All About
Runaway Ranch
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Runaway Ranch is All about family, friends, and enjoying horses as a community.
For over 20yrs now, we have worked hard to develop our own proven program focused on western riding and training while offering our clients a place to learn, feel safe, and grow their horsemanship skills without the pressures and drama often found in other barns. We are always finding new ways to challenge our students and overcome their fears in a healthy and supportive way to build their riding skills while focusing on them enjoying the journey. We are not a show barn and love being connected to all the families that ride here.
Our goal is to continue to grow our program by listening to our students and focusing on building confidence in them through an improved curriculum. We are constantly improving our own knowledge through ongoing workshops, training publications, live seminars, teaching associations, and continuing education courses. We want to continue to deliver outstanding service to everyone while maintaining affordability. We love watching our students grow and are always setting the bar for having fun while learning and opening new opportunities.
Give us a chance to see why we rank higher
than any Western barn like us in our area.
You are Family
Meet Ryan & Krissy
Krissy Lowe (Joy)
Krissy was born and raised on a successful Christian family horse farm in Winfield that is now retired after nearly 30years. After getting to know Krissy and working with her, you'll soon realize that she's been riding and working with horses all her life.
Growing up, she participated in many English events and especially enjoyed Pony Club, Dressage, Cross country, and Stadium Jumping. While in High school, Krissy started competing in IHJA / NIHJA Hunter Jumper Circuits.
Pursuing her lifelong passion of becoming a horse trainer and following God's path, Krissy attended The University of Findlay for four years and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Equine Business and Equestrian Studies with an emphasis in Western.
Since graduating she went on to work for several different Western Trainers within the US, learning the ins and outs of the western training/show world.
After settling back in Illinois and finding Ryan, the man God had always planned for her, Krissy had found her forever home and has been growing their riding lesson program hand in hand with Ryan, sharing her knowledge, and helping people truly discover what is possible with a horse. She particularly enjoys teaching Western groups, semi-private, and private lessons helping horse owners connect with their horses. Krissy also specializes in helping people overcome their fears of riding by better communication with the horses and building a solid foundation.
Ryan Lowe
Ryan has always been an animal lover and started out riding and working horses back in 1998 after buying his first horse at an automotive auction in Maple Park on a split decision. Ryan had always wanted a horse and God had presented the opportunity to open the door to a new path.
After quickly realizing that there is a lifetime of knowledge to be learned, he started diving deep into the horse world learning as much as he could all while taking lessons and training directly with some amazing and talented old school horseman. Ryan was extremely blessed to be able to build the farm and start to run a training and boarding business with a small lesson program and still enjoys being able to share and help people today.
Ryan works with riders looking for a better bond with their horse through natural horsemanship, Trick training, advanced groundwork, Western gaming, Mounted shooting, and general western style riding. His techniques are successful in gaining trust with the horses and teaching people how to establish a loving and respectful relationship with a horse on their horsemanship journey.
Ryan is a jack of all trades type of person and is always thinking outside the box when it comes to communicating both verbally and training techniques to the horse and rider. Ryan has helped many riders here at the barn teach a variety of tricks to their horses and really enjoys making horses really confident through groundwork and desensitizing processes he's refined over the years.
During his process, these techniques and tricks train your horse to be calm, willing, and trusting of their owners while having some fun. Ryan is always saying "The trick is the bonus" as he believes that the horses learn so much more during the whole process than just the trick itself.
Ryan also loves the sport of Mounted shooting and going fast, and has earned the nickname “Flyin Ryan” from his friends for speeding through the course on his main horse Titan. He loves working with riders and their horses developing better habits and having fun while staying safe.