Wow, I was shocked. I could not have guessed that the average age for riders is over 40. There are so many reasons for this but still, it shocked me.
When I was growing up, there were 20 or 30 kids to every adult at the barns I rode at. Actually, I only knew a couple of adults that even rode at all. It was all of us crazy horse kids.
The classes at the shows for the juniors were 20 - 50 per class, which were usually grouped in 1 or 2 years per group. For the adults, it was 18 - 35 and 35 and over and they only had a maximum of 20 in their classes for the huge age range.
Why are kids not riding any more? I would love to hear your thoughts and if there things we can do.
Here are my thoughts:
1. The kids these days are really into the electronics. Our granddaughters were here and mostly played on youtube and creating their own videos (which is amazing!). I had one that wanted to come feed but really didn't want to spend a lot of time with the horses. I would have spent every minute with the horses when I was her age.
2. Horses cost more these days then they did when I was a kid. I worked to save up and bought my first pony when I was 5 and I was able to work to take care of some of the bills. I worked and worked to pay for the horses. I am not sure kids these days will make it happen like I did.
3. There are so many organized sports that take up a lot of time and they don't have the time to just enjoy horses.
Are there things we can do to engage the kids more? What if a bunch of us created a facebook group, to encourage kids to have those horse crazy pony dreams again? What if we partnered with local youth centers?
I don't know the answers but I know I was shocked at the average age being so high.
What do you guys think? I would love to hear your thoughts if you would like to reply.
One day, he slapped me. I actually laughed! The physical pain of him slapping me was so much less than all the pain I had suffered from my own thoughts. Two years of believing he would kill my family if I didn't stay with him. I had no doubt he would kill them, and my thoughts had robbed me of a lot of joy. I lived in terror that my secret would be found out. I lived a dual life. One that everyone else saw, and one that I kept hidden, fearing that my whole family would be dead if anyone found out I was his hostage.
I finally forgave him. That was the easy part. I understood where he came from and why he did what he did out of his own fear. That I could forgive. That felt good. That felt like a huge burden had been lifted, but it wasn't the end of the forgiveness.
I still felt the burden of the memories, hanging out with me. One day I realized, I needed to forgive me! I needed to forgive me for letting that happen. For not having the courage to stand up to it. I had to forgive myself for holding onto terror for two years when a mere slap pulled me out of it. Really, a slap was enough to stop the terror I had been holding inside of me?
Here are the things I did to forgive myself:
1. RECOGNITION: I recognized that I carried the feeling with me that I needed to forgive. The feelings that I had let myself down. That I had not been strong enough. That I had not been ENOUGH.
2. CELEBRATION: I celebrated that I had gotten out of it. That time didn't matter, that I had figured it out. I celebrated that! Celebration feels so good.
3. FORGIVE ME: This had to be an action. I wrote down my forgiveness. I pictured that young lady, walking with God, and God forgiving me and hugging me. I then pictured me, as I am now, hugging that young lady, telling her how proud I was of her, for doing what she needed to do. For taking care of herself and her family. Telling her how proud I was that she forgave the man that terrorized her. Then, I gave her permission to forgive herself. In this moment, of hugging her, I knew that the forgiveness was complete, and I was strong and whole again. I was ENOUGH. I was FORGIVEN.
Have you thought about things you have forgiven others for but forgot to forgive yourself? For those of us with horses, there is so much we can do before we know better that can be hard to forgive ourselves for. I know I had a number of things. As things come up, take them one by one, and go back to that person you were and forgive them, in that moment.
Sometimes, we can get caught up in the past. If you just need a break and want a few ideas to feel like you are a kid again, here is my free 5 keys to feeling like a kid again!
Sitting there on the living room floor with the Monopoly game all set up, ready to play with my aunts when I was 5 and my world shattered. Ok, it wasn't that bad but to me, it was a defining moment. My aunts came in and said there was no way they could sit on the floor to play a whole board game, I had to move to the table. I was shocked. In that moment I vowed, never to let myself get to the point I could not sit on the floor with the kids and play a board game. Like many of you, I was not taught how to improve with age, I just assumed things were going to go downhill.
MYTH #1 We get Stiff as we age!
One morning, I was sitting on the bed to put on my socks and it wasn't easy. WHAT????? Me???? I had let myself down. I tried EVERYTHING to get the flexibility back and things helped but nothing was the answer. Now, after doing the 11-day jumpstart, I am as flexible (if not more so) than I was as a kid! I feel amazing! It was a combination of eating better, the timing of the eating, adding in an amazing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and joining a coaching program that has a great support group!
