Every Christmas morning, Jo Davis would run to the tree, eagerly searching her packages in the hopes of finding one large enough to conceal a horse. Jo never discovered a horse, pony, or even a poor man’s horse—a cow—underneath her family's tree, but she pursued her dream of riding by taking lessons and attending summer camps throughout high school. After that, she worked as a wrangler at the summer camp.

Today, Jo directs her own riding school, H&W Riding, at the Hoofs and Woofs Animal Rescue Ranch, a nonprofit rescue center for horses, cats, and dogs. Amid lush vegetation and rolling hills, Jo conducts lessons and camps with the ranch's four lesson horses: Ranger, Charlie, Tonka, and Lil' Dude.