March 5, 2025 • 47 mins
Witness the incredible healing power of equine therapy as Sally Mixon from Abijah on the Backside shares her expertise in helping military personnel and first responders overcome PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and depression. Sally, a dedicated counselor and horse enthusiast, illustrates how retired racehorses can reflect human emotions, offering a unique means for individuals to confront their inner battles.
Experience the transformation of trauma recovery through collaborative wellness programs that fuse the benefits of nature and experiential healing. Our partnership with Sally’s nonprofit, Abijah, enriches our Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASSIST) program by integrating equine therapy and other outdoor experiences like ice baths and saunas. We also draw on the expertise of psychologist Brittany and retired Hennepin County deputy Mike Hendricks, creating a multi-layered support system that emphasizes mental well-being and recovery.
Stories of hope and resilience are at the heart of this episode, where we explore profound connections between horses and humans. From horses lying down in snow to mirror a person's inner turmoil, to the touching tale of a horse named Finn symbolizing personal challenges, these narratives showcase the extraordinary empathy of horses. Sally discusses the aspirations of the Abijah program and the ongoing development of a professional equine therapy team, inviting listeners to discover this unique therapeutic journey that promises healing and empowerment.
Produced by Phil Ewert Productions
Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions
hometownherooutdoors.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement
was born.
Welcome to Hometown HeroOutdoors.
We are dedicated to honoringour military service members,
veterans and first responders byproviding them with
unforgettable outdoorrecreational opportunities.
We believe those who haveserved and sacrificed so much
(00:24):
for our country and communitiesdeserve a chance to reclaim
their spirit and find healing inthe great outdoors.
This is Hometown Hero Outdoors.
Welcome to the Hometown HeroOutdoors Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Here is your host, chris Tatro.
I have watched that videohundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of times and it givesme goosebumps every time.
Still, I love it.
I love it.
So for our listeners.
Today we have a guest on namedSally Mixon.
She's with Abijah on thebackside.
She is a good friend of mine.
We've been working togetherhere for about half a year with
Abijah on the backside.
She is a good friend of mine.
We've been working togetherhere for about half a year and
our relationship between thenonprofits and our friendship
has grown.
I'm excited to have her on.
(01:32):
I know we've had a couple ofmisses with trying to catch each
other here, but life happens,things are busy.
But I just want to introduceeveryone to Sally Mixon.
Sally, welcome to the show, andjust want to introduce yourself
to the listeners and who youare.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thanks, chris.
So yeah, I'm Sally Mixon.
I run a organization calledAbages on the backside, and so
we simply put, we incorporateretired racehorses to work with
our military and firstresponders struggling with PTSD,
trauma, anxiety, depression allof the above you know, etc.
Depression all of the above youknow, etc.
(02:09):
So I'm a counselor, um, as wellas um a horse person.
I I exercise racehorses atracetracks and just love the
racing industry, so I wanted tobring my two loves together, um.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So here we are yeah, as I say so, you truly got this.
Let me say do what you love.
You truly got that yes, that.
We've got a friend sittingthere next to you.
Why don't we introduce yourfriend who's there?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, so this is Louie.
He's my French bulldog.
He's in a lot of sessions.
He thinks the world revolvesaround him, which it totally
does.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I hear him grunting.
I love it.
He is a good dog.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, he's awesome, so he'll be here.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
He'll probably crawl on my lap occasionally.
Support for the podcast.
Yeah, oh my gosh Luke, that'sawesome.
Yeah, so you operate out ofCanterbury Park during the
summertime and then you haveanother stable you're at during
the winter.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So explain to our listeners who is Canterbury Park
.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
This is from Minnesota, so there are horse
stables and racetracks allacross the country, but Sally is
specifically out of Minnesotaat Canterbury yeah, so
Canterbury Park is the um, thethoroughbred racetrack here in
in Minnesota and they have beenawesome and have opened up their
doors and caught the vision ofAvijas and said they'd love to
(03:23):
be the first track um to reallyhost this healing for our first
responders and military.
So the vision and hope is thatwe can take this across the
country to different racetracksand that's been really exciting
just to dream and to startconversations with other tracks.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
It's a great vision.
You know, I've got toexperience some of your your
therapy sessions as well and youknow, for me, horse has always
been a little more intimidatingfor me.
I'm not a horse person for themost part, but I think that you
kind of tip those scales alittle bit, which is good.
