Tyler Thompson, his left hand tightly wrapped in a bandage as he works in the paddock, is a first-year wrangler at Philmont Scout Ranch. The wranglers at the Ranching Department help get the horses ready for the busy summer season by exercising and training them. “Oftentimes, working with horses is organized chaos,” Thompson said. “These horses have been turned out in pasture for seven months, so they’re just kind of feral, but that’s given us the unique opportunity to learn in a Western horse-riding context.”

Although the Ranch manages a herd of about 250 horses, working with these animals requires an unimaginable amount of individual care and attention. Thompson explains the process of preparing the horses for the season, “We’ve been exercising them, we’ve been looking at their personalities and their body compositions, and making sure that they’re fit and ready to be ridden by… young people.”

“I’m an Eagle Scout myself, so it feels kind of full circle and wholesome to actually be here and contribute to a program that really impacted my life in a positive way, especially regarding horses,” Thompson said, reflecting on his experience at Philmont’s cavalcade in 2004, which initially sparked his lifelong love of horses. “It just was impactful, and it kind of brought together all of the value systems which we had learned in Scouting.”

When asked what his favorite part about working with horses is, Thompson answered: “They force you to work on yourself… they are so sensitive to a weird vibe or body language, and so, part of the reward of working with them is that, in order to earn their trust, you have to do internal work on yourself, develop yourself for the privilege to work with them.”

As someone with a background in counseling and psychotherapy, Thompson is here this summer to gain hands-on experience working with horses and their interactions with young people, taking him one step closer to his dream of working in equine-assisted counseling and psychotherapy. In London, he enjoys playing polo, has his own practice, and works closely with an organization called Ebony Horse Club, whose mission is to use horsemanship to improve the education, life skills, well-being, and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged communities in London. “I just feel so grateful to be able to come here again and impact the lives of other young people, but also these horses,” Thompson said. “We take care of them because they take care of us.”

Thompson recalls how transformative his involvement with Philmont and Scouting has been for him.

“For me, what’s most important is that this experience does have the potential to shift the life course of young people in a really profound way,” Thompson said. “I wouldn’t be able to orient myself in the world in the way that I have been had I not had my experiences here at Philmont and in Scouting.”