Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, with one of his six therapy horses, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews is a New Jersey boy who never had much to do with horses.
Yet on the eve of Memorial Day, the U.S. Navy veteran found himself saddling up a white Spanish horse named Travieso — and helping current service members engage in some horse-assisted therapy.
“Welcome to ranch life,” Andrews said to about 30 active-duty military personnel visiting his nonprofit Warriors Road at Christy Ranch in Sylmar. “We grow and we learn from people who came before us. So let’s grow from this experience.”
While thousands of people flocked to San Pedro for the third day of Los Angeles Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, sailors, Marines and Air Force staff spent a day at Warriors Road, getting a break from their assignment on board the USS Ashland, USS Cincinnati, USS Princeton and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Terrell Horne. The four ships are visiting San Pedro for LA Fleet Week.
As part of Fleet Week, the U.S. service members have fanned out across the Southland, participating in events from Brea to Venice. The Navy Band has performed at the main expo in San Pedro and at Angel Stadium. Service members have competed in dodgeball and cooking competitions.
But they’ve also gotten some time to themselves, such as learning, for example, what it’s like to be a firefighter — which could be a potential post-military career for some of them.
And then there was the trip to Warriors Road.
Andrews founded Warriors Road four years ago as a way to offer a free ranch and horseback experience to veterans and first responders.
“We give them a great chance to center themselves, experience the tranquility of being around horses and just let all other things melt away,” said volunteer London Scott, who calls Warriors Road a sanctuary.
Scott is one of 10 board members who help Andrews run the nonprofit. The board may have lofty titles, but they all do the dirty work of cleaning out stalls and raising money to pay for veterinary bills and horse supplies. Many of the volunteers are also veterans.
Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, with one of his six therapy horses, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Warriors Road USA therapy horses kick up some dust on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Crew members from the USS Ashland stand alongside one of six therapy horses trained by Warriors Road USA, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jazmin Castaneda from the USS Ashland walks a therapy horse on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jamya Elmore, left, and Rayan Small, in town with the USS Ashland for LA Fleet Week, give some love to Arya, a Buckskin therapy horse, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, with one of his six therapy horses, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, with one of his six therapy horses, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, with one of his six therapy horses, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Active duty Navy and Coast Guard personnel, in town for LA Fleet Week, interact with Warriors Road USA’s therapy horses on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Crew members from the USS Ashland and Aaliyah, a thoroughbred and one of six therapy horses trained by Warriors Road USA, pose for a photo on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, left, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, introduces Navy and Coast Guard active duty personnel to one of his six therapy horses, Belle, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, CEO of Warriors Road USA, Navy veteran and cowboy, introduces Navy and Coast Guard active duty personnel to one of his six therapy horses, Belle, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Christy Ranch in Sylmar. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andre Andrews, right, CEO of Warriors Road USA and Navy veteran, welcomes Navy and Coast Guard active duty personnel to the Christy Ranch in Sylmar on Sunday, May 28, 2023. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Orlando Companioni and Nazilla Ataei of Lawndale stroll through the main expo on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Sevyn Maggard, 5, observes the action atop his father’s shoulders at LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Visitors explore the inside of a UH-60L Blackhawk as Army Specialist David Malone looks on at LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Andrew Braunstein, 5, from Beaumont, picks up a Navy vest alongside Petty Officer Dantray Driver on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Big crowds turn out on day three of LA Fleet Week on Sunday, May 28, 2023, in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Board member Paul Hardy is an ex-Marine from Moorpark. A Persian Gulf veteran, he spent eight years in service as a crew chief and gunner. Hardy survived three helicopter crashes and spent time in disaster areas. He was honorably discharged in 1994. But it took him 14 years, Hardy said, to realize the anger he was struggling with was the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I went through a divorce, ended up a single dad with a 2- and 4-year-old and then I met my wife, Anne,” Hardy said. “She told me, ‘Unless you want a third wife, you should get some help.’”
Hardy went through equine-assisted therapy, a program that helps him offer the same solace to anyone who comes to Warriors Road.
“I went through horse therapy for my PTSD and I fell in love with the horses,” Hardy said. “We offer a bigger experience than just riding a horse. We teach them ranch skills, and we don’t turn anyone away.”
The public can also visit and ride horses, with proceeds going back to the nonprofit. Military veterans, first responders and their families aren’t charged for their visits.
Spending time with horses teaches both the animal and humans to interact, Hardy said, and become comfortable with and learn about each other.
“These horses don’t care; they’re not judgmental and even though they don’t have words, they help, they give back a lot,” Hardy said. “This is a safe place Andre’s built. I admire his tenacity and his love for these horses.”
Andrews has six horses, all of them rescues. Belle is a light brown Belgian draft horse. The sometimes-aloof Nancy used to be a polo horse. Bentley is the youngest. There’s also the thoroughbred Aaliyah. And then ther’s Arya, the oldest Warrior horse at 20 years old. She is blind and yes, she is named after the fierce “Game of Thrones” character.
Lt. Cmdr. Justin Grove brought four of his crew members from USS Ashland to help the nonprofit and give his sailors a break from service and sacrifice.
“It’s a great opportunity to get involved with the community that gives so much to us,” he said.
Military personnel serve something greater than themselves, he added.
“I have the honor to put this uniform on and look in the mirror and take pride in our work,” Grove said. “It’s a call to service.”
Seaman Rayann Small, 21, of Florida learned to ride Arya, steering with the reins, using her feet to urge the horse forward.
“I haven’t been around horses, and it’s definitely nice here,” she said. “I’m gonna try to do my best.”
After riding along a trail in the San Gabriel foothills, Small said, the equine experience is another chapter in her young Navy career.
The best part of her enlistment is traveling to places such as Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii. The not-so-fun part includes living in close quarters with 300 other sailors, “which can sometimes be a lot,” Small said.
For Andrews, Warriors Road is a passion.
He reports to the ranch at 6 a.m. daily to tend to the horses before heading to his paid job at the Community Veteran Justice Project in Los Angeles. The nonprofit offers free legal aid to veterans. Andrews is also married, and expecting his first child, a son, on the Fourth of July.
“Working the ranch, riding the trails with the horses,” Andrews said, “that’s my dopamine hit, that’s where I get my energy.”
The American Legion helps support the group, as does ReplayPolo animal welfare. The city of Sylmar also recently gave the nonprofit a grant.
Andrews was a calm center to all the activity on Sunday. Besides donning a gray T-shirt, jeans and his riding boots, he also wore his formal Navy garrison cap for the occasion.
“Are you happy?” he asked the sailors from the USS Ashland over a barbecue lunch he cooked for them. “Are you happy?”
He turned back and smiled after getting unanimous “yes, sirs.”
“That’s my why,” Andrews said. “That’s my why.”
Monday activities
Public ship tours (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Aircraft demonstrations over the Main Channel (10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.).
Live performances: Just us 4 (10:30 to 11 a.m.), Golden West Pops (noon to 1 p.m.) and Morgan Miles with Brayden Lape (3:30 to 5 p.m.).