But uh, when it comes to equinetherapy, explain a little bit
about what that process is, oryou know what?
(04:03):
What is the science behind that, what are the things that
you've noticed?
And we'll definitely go backand talk about who you are and
your history a bit, but justgive us a baseline of what
equine therapy is.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yeah, so horses are prey animals and first and
foremost and I think a lot oftimes people forget that because
of their size, and so theybring up a natural kind of
vulnerability in us all becauseof their size, and so they bring
up a natural kind ofvulnerability in us all because
of their size.
They, because they're preyanimals, they pick up on what's
going on internally and theyplay that out externally.
(04:35):
So it creates this really cooldistance between kind of what
we're struggling with, becauseoften what we struggle with
becomes our identity and we gotto really create that distance
to separate it and look at itexternally.
So an example might be you know, an officer comes to us really,
really struggling with anxietyand there could be a horse that
(04:57):
all of a sudden starts pacingright and just going back and
forth and now you have this 1200pound representation of what
they're feeling internally.
So it helps them put words tothings.
It's crazy powerful, reallycool how it works.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Helps them process what the horses are displaying
or exhibiting.
I guess, right.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, so they become, for lack of a better
word kind of characters in theirstory.
Yeah, so they become, for lackof a better word kind of
characters in their story.
So you might have one thatrepresents PTSD, one that
represents, you know, emotionsor sadness, one that represents
self, and they actually play,play that part.
It's so weird.
One of my employees called ahippie shit the first time.
(05:42):
She's Air Force veteran andshe's like what is, what is this
?
And she's also a horse person,and so it's just, it's crazy,
when you lean into it, whatthese horses will uncover in a
really, you know, gentle,respectful way and begin that
healing process.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's fantastic.
And then the cool part too isthat you know you're really
giving these retired racehorses,uh, another identity.
You know life after explain tothe listeners a little bit about
.
You know what happens with thenormal thoroughbred racehorse.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
You know, once they're done racing, what that
normal process or is for thatand then what you're able to
provide yeah, so the racingindustry has gotten, I mean,
leaps and bounds ahead of wherethey've been when it comes to
kind of the second career forthese retired racehorses.
What happens, though, is a lotof times, I mean, they're
(06:32):
athletes, so they might go intohunter jumper, they might go
into dressage or Western barrelracing, things like that, but a
lot of times the horses that weuse can't be ridden or have
injuries that just don't allowthem to be that kind of sport
horse anymore, and so, with that, their value really goes down
(06:54):
in the industry.
So we have one who, I mean,cannot be ridden, she can't
carry weight, a crazy, amazingathlete, and then, from a horse
perspective, her value went from, you know, thousands upon
thousands of dollars to zeroovernight, because she slipped
on ice and broke her pelvis.
So what do you do with a horselike that?
Right, and so now she's savinglives, so her value, I mean, has
(07:18):
gone up, right.
In my opinion, it's just notmonetary, but that doesn't
opinion, it's just not monetary,but that doesn't that this is
way more worth more, all of that.
So, so that can be really,really powerful as well, with
first responders, military whomaybe are shifting right, who
maybe are coming out of themilitary or changing jobs,
(07:39):
transitioning, and what is theirvalue outside of the uniform
now?
What do they do with that?
Who are they and what is theirvalue outside of the uniform now
, what do they do with that?
Who are they, what's theiridentity, all of those things.
So it's a really cool parallelbetween these racehorses,
retired racehorses, and thepopulation we serve.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
A lot of people do struggle as they transition out
of those careers.
I was actually writing a blogarticle yesterday about the top
five things that our militaryservice members yesterday, about
the top five things that ourmilitary service members,
veterans and first responders uhencounter when they uh the top
issues that when they transitionout of light that career field,
what are the things that arethe most influentially, um,
(08:17):
mentally, to them in a negativeway?
And that transition piece ishuge, you know, and to be able
to correlate those twodefinitely makes um make some
light bulbs go on, because youcan see that you know, if these
horses are capable of doing thatand helping me, then I am
capable of doing that on my own.
And that was not my identity.
It was a big piece of my lifeand everything you know and, um,
(08:41):
being able to move on to thenext chapter is huge, yeah
totally so for the listeners too.
I just want to let everyone knowtoo.
So, hometown, here outdoors,you know this past legislative
session that we had this pastwinter that went from 2023 to
2024 we began to look at adeeper way of being able to help
(09:01):
give back to our people that weserve the military service
members, veterans and firstresponders.
