Finding Hope, Healing & My Wings

I’ve always believed that God places certain people and places in our lives at just the right time. That’s exactly how I feel about Bridle Up Hope.

Last spring, our family began horseback riding lessons with a trusted male friend who had once run a boys’ ranch. The lessons gave us space to reconnect after our son returned home following more than ten difficult years involving addiction, mental health challenges, and homelessness.

But that reconnection also stirred significant PTSD symptoms, unprocessed pain from those years, and lingering effects of childhood trauma. When those wounds began affecting my relationships and sense of safety, I realized I needed a female instructor with whom I could be vulnerable.

Soon after I said that aloud, Bridle Up Hope appeared on my Facebook feed!

As creepy as it is that Facebook apparently listens to our conversations 🤣, this is one time I’m grateful it did!

Bridle Up Hope turned out to be exactly where God led me to begin my healing journey.

Why the Timing Mattered

The timing was remarkable. My husband had recently endured nearly five months of unemployment, our son had returned home, and I was tapering off a medication on which my body had become dependent. My nervous system was struggling to regulate itself, and panic attacks had become an unwelcome companion.

For nearly twelve years, I had also been immersed in caregiving—first for my parents and then professionally, spending seven years serving families as a hospice chaplain.

When I stepped away from hospice last January, I began to see how much of my life had revolved around helping others through their darkest moments.

Somewhere along the way, I had lost touch with parts of myself—including my lifelong love of horses.

As a teenager, I found a riding camp near Pepperwood despite my mother’s reservations after a frightening experience my brother Dave had with horses. Yet when I see the childhood photo of Dave beside me on horseback, I wonder whether he may have been the first to awaken my love for them. He passed away at only forty, but that memory remains precious to me.

To earn jumping lessons, I prepared and served lunch to the children. Looking back, I was resourceful! 🤣 When you love horses that much, you find a way!

Fast-forward a few decades, and horses were drawing me back again. There is something magical about these magnificent, yummy-smelling creatures! 🐴 Somehow, they transport my mind, body, and spirit into another atmosphere.

Teddy and the Feeling of Flight

And then there was Teddy—oh, sweet Teddy! ❤️

Without question, Teddy is my favorite horse. If I could tuck him into my back pocket and take him home, I absolutely would! There’s something extraordinary about finding trust and rhythm with a horse. When the movement becomes seamless, you stop overthinking, and suddenly it feels like you’re flying.

Teddy gave me that feeling. But as much as I loved Teddy and the horses, Hannah was the very best part of my experience.

More Than Riding Lessons

I came expecting horseback riding lessons. What I received was something much deeper: the mentorship of Hannah, an earthly angel who is beautiful inside and out.

There were days when I arrived with tears in my eyes, overwhelmed by life. Yet after two hours with Hannah and the horses, I would leave with renewed hope, a calmer spirit, and a different perspective on the very challenges that had brought me to tears.

Her nonjudgmental presence gave me permission to be vulnerable, transparent, and honest about things I had been afraid to face.

Lessons from the 7 Habits

Through Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits, Hannah helped me recognize something important: I had spent so much energy navigating circumstances and choices outside my control that I had sometimes forgotten the power I still held over my own responses.

• Habit 1: Be Proactive. While I cannot control the choices of those I love, I can take responsibility for how I respond rather than allowing fear and old wounds to dictate my reactions.

• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. I can listen with compassion without abandoning my own voice, needs, or boundaries.

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw. After years of caring for others, I need to nourish my own mind, body, and spirit again.

Interestingly, Stephen Covey is a distant cousin on my father’s side. My father, Gill Warner—whose mother was a Richards connected to Stephen—lived and taught many of these same principles.

It’s almost comical that it took me well into my fifth decade to finally read and relish one of his inspired books—a book whose lessons had surrounded me my entire life! 🤣

I like to imagine that perhaps my father and Stephen had a little heavenly hand in bringing me here—reminding me who I am and of the strength God has already placed within me.

Finding My Voice Again

I certainly haven’t mastered any of this—oh, heavens no! I still have much to learn, unlearn, and change. But I’m beginning to understand that healing requires more than hoping my circumstances will change; it requires me to change, too. That means recognizing my unhealthy patterns and choosing new responses.

That slow return to my own voice makes being asked to speak tonight especially meaningful.

Years ago, I took courses in motivational speaking because I loved encouraging others. Somewhere along the way, that passion grew quiet.

As a chaplain, I hope to continue being a voice of hope—encouraging others to hold on when darkness falls and they begin to wonder whether the light is still there.

Sometimes, when darkness makes us forget, we need someone to remind us that the light is still there. Hannah has been that reminder for me.

A Legacy of Hope

I’m grateful for the Covey family’s legacy of hope. Through Bridle Up Hope and the principles of the 7 Habits, Rachel’s love of horses continues to bring healing to women in difficult seasons.

What a remarkable gift: a place where women can arrive carrying whatever life has placed upon them and feel welcomed, valued, and safe.

Here, we can lower our defenses, rediscover our worth, and allow our souls to feel safe enough to heal. ❤️‍🩹 I hope Rachel can see from heaven how far the ripples of her life and love of horses continue to reach.

Thank you, Teddy, for reminding me what it feels like to fly. 🐴❤️

And Hannah, thank you for your wisdom, compassion, friendship, and for living these principles so genuinely. You have been such a gift to me.

You created a safe place where I could look honestly at myself, rediscover my voice, and find hope in the middle of difficult circumstances.

I trust God’s timing, even when I don’t understand it.

These seven weeks have reminded me that hope may arrive on four legs, with a mane and a tail—and sometimes through a person who helps you remember that the wings were within you all along. 💕

-Bridle Up Hope Alpine, Women's Participant

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