Nonprofits to host inaugural Boots and Salutes in Windermere

Windermere Police Chief Dave Ogden and his wife, Shelly, first went to Wind River Ranch in Estes, Colorado, in 2017.

Since then, the couple has volunteered during Healing Warriors Week at the ranch to help military veterans, first responders and their families heal and reconnect. 

“We get an opportunity to get to know them, and we have seen lives changed dramatically,” Ogden said. “We have seen faith renewed. We have seen relationships restored. It’s a big purpose of our life, so we’re so glad to be a small part of it.”

Seeing the difference Wind River Ranch, one of the oldest Christian family dude ranches in the country, has made on military veterans and first responders not only across the country but right at home in Windermere, Ogden, his nonprofit, Got Your Six Ministries, and the Windermere Police Department Foundation have come together to host the inaugural Boots and Salutes Saturday, Feb. 14, at The Pines at Windermere. 

Proceeds from the event will go toward sponsoring the travel for local first responders and veterans to go to the ranch for Healing Warriors Week.

For five weeks over the summer, military veterans, first responders and their families go to the ranch for Healing Warriors Week. During these Christ-centered retreats, participants go horseback riding, kayaking, ride mountain bikes, hiking, use electric bikes and more. 

“You can just sit out there and enjoy just the amazing scenery and really connect and get a chance to relax,” Ogden said. 

To support the ranch, Boots and Salutes will have food from Mission BBQ, a silent auction, a live auction and there will be four country artists who rather than having a concert actually will sit on stage and talk about their music, what it means and the purpose of Wind River Ranch. 

Ogden said country artists Mark Powell, David Lee, Daniel Johnson and a surprise fourth guest will be on stage, and they all have volunteered at the ranch.  

“They’re going to share their songs and their writings, and it’s going to be much more of a personal event than it is like a concert,” Ogden said. “Those folks that are out there are involved in the ranch as well. They know what the ranch does. They know the impact it’s had on our military and first responders, and they volunteer their time to fly down from Colorado to be a part of this event. It’s really cool.”

Another opportunity guests of Boots and Salutes will have is purchasing a horse for $5,000, which will include the rights to name the horse. 

Ogden knows personally the impact Wind River Ranch can have on people as he and his wife participated in a retreat at the ranch after their son, Kaleb, died from a rare, genetic and terminal illness called Sandhoff disease at age 4. They went to the ranch in 2017 as participants, and since then, they have facilitated one of the Healing Warriors Weeks every summer. 

“We know that we have used every part of our situation and our journey to make an impact in other people’s lives while we’re out there, and that’s a lot of what we do as we go and facilitate our program that’s out here,” Ogden said. 

While at the ranch, the Ogdens learn of a need for a specialized saddle. They had saved up $7,500 they initially planned to use to purchase a small boat so Ogden could go fishing and they could enjoy the ocean, but after hearing the need for the saddle and the impact horse therapy can have on veterans and first responders, they changed their minds. 

The Ogdens sponsored a hand-crafted saddle that paraplegics and individuals whose legs are injured can use to ride a horse. The saddle is in honor of their son. Every time a veteran or first responder uses the saddle, the Ogdens receive photos to see the joy they have when using it. 

“We felt that was truly God speaking to us at that time,” Ogden said. “One of the ways we could honor our son is that we could sponsor that saddle, and we eventually bought a boat, and we called our first boat ‘Saddle’ because of that.”

The Ogdens and several other West Orange County families have come together to support Boots and Salutes because of their personal experiences with Wind River Ranch. He said at least 50 people from Windermere alone have a connection to the ranch on a regular basis. 

Although the event is sold out, Ogden said there is a waitlist. He said it’s amazing the inaugural event already is sold out. 

“It just demonstrates the impact that Healing Warriors has had,” he said. “Not only that, I think it also demonstrates where we are in society today. If you look around, everything that’s going on in our society, I can tell you there is a tremendous impact on the overall wellness, mental health and spiritual health of our law enforcement officers, first responders and military veterans today. I love programs like this that specifically address needs like that.”