We went to the legislatureasking for some monies and able
to increase our programs andhelp in a deeper way Excuse me
and one of those things that wewanted to do was to find other
nonprofits or people that wecould trust and, I'll be honest,
(09:22):
our circles are tight when itcomes to working with others.
At times, we can be open toworking with others, but there's
a lot of trust that needs to beestablished.
There have been times in thepast where we have worked with
others and we've been takenadvantage of and a lot of our
contacts that we help provideand network with people end up.
It gets to be a littletemperamental and people throw
(09:44):
elbows unfortunately, you know,because we're all trying to do
the right thing and help theright people and, unfortunately,
at times, you do get burned.
So when we started lookingaround for other individuals to
help.
We wanted to bolster our assistprogram, which is the Applied
Suicide Intervention SkillsTraining, which we've talked
about in previous podcasts andall over social media.
Who can we give a deeper levelof service to and leverage who
(10:05):
can give that?
So we had previously met withSally, many, many years ago and,
unbeknownst to us, you know,our paths crossed again and
Sally had started with Abayazand her own nonprofit and we
began to have conversationsabout.
You know, if we do get thislegislative money, you know we
can use our assist training inorder to bolster and help our
(10:30):
peers that need the assistance.
But what do we do after that?
And that's where we startedtalking to Sally.
You know that was a way for usto be able to make this
connection with those we servewith, be able to get them off
that ledge, get them out of thatcrisis.
But then where's the follow-upcare come in, and that's where
Sally came in.
So our referrals to Sally is toassist our peers in a further,
(10:53):
deeper way.
She has the training, she hasthe experience, she has a method
.
I'm just a guy that's trying tohelp all people with our
volunteers and get them here tobe fighting tomorrow, and
Sally's able to help take thosenext steps beyond what we are
capable of.
So we're really excited to getto meet Sally and we've done a
handful of different things withyou, you know, and it's been a
(11:15):
little slower for us and beingable to be at these, but you
know, we started to implementhealth and wellness days with
Sally and also Brittany MissQuick, who's with wellness that
fits.
She's a psychologist whoactually has a PhD in
suicidology, which is absolutelyamazing, but she's been doing
this her whole life.
So we've kind of formed apretty cool little team here,
with Mike Hendricks and everyonea retired Hennepin County
(11:37):
deputy and being able to providean outlet for other individuals
who've been through somethingtraumatic.
Maybe it's a department thatwent through a shooting, or they
lost a close loved one, ormaybe they lost one of their
peers on a call.
So we're helping provideoutlets and different options to
them and let them know thatthere are people here, there are
(11:59):
nonprofits here, that are hereto help you, and I thought
they've been pretty successfulfor the most part.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, no, I think they've been really, really,
really cool.
We've gotten great feedback.
I think what's so cool with thepartnership with y'all is, you
know, hometown Hero Outdoors isit's outdoors, right, like it's
all about that and getting intothe landscape and the beauty of
nature and all of that.
And so this model is so coolbecause we're outdoors, right
(12:25):
Horses are typically, and soit's a really cool fit in that
sense.
But also experientially, whatyou guys do is all experiences.
That's what it's based on andthat also is a cool fit because,
with trauma, trauma is anexperience and we take in that
experience through our senses ashumans.
(12:46):
That's how we're you know that'show we were created.
So what we do in these wellnessprograms is create experiences
to help your body kind of healand release some of this trauma,
and so that's been really cool,whether it's with horses, ice
baths, saunas, right walks, likethings that are outdoors and
really engaging.
So I think it's a win-win allaround.
(13:07):
We've had really good successright.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah, you know, the way I kind of look at it too is,
you know, we're, we're the peerprogram people that are here.
You know, boots on the ground,we got people everywhere.
We're able to reach out and puton adventures and trips, you
know, and then if they reach outto us, we have some tools
that'll help them get totomorrow.
We can go to you and you haveyour deeper stuff, and then we
can go to Brittany too, who hasher even deeper stuff.
So it's just a little bit moreof this structure and this
(13:32):
tiered program where we're ableto leverage each other.
And you're absolutely correctwith the outdoor stuff.
You know we're able to, insteadof just being on a couch and
doing a therapy session, whichdoes have its place.
You know, there I've I've beenthrough those and you know, I
think everyone's experiences aredifferent, but everything has
its own place.
