Grace Gate Horse Farm is located in beautiful South County, Rhode Island. The farm is family-owned and -operated and is home to eleven amazing horses who have found peace, freedom, safety and healing through constant love, care and trust.

My name is Melissa McCormack. I inherited my love for horses from my paternal family - the Waggoners. My father, Al Waggoner, was raised on land in Oklahoma City - land acquired during the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.  Some significant ancestors, including Daniel Waggoner and his son William Thomas Wagonner, established The Waggoner Ranch in 1854 - home at one time to over 500 horses and still today the largest ranch within one fence across 6 counties – the approximate size of New York City and Los Angeles combined.

My family has owned horses since I was 3 years old and after years of horse-riding lessons and learning to care for both our horses and those of others - I became self-employed as a riding instructor and a summer camp organizer. Throughout the years, my love for horses grew into a passion and eventually into a ‘profession with a purpose’. I am certified in Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) and I abide by Faith Based Equine Assisted Philosophy (FBEAP) developed by Elaine Davis at Unbridled Faith and have developed an ardent desire to help others gain peace, healing and freedom by assisting them to watch, listen to, communicate and connect with horses.

Horses inherently have so much to teach humans. As a herd, they know where they fit in and how the others fit in. They naturally have their own unique identities but also possess unity with the herd. They live in the present, not in the past, nor in the future. They are always aware of their surroundings and can be at ease or at attention. They know when to rest and how to respond. They are truthful. They are not alone, but rather they are part of a herd, a community. They are unbridled, they are free.

Our purpose is to help people LEARN TO think – but not tell them WHAT TO think. The process is experiential learning. All that we see horses do can help us with OUR own “herd” - our family, friends, relationships and community, while finding our own identity, healing and deliverance to finally be made whole and to find fulfillment, peace and joy.