MYTH #2 Our skin thins as we age!
I was always getting scratched and cut, doing the little things. One day, Doone jumped up and clawed my face. Dean and I both thought it ripped my face open. It hurt so bad; I was sure it was going to need stitches. When I pulled my had down, it wasn't even red! Again, Dean and I were both shocked! The changes I had made for my flexibility and adding in an amazing collogen, have my skin healing and actually getting as healthy as when I was a kid! Even my wrinkles are starting to run away. NICE!!
MYTH #3 We forget what we went into a room for!
It has been a few months since I walked into a room and thought, "what did I come in here for?". This one was more subtle, but Sudoku times are faster, I remember things clearer, my memory is back! I lost my dad to short term memory loss so that fact that my memory seems to be improving, is HUGE! It makes aging not quite so scary.
The 11-day jumpstart was the key. It took all the things I was doing, added in a few little bits I was missing and now I will be aging healthy and happy! If any of these myths have ever seemed familiar to you, or if you are young enough you don't want them to become familiar, I would love to have you join me in the Jumpstart!!! Click here to get the information.
There are some powerful tools out there to start the healing journey. Whether it is physical or mental, the mental healing can always aid the physical healing. Our minds are more powerful than most of us realize. Self talk, is one of the worst for keeping us from healing. I hurt. I'm tired. I don't feel good. There are so many of these words we tell ourselves or even share out loud without thinking about the power of the words. We are basically telling our brain, keep us feeling bad!
I had a friend that used to say all the time, "I am dying to have a baby". It made most of us uncomfortable she put so much passion into what she was saying. She died giving birth to her little girl, left without a mom. I WAS SHOCKED through my sadness.
It is so easy to get into the habit of looking and feeling, using words for right now. Help is on the way! I have a practice that helps pull us out of the pain and misery.
Start by thinking 12 months ahead, and how do you want to feel. AMAZING I am sure! Healthy, pain free, great energy and ready to dance through life. Write down, on a piece of paper you can keep in front of you, "I remember that day, 12 months ago, when I didn't see hope to be free from pain. I remember that day with so much compassion. I remember that was the day, that I started to feel better. I felt better and better every day after that day. Today, I feel amazing but I will always be grateful to remember that day, that I changed my thoughts." As you read your statement, picture the feeling you will have 12 months in the future and really feel how good that feels. Do this 4 or 5 times a day for a year!!!! You will be amazed!
If you want to jumpstart your healing and feeling better today, we are seeing amazing results in just 11 days! Imagine, feeling great after 11 days. Just click here for more information and to jump in!!!
I am going to share the most powerful secret I have learned recently.
I was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to put my socks on and I was STIFF. I didn't feel amazing.
When I was 5, I had invited my aunts to sit with me on the floor to play a board game, and they declined saying that they would hurt. I vowed to never let that happen to me.
Have you ever felt that twinge, that reaching for something and you think...ohhh, that didn't feel so good?
You start to have those thoughts of "I am getting older, it is normal" creeping in. You realize that you have put on a little weight, in areas that you don't want to have added weight. Your joints creek a little more than they used to.
This right here, STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS. I remembered that vow I had made, and thought, wow, I am my aunts. I had to figure out how to get back to feeling like that kid again, physically.
I tried EVERYTHING. Keto, whole foods, paleo, intermittent fasting, more sleep, more exercise, I felt like I had tried everything, and I did feel better, a little bit, but I still didn't feel like I did when I was a kid.
I realized that riding my horses was also not feeling like it did as a kid. It was a little harder to get on, a little less balance, a little less flexibility. My hands on the reins hurt a little and I couldn't even put on my wedding ring my knuckle was so swollen.
I have a friend in her 80's still jumping and another lady running 100-mile ultra marathons and doing great. I knew I had to get it figured out. One way or another.
Do you have friends that are just like the energizer bunny and you haven't figured out what they are doing? It was really having me feel down.
Then, in January 2023, I found the SECRET. I signed up for the 11-day Jumpstart. The coach was doing the program for free and I just had to get the supplement. I had tried the supplement for a few years and loved it but it hadn't given me the results I wanted. Our amazing coach, and support group, had put together a program that changed everything. It is a lot like preloading supplements for our horses! It is also like putting the best nutrients into our bodies at the right times of day.
What would you do first if your body felt like you did as a kid? What would your horse think if you got on and your horse didn't have to compensate for you. Can you imagine, going into your golden years, feeling just like you did as a kid?
If you want to feel amazing like a kid again, click here: 11-Day Jumpstart