You know, with britney and whatshe can do and what you can do
(13:55):
with the hands on, with thehorses, and what we can do with
getting people out and be ableto reconnect with people who are
like-minded and be able torelease.
But it all plays, plays well,and it's, it's a, it's a puzzle,
you know, in a way, and we'rejust helping put those pieces
back together.
And you did mention somethingthat's pretty cool, you know.
So we the health and wellnessdays with the saunas and the
(14:16):
cold bath plunge actually justtalked to a firefighter
yesterday from Arizona,firefighter Fenton, and he does
cold bath plunges now every dayand he said that my mental state
is so much better and my moodis better and everyone around me
notices it, so it's pretty coolthat we can implement that into
what we do together.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, I thought it was like the dumbest thing I've
ever heard not really, but I didit like this, you know, and I
and it is, it's really cool.
I just hate cold water.
So I was like this is not likeseriously, but I did it and I
mean they're awesome, like Iwould do it again.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
So yeah, I think all the people from Sweden and
Finland were onto somethingthere, right?
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, they were.
They were.
That's Louie backing upsomething, just FYI.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
That's all right, I get it.
The animals here do it too.
So one of the things I thoughtwould be kind of cool in the
future for us as we continue todo our programs together would
be it would be pretty cool forus to find a mobile sauna that
we could purchase and utilizetogether and use between the
organizations and help be mobile.
It may seem like somethingsimple but in reality it's kind
(15:26):
of cool and a lot of peopledon't.
So as far as some of yoursessions, I was able to get to
one of them and I won'tspecifically say what it was,
but there was a lot of traumathat recently occurred in a
local department and I was ableto experience the horses being
(15:48):
put into the pen in the stableand watch them kind of work out
everything and it was kind of itwas a little intense for a
little while there.
You know my first.
I remember looking at you andgoing, wow, I don't know what's
going on here.
One person even told me thatthe horses are freaking out.
So you know, from yourperspective and seeing that, you
(16:11):
know when all those peoplewalked in the room and the
horses reacted that way and yourexperience, what was that
reaction to you?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, I mean, we see it happen a lot when, when
trauma enters the room right.
When there's a lot of thatenergy, they're going to pick up
on it, and so they startrunning, they start running,
bucking, you know, doing allthose things, and that's what
they do in the wild.
So when there's trauma thatthey face in the wild, they run
it off.
They literally shake it off,and whether it's a wolf or you
(16:41):
know, but when they get awaythey continue to run, and so we
see that a lot.
And so when you know, when youhad 20, some people that had
just experienced somethingpretty horrific come into this
space.
Obviously we're alwaysnavigating, monitoring safety
that's part of what we do.
(17:02):
Um, but letting those horseskind of show them externally
what's going on and they're ableto see that, you know, that
process being ran out, and so,um, I mean that that's what they
, in my mind you know that'swhat they were doing, were doing
is releasing a lot of thattrauma.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, and over time, you know, I remember watching
people walk around out there andthen being able to engage with
the horses and having thesemassive horses come up into your
face is intimidating.
I remember, even for me, youknow, I I'd been going through
some stuff at the same time andwhat was the really big horse's
name?
Again, finn, finn, yeah, finn,coming and getting right in my
(17:42):
face and like I think he waseven like, had his nose in my
beard and started chewing on ita minute and then, and like I I
started to like reflect, likewhat is this?
And uh, you know, I rememberthinking and talking to you
about that, like I had this bigmountain in front of my face
that I'm trying to climb, youknow, and it was, it was this
huge object and at that point itwas thin.
(18:02):
Uh, kind of reflecting that,and he snorted in my face a
couple of times and he walkedaway and then he went to the
next person and to me it justkind of spoke to me that like
okay, to the next person and tome it just kind of spoke to me
that like, okay, there's a bigobject in my face but it went
away, right, you know, like sobeing able to translate that to
my personal life is sayingthings are gonna get better.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
that went away, yeah, yeah, well, and I, when you're
saying that I think it was, Ithink finn was with, it was
rocket, because I remember Iasked you, I said what is big
and black standing in front ofyou?
Because, cause he was dark, Iremember like so and and that's
externalizing it right Like yeah, we can say it's this black
horse, but like well, no, whenwe really step into our story,
what is this big thing that'sdark, that is blocking our view,
(18:47):
like we're not able to seeanything else and we have to, we
have to go around it, under it,over it, over it, whatever, but
it's also very difficult tomove right um, and so, as we
kind of started processing andtalking, that's when, you know,
some things came to light foryou.
