Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Ciesliga.
Hi Lisa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My family had moved out to the country next to a horse farm in Madisonville, Kentucky when I was a young teen. The owner of the horses gave me one thirtyish minute horse lesson : how to properly saddle and bridle a horse, and how to steer once mounted. That was all it took for me. I rode as often as I could; rain or shine, hot days or snowy days. Time would fly by when I was out in the barn or pasture with the gentle giants. Sometimes I would have a bad day, as teenagers often do, and would run out to the field and put my nose in the neck of a horse for comfort. They understood the assignment, and my heartrate would decrease and tears would cease.
Life sped along. I married, moved to TN then TX, then had two children and moved back to TN. I always lived in the city after that sweet home next to the horse farm in Kentucky. My heart had always yearned for property of our own to one day have my own horse to love, ride, and nurture.
As our kids began to leave the nest, my husband and I started our search for property a little further south of us. After a couple of years of searching, placing offers, and almost throwing in the towel, a sweet property with a mix of pasture and woods with a ranch style home came across our email because the price had dropped into the range we had set in our search filters. Low and behold, this was the property for us! The sellers accepted our offer with the contingency that our home would sell. That was the hang-up all the other times before.
We worked swiftly with our realtor and had our home on the market within a week. Day one, we had several showings booked, with the first one already placing a verbal offer to purchase our home. That afternoon, we had several back-to-back showings that would have us out of the house for a few hours, so we packed up our dog and cat and headed out. 28 minutes later, our next door neighbor called my husband asking if we were home because there were firetrucks in the cul-de-sac and smoke coming our of our roof. Our attic had caught fire and the top floor was ablaze…
We were heartsick. Thankfully, no one was home, including our animals. It was a 98 degree day with heat index in the 110s. All lights were on in the house for the showings, and one of the wires in the attic arced and caught fire. The top floor was burned, and the main living floor was destroyed by fire soaked water from the heroic men and women that worked to squelch the blaze.
The sellers of the property we were under contract with heard our story from our realtor and extended the time of closing so we could sort out details and still have a chance to purchase. What a huge blessing!
I tell all those details and left a lot out to explain that after all the time of looking for property, being told “no” consistently, and then having a house fire after a “yes”, our hearts were postured in a total state of mush and surrender to whatever the Lord had in store for us. We are now on that property, and we have horses of our own! A childhood dream has come to fruition. What we weren’t expecting is that we would be so eager to share the immense beauty, joy, and peace that come with this space with so many others. One by one, people of all ages began spending time with us in the field riding or grooming the horses and being met intimately by their loving Father in profound and unique ways in the quiet, beautiful, and accepting atmosphere here and among the horses.
Last summer in June of 2025, we opened our property for a three day camp for six young ladies at no cost to spend riding horses, walking trails, skipping rocks on the Duck River down the road, picking summer wildflowers, having porch chats about Jesus, and doing crafts together. This summer, we hosted several one-day camps mirroring what we had done last summer. We had 23 boys and girls participate, six volunteers, and we hosted a special Women’s Day. We did ask for a camp fee this year, and every cent went back for the care of our three horses. A few parents mentioned that they liked that we were hosting a one-day only camp because generally horse farms will host week-long camp commitments only to find out their child really wasn’t fond of a whole day outside after the first day. We had such an amazing time hosting both years and plan to do it all again in Summer of 2027. Be on the lookout for signups that will be up and ready in February or sooner of 2027 on BigSkyHaven.com
When we aren’t hosting Big Sky Haven Days or spending time on the farm at Big Sky Haven with the horses ourselves, we often have individuals, couples, families, single parents, widows, and young folks out to spend time with us enjoying the Big Sky, beautiful horses, sitting on the welcoming porch, and simply remind our guests of the immense love our Big God has for them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road in the least. As I mentioned, the house fire was a tremendous setback in our plan, our physical and emotional energy, and in the timing we could move to the property.
When we did move out here, there was not a fence and no barn. That was actually ok with us so that we could place the fence where we wanted and design and build the barn and stalls that work for us.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m most proud of saying “Yes” and having faith that the Lord will send who He wants to send out, and He certainly has. I have a photo book of each individual and family that has come out since we’ve gotten horses, and the stories of the timing of their visits are just amazing and I couldn’t make it up myself if I tried.
We are just regular folks who love to have anyone out to enjoy God’s creation who might need a minute of quiet from the hustle and bustle of life.
I’ve worked diligently with the horses to be great hosts for our visitors, and I’m really proud of that, especially starting this in my 50s when I really knew nothing before about the care or training of horses. I’ve learned so much and the horses and I are better for it.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I like the variety of family-oriented things to do in our city. We have great parks and trails, lots of amazing food, the best live music, and a huge community of equestrians as a resource to new horse people that are starting their dream of horse ownership late in life like me.
I don’t like the traffic because of lack of planning for infrastructure as many have moved to middle Tennessee. It’s a beautiful place that many have wanted to make their home, which is wonderful though!
Pricing:
- I would just add that for upcoming event details and pricing, the readers can check BigSkyHaven.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BigSkyHaven.com
