I came to ‘Riding Beyond’ with only the expectation that I would get to know a tiny bit about horses and maybe find some small happiness for the moment. I’d gone through a very difficult year – a diagnosis of cancer and the loss of my beloved youngest daughter. Joy was hard to come by. Grief was an every day companion. . . . I went to the first day of the program with pretty much no idea whether I’d get bucked off a frisky horse or have a spontaneous healing like ones I’d heard about. Trish had explained the program, but with my extremely limited exposure to horses I don’t think anything really gelled. Well, I was in for one of the most treasured and healing experiences I’ve had in this rocky road of life. This would be a healing of the heart. Mystic is a beauty of a huge soft soul. My first meeting with her was tender on her side but cautious & somewhat excited on my part. Her calm, quiet presence quickly infused me, and I found myself really falling in love with something in her that was tangibly intangible. Maybe it was perfect that I knew nothing about horses, because I didn’t have any notions about what to look for, what to think, how to be. Maybe because of that I just ‘let it flow’ with her. I found in the following weeks of the program that I was constantly bringing up her image in my mind when I felt stressed or sad or even happy. Just the thought of her would calm my mind and bring a feeling of contentment, peace, wellbeing. On one occasion I was feeling some deep angst and restlessness and couldn’t really put my finger on the cause. I then thought of Mystic, almost automatically, like some people reach for a sedative. Immediately a huge, huge wave of grief enveloped me. The release was like the wave of a tsunami and the minutes after were like floating in an endless quiet sea. Another time I was praying and meditating but thoughts kept racing in and out, and grief and sadness and confusion kept tormenting me. Again my mind automatically went to Mystic and very surprisingly, in an instant, I became profoundly calm, very quiet, at peace. Well, I didn’t know what to think of that but hey, I’d take it. And so went the love affair with the horse, Mystic. It continues today. The program is over, but I have gained a beautiful, amazing and nurturing friend. My life has an added dimension that I would never have anticipated. I am so grateful. Thanks, beautiful Mystic! And thank you to all my other new friends, who helped make this beautiful program a reality.”
–by our first participant at Riding Beyond.
hard to come by. Grief was an every day companion. . . . I went to the first day of the program with pretty much no idea whether I’d get bucked off a frisky horse or have a spontaneous healing like ones I’d heard about. Trish had explained the program, but with my extremely limited exposure to horses I don’t think anything really gelled. Well, I was in for one of the most treasured and healing experiences I’ve had in this rocky road of life. This would be a healing of the heart. Mystic is a beauty of a huge soft soul. My first meeting with her was tender on her side but cautious & somewhat excited on my part. Her calm, quiet presence quickly infused me, and I found myself really falling in love with something in her that was tangibly intangible. Maybe it was perfect that I knew nothing about horses, because I didn’t have any notions about what to look for, what to think, how to be. Maybe because of that I just ‘let it flow’ with her. I found in the following weeks of the program that I was constantly bringing up her image in my mind when I felt stressed or sad or even happy. Just the thought of her would calm my mind and bring a feeling of contentment, peace, wellbeing. On one occasion I was feeling some deep angst and restlessness and couldn’t really put my finger on the cause. I then thought of Mystic, almost automatically, like some people reach for a sedative. Immediately a huge, huge wave of grief enveloped me. The release was like the wave of a tsunami and the minutes after were like floating in an endless quiet sea. Another time I was praying and meditating but thoughts kept racing in and out, and grief and sadness and confusion kept tormenting me. Again my mind automatically went to Mystic and very surprisingly, in an instant, I became profoundly calm, very quiet, at peace. Well, I didn’t know what to think of that but hey, I’d take it. And so went the love affair with the horse, Mystic. It continues today. The program is over, but I have gained a beautiful, amazing and nurturing friend. My life has an added dimension that I would never have anticipated. I am so grateful. Thanks, beautiful Mystic! And thank you to all my other new friends, who helped make this beautiful program a reality.”