So that's, yeah, that's how itworks maybe it was locket now, I
think about it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, yeah, he's big, yeah, he is big and I've never
been a horse person, but it was,it was.
I mean I'm glad I did it, youknow, I'm glad I got in there
and, um, I think that Ishouldn't say fear, but just
that that stigma that I'vealways had being around horses
kind of washed away a little bitbeing in there very cool one of
(19:29):
the things that I noticed, too,was the mirrors that were in
there and the horses looking inthe mirrors.
Do you want to talk about that?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Yeah, and so you know these are things we don't plan
for, they're just things thathappen in session.
And so a lot of people noticedthat there were mirrors and
different horses were stoppingand looking at that, and I know
one officer in particular saidthat, like what with this horse?
What this horse represented tohim.
(19:56):
He said I have never been okayto just look at myself in the
mirror again since this ordealhappened and like how do I do
that?
How do I move on?
How do I be able to really lookat who I am?
So even that idea of mirrors,reflection, what's being
reflected back to you, all ofthose things become part of the
(20:18):
story, and that happens like inevery session.
In that particular session, themirrors played a really big
part in it.
There's other sessions whereeagles fly in and they become
really big parts of the session.
I've been in sessions wherecoyotes come in and they've been
really big parts of a session.
So like it just depends onwhere we're at location, where
(20:41):
we're working, all of thosethings, but externally anything
can become part of that sessionfor that individual or that
group.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Very sensory.
Yeah, very sensory or thatgroup Very sensory, yeah, very
sensory.
I know you've given me a coupleof examples and I don't know if
you can talk to them, but highlevel.
But you had one with someonewhere a bunch of horses laid
down.
Are we able to talk about that?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, yeah, that was a.
That was.
This was quite a long time agowhen I first started Abijah's
and it was just one of thesesessions that was so bizarre.
So this individual stepped intothe space and we had seven
horses, I think, in that spaceat the time and I didn't know
(21:26):
this person was pretty closedoff.
I didn't know a lot of detailabout you know what they were
really struggling with.
I knew there was struggle withsome depression and some other
anxieties and things.
They stepped into the space andit wasn't like at a certain
time of day where, like thisherd of horses would typically
lay down Right, and so all of asudden one of them laid down and
(21:50):
then another one, and thenanother one and another one, and
pretty soon all seven of themwere laying down.
It's like what in the world?
It's snowing out, right,they're laying in the snow.
This individual walked backover to me and they said, well,
how do they, how do they know?
And they began, their eyes kindof began to tear up and I said,
(22:12):
well, how do they know what?
And they said well, I almostdidn't get up this morning, I
almost just threw in the towelthis morning, and then the tears
came.
(22:35):
And so all of these horsessomehow were picking up on this
story of this individual whoalmost took their life that the
morning of.
And so, as that was beingprocessed, they said, well, I
got to learn how to get up outof bed, like I got to learn how
to continue to stand up, how tocontinue to walk forward.
And so they began to literallygo over and push and shove each
horse back up.
That's so cool Cause that, fromthat point on, I mean that's an
(23:00):
experience, like to get sevenhorses to stand back up.
I mean that's a lot of weighthaving all that.
All that it symbolizes is big.
So that was.
I mean that's that was cool.
That was a really cool sessionthat's incredible.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Yeah, the, like you said, sensory and just the
feelings and um, understanding,like it feels like they can
almost see your soul, yeah, in away, and they know exactly what
you're going through and theythey have like a sympathetic
remorse yeah, to them, I guess.
Absolutely incredible.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Yeah, they're so cool .
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Hi.
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Speaker 2 (25:45):
RelentlessDefendercom .
I think there was another onetoo that you told me about,
where there was a person who hadsome severe PTSD, that they
were handling and the horseswere running and charging and
stopping in front of her.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Yeah, yeah, that was one, where the one that was
identified as PTSD the horse.
Yeah, the horse came running atthis cop and again, safety is
huge right, and so we know thesehorses were always going to
step in all of those types ofthings if needed.
(26:23):
And right before I was about tostep in, this individual
screamed F?
You at the top of their lungsat trauma, right at PTSD.
