Walnut Ranch is owned and operated by Katie and Jakob Stadler. Katie has ridden horses most of her life and competed successfully when she was younger. A few years ago a friend asked her if she could teach her children to ride. The riding school grew from there. Slowly she found more ponies as the word got out and more children came for lessons. Jakob has always enjoyed building and working with wood so building the ranch's famous entry gate, animal shelters, yards, stables and much more has been a big job, but very rewarding. Jakob comes from Switzerland so the ranch has a little touch of Swiss in its designs. Jakob, Katie and their three children enjoy the lifestyle of living and working on the ranch.