Todd Pierce knew he was facing a formidable challenge as he approached the snorting quarter horse that had just tossed him with a hard thud into the dirt of the round pen.

The founder of Riding High Ministries has broken hundreds of horses, but this 4-year-old gelding seemed more stubborn, or perhaps more fearful, than most untrained horses.

In the stands, an audience of 80 prison inmates watched intently to see what would happen next.



Pierce spoke gently to the horse while he tried to stroke its mane. Then he hugged its neck. The frenzied kicking subsided until at last the horse yielded and walked side by side with him. Pierce mounted the horse and coaxed it to move forward.

The gelding made several tentative steps, but grew more resistant as its rider nudged him to keep going. Furious, the horse bucked and flung Pierce to the ground a second time.

“I’m not going to give up on this horse, even though it continues to reject me,” Pierce explained to the men. “That’s how it is with God. He doesn’t give up on us, no matter how rebellious we may be. He loves us and wants us to trust Him.”

Read about Riding High Ministries' trip to Bolivia with Samaritan's Purse.

After dusting himself off, Pierce repeated the same steps, first giving the horse affection, walking beside it, and then climbing on again. This time the horse and man moved successfully through the pen together.

The crowd in the bleachers stood and cheered.

“Are any of you here watching tired of running and fighting against God?” Pierce asked. “Do you want to surrender all your fears and failures to a Father who wants to embrace you?”

Pierce was astonished as nearly every inmate and guard joined him in the arena. Some prayed for salvation; others asked for healing in broken relationships. All of them longed to be free from the prison of their own hearts.

The horse-breaking illustration and Gospel presentation were among several programs held at Angola Prison in Louisiana as part of an all-day instructional clinic sponsored by Samaritan's Purse and Riding High Ministries.

“It was the most powerful moment of my short ministry life,” Pierce said. “There I was, in a prison, standing in the middle of a round pen that was surrounded by prisoners who longed to be free. They had ears to hear and our Father spoke. He spoke through the pure example of love shown by bull riders, through the rebellion of an animal, and through the spoken word.”

Earlier in the day, inmates participated in workshops on bull-riding and bareback horse riding, taught by professional rodeo cowboys. Learning the essentials of mounting, balancing, and dismounting, as well as the proper use of rodeo equipment, is beneficial training. The prison puts on an annual spring rodeo, and thousands of people attend the much-anticipated show.

“One inmate told me, ‘The rodeo is the only time in my life when people cheer for me. For one day I’m not a convict. I’m an athlete.’ God used us to encourage these men and give value to their lives,” Pierce said.

Pierce and other members of Riding High Ministries, who provide full-time ministry to the Professional Bull Riders Association, joined Samaritan’s Purse staff in Bolivia last June. They held a similar instructional clinic/Gospel presentation and helped hand out 1,000 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. During the 10-day trip, they also assisted in distributing cattle to needy ranchers, installed water filters, and worked on a church reconstruction project.

Samaritan’s Purse has a long-standing partnership with Angola Prison. In 2006, Franklin Graham held an evangelistic festival on the grounds of the prison. Last spring, Samaritan’s Purse staff and 89 volunteers from across the nation built a chapel to help meet the spiritual needs of guards and employees.

Just a decade ago, Angola was referred to as “the bloodiest prison in America” due to a high rate of inmate violence. Warden Burl Cain arrived in 1995 and spearheaded a cultural and spiritual transformation.

Today the maximum security complex of 18,000 acres includes several churches, a Bible college, and hundreds of inmates who are trained pastors. Some 2,000 inmates, more than a third of the population of 5,300, profess faith in Jesus Christ, and inmate violence continues to steadily decline.

Since the January earthquake in Haiti, inmates and staff have sent a stream of donations to Samaritan’s Purse. Already they have collected more than $2,500 for relief efforts.

Lloyd Blackwell, the North America Projects program manager for Samaritan’s Purse, was among the staff that traveled to Angola Prison for the Riding High Ministries event. He was greatly moved by the generosity and the deep brokenness that he saw in many of the men.

“It’s sobering to think that most of these prisoners are here for life, and over 80 percent of them will never receive a personal visit from anyone,” Blackwell said. “You can see the kind of void they have in their hearts. We were able to help fill that void by showing them that someone cares about them enough to spend time with them. And we got to share Christ with them. We gave them hope that God hasn’t given up on them.”

Samaritan's Purse , United States , Evangelism , Riding High for the Master