Both of these “businesses” focus on youth and vulnerable lives. Our goal, indeed our mission, is to love on those who need the most love, to teach work ethic, sportsmanship, the importance of volunteering and to use the gifts, talents and material things that God has given us, to help those who need us. In today’s world of “me first” mentality, we hope to teach youth and others, the importance of giving back. This is truly a mission for our lives. As people of faith, we are called to put our faith into action. It is our daily goal to do just that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I honestly believe it is our faith that sets us apart from others. There are many in today’s world who claim Christianity but don’t follow the basics of that faith. Love God, love people. It’s a simple command that isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s down right difficult at times. Especially the “loving people” part. People can be difficult, selfish, prideful, full of anger, lacking compassion, annoying, needy…in short, very difficult to love. Yet, we are called to do just that. Through the years, I have learned that often times those who are the most difficult to love are those who need the most love. Life deals us all different hands. As a Christian I can say without a doubt that God never promised us a rose garden. Life is often difficult and messy. So is love. Love can/is be very difficult. It took many years to get to this point in my life. I’m still learning but I’ve come a long way. I’ve learned to not engage in gossip, confront those who do gossip and spread drama and if I am upset with someone, go to them and not tell a bunch of other people who will just spread the gossip or rumors. I will not stand for talking behind backs in either organization. I have learned to “let go and move on” when needed. I’ve lost my fear of “losing” friends or participants. I do what I feel is right regardless of the consequences. It is something I’ve tried to teach and instill in those around me. We never need to stop learning, improving, growing and stretching our abilities. If we are afraid to fail, we will never succeed. Honestly, neither of these ventures were ever on my radar as life choices. They were not a planned part of my life. That said, I’ve had the opportunity to wear many hats and each of those jobs was preparing me for these two adventures. I ran a community theater, was a flight attendant, a free lance television reporter, actor, voice over artist, play write and animal trainer. You can imagine how each of those helped prepare me for this mission, that has become a great passion! It is my goal to treat everyone who helps out, with respect and gratitude. We may not always agree or see eye to eye but, that’s okay. Open hearts and open minds help us grow. I’m not always right. I’ve learned to say “I was wrong” or “yep, you were right about that idea!” What do I want the world to know? It’s not about the money. If you make success about the money, you will never truly be fulfilled. Money serves a purpose. In my opinion that purpose is too give back. I don’t believe we should be forced to help others. I believe we should WANT to help. That we should want to help. Life, in the end, is really very short. I often ask people, what are you leaving behind, because you can’t take your stuff with you. Are you leaving behind a legacy of love or a legacy of stuff? Only one of those things truly matters. I pray that when I leave this world, that people will remember the things I gave, not the things I got.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love visiting Stone Mountain simply because I love the climb! It’s a pretty cool place to visit, I enjoy visiting the beltway from time to time, especially during some special events they have in the summer and fall. Lake Lanier is a favorite during the summer as are some of the local wineries and of course, the aquarium! We would definitely hit some of the local hiking trails and visit a few of the amazing restaurants in the Atlanta area. If they were a sports fan, (I’m really not) I’d happily supply them with tickets to one of our pro teams. However, we would mostly hang out at our “Atlanta area” ranch, sit by the creek and maybe sit “in” the creek, to cool off, hop on a horse and go for a trail ride around the ranch, listen to the coyotes at night and watch the many deer hanging out with the horses, then end the evening with a good grilled meal and eat s’mores around the campfire!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who walk beside us in our endeavors. Both of our organizations are completely volunteer driven. Everyone who is a part of either organization donates their time and considerable talents to give back. We have a few key people but again, everyone is a volunteer. Many volunteer for both the non-profit and the rodeo. It would be impossible to acknowledge them all so I will shout out to a key few.

Shell Sampson (Douglasville, Ga) does our equine assisted mentoring for foster children. She is patient and so good with kids, in general. She also helps with all of our events, is on the board of S.A.Y. Rodeo and heads up registration and both websites. She helps with pony rides at all of our Foster Fun Days and fund raisers. She puts in many unpaid hours because she has a huge heart for those in need.

Stanton Williams and David Paris are our arena directors and GM for S.A.Y. Rodeo. They put in a huge amount of hours getting stock contractors, fixing equipment, doing general repairs and taking care of any questions that may arise during the rodeos. We honestly would struggle without their huge hearts for these kids.

Christy Hyde and Crissy Shindley. Both of these women volunteer at every event and every rodeo. They are always willing to lend a hand at both the ranch and the rodeo.

My husband, Joe Pratt. He has a HUGE heart for kids. He has been a surrogate father figure to many who badly need it. He just does whatever job I ask him to do. His work ethic is beyond phenomenal and he has mad skills in mechanics, training horses, (without his expertise we wouldn’t have the amazing horses that we have) handy man, rodeo pick up man, roping instructor and so much more. The kids adore him and the adults respect him. I am so very blessed to have him walking beside me in this journey.

There are others who volunteer on a regular basis either at the ranch or the rodeo. Without them, it would be so much more difficult to do what we do. Their big hearts and willingness to step in, is remarkable!

Mark Sampson
Devon Flack
Pete New
Jason Frost
Dawn Brooks
Katie Sherman
Jaydin Sampson
Shelley Holt

We are truly humbled and blessed by this group of individuals, who work so hard for a bunch of kids and others in need. We are so thankful for all the God given gifts and talents that these people are so willing to share!

Website: exodusranch@hotmail.com and say-rodeo.com

Instagram: exodus ranch and say-rodeo

Facebook: exodus ranch and say-rodeo

Other: I realized that the pictures I uploaded was vertical. If you need horizontal. If you need a different one, I will try to find one. Most of what I have are vertical. We can’t show faces of the Foster children or special needs so it is difficult to send pictures. The ones I sent are not full face with the exception of one I included that had “our” kids in it. We use our own to show activities. It won’t allow me to delete and upload a personal picture. There are personal pictures of me with the horse and the dog. Please just use whichever you feel is best.

Image Credits
Shell Sampson Photography