Our Story
"He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."
Still Waters Ranch began with a horse named Winston.
Winston is a Percheron — broad-backed, gentle-eyed, the kind of horse whose strength you feel before you understand it. He doesn't know he is inspiring anything. He simply shows up, every day, steady and present, the way horses do. But in his quiet strength, something became clear: healing doesn't always come from talking. Sometimes it comes from standing beside something strong enough to lean on.
That truth became the seed of a calling.
Still Waters Ranch is a Christ-centered place of healing and restoration for disabled veterans — a peaceful refuge where men and women who have given so much can finally rest, heal, and rediscover who they are. The name comes from Psalm 23, the quiet assurance that even in life's darkest valleys, there is a Shepherd who leads us beside still waters and restores our souls.
THE HORSE
Represents strength, trust, and healing — the same quiet strength Winston offers every single day, without ever knowing how much it matters.
THE RIVER
Represents the journey every person walks from brokenness toward restoration — winding, unhurried, but always moving forward.
THE FLAG
Represents the sacrifice, honor, and courage of every veteran who has served — and the freedom that makes this mission possible.
THE CROSS
Represents the One who makes that restoration possible — not a program, not a place, but a Person.
Still Waters Ranch exists to help veterans discover that restoration is possible, and that no one has to walk their journey alone. Through the daily rhythms of land stewardship, the companionship of animals, honest community, and a faith that is offered rather than required, veterans find more than a place to stay. They find a place to become whole again.
If God grows this into what we believe He might, one day there will be veterans, families, volunteers, donors, church partners, and grandchildren walking this property who never had the privilege of meeting Winston personally. But they will know his silhouette.
That is the legacy of a single, faithful horse — and it is only the beginning of what this land is meant to hold.
From the Founder
A Letter From the Founder
If you had told me years ago that God would lead me to build a ranch ministry, I would not have believed it. I am not extraordinary. I am simply someone who said yes — quietly, imperfectly, and more than once with trembling hands.
But God has a way of using willing hearts to accomplish impossible things. Still Waters Ranch is not my dream. It is His — entrusted to us, to steward, to share, and to give away. Every life that finds rest here is a testimony to His faithfulness.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for caring. The story is still being written — and there is a place in it for you.
— Erica A. Gray
Founder | Banking Executive | Disabled U.S. Army Veteran | Faith Leader
