Struggling teen boys try boots of a cowboy

The Triangle Cross Therapeutic Ranch & School is a 50,000- acre cattle ranch in northwest Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park. Founded in 1992, it serves “at-risk” boys ages 10 to 17 who spend a few months to a few years as cowboys caring for the cattle. Owner and founder Jerry Schneider describes its purpose as taking boys struggling in life “and teaching them important life principles based on our Catholic faith.”

In the past three decades, it has helped hundreds of troubled boys get a new start, and go on to lead happier, more productive lives.

Schneider grew up in a Catholic home in rural Michigan. He received his high school education from the Brothers of the Holy Cross at Monroe Catholic Central (today St. Mary’s) which “formed me for my whole life. The most important thing in that school was truth.”

He began life as a flight test engineer for Honeywell, but was introduced to the life of a cowboy first while working in Mexico and, beginning in 1965, in Cody, Wyoming. Living in Wyoming he met many ranchers—“a good, solid bunch of men, who helped each other out”—and subsequently began a life of ranching and rodeo riding. In 1967, he bought a 160-acre farm, which would grow into the large spread it is today. He mused, “It was all a gift from Our Lady.”

Living and working on the ranch with him were his wife, Mickey, and their six children. The Catholic faith was of paramount importance. He said, “Some cowboys have a reputation of being heavy drinkers and rowdiness; we’re the praying kind.”

Schneider’s son, Daniel, in fact, would go on to center his life on prayer, becoming a Carmelite priest and founding a traditional Carmelite community near the ranch.

Life-threatening event opened new chapter

A life-threatening event on a cold November night in 1991 led Schneider to shift the focus of the ranch to helping at-risk boys. He and a teen cowboy were riding through “rough country” looking for lost calves when his horse stumbled in a snow drift and somersaulted on top him. It left him with broken ribs and a severe head injury and far away from medical aid. He repeated an Act of Contrition as many as 30 times, as he thought death was near, and also the Memorare prayer begging Mary to save him. While laying in the snow choking on his own blood, he suddenly felt “a power come to me,” and with the aid of the teen, mounted his horse and rode to safety.

The accident left him paralyzed on one side, however, and barely able to walk. His days as an active rancher were over. Would he have to sell his ranch?

A priest-friend indicated to Schneider that he thought God was beginning a new chapter in his life, and unfolding events would indicate what that might be. Three boys came to live at the ranch to help the Schneiders, and more continued to come, ultimately numbering 10. Not only did they help sustain the ranch, Schneider saw the benefit ranching had on the boys. Hence, he acquired a state license and transformed the ranch into a place for a program to help troubled boys to acquire valuable life skills.

The boys begin their day by rising early, cleaning their rooms, and having breakfast. Those who are students spend time studying through the Our Lady of the Rosary homeschool program. They then go to work on the ranch, herding and branding cattle, feeding and finding lost calves or caring for other animals, such as the pigs. They learn trades, such as welding, and have access to licensed counselors.

All boys, Catholic or not, must participate in the ranch’s Catholic devotional life, whether it be attending Mass at a small mission church, participating in the Liturgy of the Hours, or the rosary, or saying grace before meals.

Schneider believes the program has been invaluable to many over the past three decades: “We’ve seen many young men go through the program and become better people, living lives of faith.”

A maximum of 10 boys participate in the program at a time, served by six adults on staff, including Schneider’s son, Mark, who serves as ranch manager. It costs $2,800 to apply and $5,800 monthly to enroll a boy, with families in need receiving financial assistance through the St. John Bosco Scholarship Fund.

The camp has drawn many high-profile visitors, including the former bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne (encompassing the entire state of Wyoming), David Ricken. The founders of Wyoming Catholic College also paid the ranch a visit, Schneider said, and founded their school on many of the same principles.

A Godsend

Mary placed her teenage son Joseph at the Triangle Cross Ranch beginning in March, and said the program has been a godsend. (She asked that their real names not be used as Joseph was born into a domestic abuse situation.) Before coming, Joseph struggled to control his anger and threatened violence. In times of rage, he punched holes in the walls at home. He did poorly at school and suffered from addictions. Traditional counseling, particularly over the internet during the pandemic, was ineffective.

A friend introduced Mary to the ranch, and after investigating it, she came to believe it might be the ideal place for Joseph “to work out his demons.”

She visited him at the ranch for five days in June and was amazed by Joseph’s progress. She said, “He’s freeing himself from the things that kept him in bondage, and has kept away from the harmful things in our culture. And, he’s loved becoming a cowboy.”

She marvels at the deep understanding of “calves and cows and their psychology” Joseph has acquired, and that he has had the chance to be mentored by men “using his mind and strength to do awesome things with cattle and ranching.”

It’s taken some belt-tightening to afford the program, although Mary receives a partial scholarship from the St. John Bosco Scholarship Fund which has made the program more affordable. She regards the remaining expense an investment, as “we either pay for the ranch now, or we’ll be paying for legal fees and bail to get Joseph out of jail in the future.”

Schneider noted that the Catholic beliefs of the Triangle Cross Ranch are at odds with those of the popular culture as portrayed in the dominant media, and believes this conflict to be behind some legal challenges the ranch has encountered. But, he believes in the work of the ranch, and that it will continue to achieve great success in the future, taking boys out of harmful environments and placing them into one in which they can thrive.

He concluded, “When you come to the ranch, you step into a different culture. We’re in a remote location, far away from the world of the television or internet, isolated in the beauty of God’s beautiful creation.”

For additional information on the Triangle Cross Ranch, visit www. trianglecrossranch.com. For information on the St. John Bosco Scholarship Fund, please visit www.boscofund.org.

JIM GRAVES is a Legatus magazine contributing writer.