And this massive representationof that stopped, like floored
it or like like came to a skidbasically a skid stop and walked
(26:44):
up, smelled their shoes and laydown at their feet.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
And so like talk about one in adrenaline, but
also the huge representation ofwhat trauma feels like for a lot
of people, like they can'tcontrol it, they can't move it,
they can't stop it.
I mean, it's just it'scontrolling them.
And this was all of a sudden,the tables turned yeah and they
stood up to it and they wereable.
This thing submitted to them andI mean it was crazy cool.
(27:16):
We just had, um, we just hadsomebody who was saying it was
their first time out and theywere saying how they just don't
deserve to be here and you meanat the session, or just yeah,
okay and and like.
Like they're not.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
They're not bad enough right, like what's a
pretty big mentality for a lotof people in this career totally
like you know, I don't.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
I just I feel like somebody else should, should
have this someone's worse thanoff than I am.
Yeah, yes, all of that.
So they're they're saying thisand we have one of our.
They were in stalls at the timeand he reached over, uh, the
the stall gate and he grabbedtheir belt and he pulled them in
(28:01):
.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
No kidding.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Swear to God.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Like, yeah, you're supposed to be here.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
It was like okay, I guess I'm here, like you can't
fight this.
It's this.
This particular horse is about1500 pounds, like what.
Are't fight this.
It's this.
This particular horse is about1500 pounds, like what are you
going to?
Do.
And then he put his head overhis back and just pulled him in.
And this was, I mean, a bigdude, you know, six foot
(28:29):
something.
Um, it was.
It was really cool.
The horse was just like no,you're supposed to be here.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
That's awesome.
Yeah, that's so cool.
It's just amazing.
It's incredible.
You know it's, and this is awhole world that a lot of people
don't know about.
You know, and I think it'sabsolutely amazing that you're
doing these things and, uh, it'ssharing the experiences like
this and showing people likewhat representation of how
they're acting really means tosome people.
(28:54):
There was something else that Ithought was very interesting
when we were at that session andthere's two horses that were
next to each other, a male and afemale, and how you kind of
explained that to me withsomebody else's session was very
interesting.
You know, I think it was themale horse was hovering with the
(29:14):
female horse pretty heavily.
Do you want to give any morebackground on that at all?
And, like some of theexperienced people have thought
about that, yeah, I mean everysingle person, because we're all
different.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
They're going to interpret that differently based
on their story, right?
So if there's 100 people,there's going to be 100
different interpretations of it,because it's going to fit their
story.
For one in one particularofficer, when I was processing
some stuff with them, it was anidea of protection and
(29:46):
protecting the other one,stepping in front right, taking
the bullet, those types ofthings, right.
For another one it could be,you know, they can't get away.
Maybe one of the horses justcan't get away from the other.
And what can't we get away from?
And that could be anxiety,depression, right, all of those
things.
So it could be just a gamut ofwhatever they're.
(30:09):
However they're interpreting it, it's going to be part of their
story.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Right?
No, it's going to be part oftheir story, Right?
No, that's so cool.
So what's the future look likefor Abijah?
I know you got a lot of movingparts and pieces.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
I mean right now we're in some conversations with
Santa Anita and Gulf Stream, soSanta Anita racetracks out in
California Gulf.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Streams in Florida.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
And so you know, talking about what this could
look like, how do we replicateit to really bring this across
the country?
Yeah, I mean it's.
It's definitely has to be acalling, not a job, because it
can be really tiring.
And, as you know, chris, I meanit's definitely a calling.
I know my dad I don't, I don'tthink I shared this, but my
(30:59):
dad's a Marine and my twinbrothers were both cops, and so
it is.
It is personal, it's what wewant to do and continue to grow
and build, and so it's exciting,it's really exciting to see how
this is going to evolve, andthe success we've had here at
Canterbury has been amazing.
We want to continue to growthat and build that and
(31:19):
legislatively, you know, getmore and more funding and help,
you know everybody.
So we'll see, we'll see, we'llsee.
I mean I love that hometownhero is is national Cause, it's
just kind of that.
That could be really cool tooTo see where we end up.
And then you know, england hassome really cool tracks too.
(31:41):
Maybe we'll head over theresomeday.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Oh, that'd be cool.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
That'd be super cool.
Nah, I need to get down toCanterbury and I've never been
to the horse races and I know wewere supposed to do an event
here early september and thatwent to the wayside.
People busy, things happen.
But I do need to get down tothe racetrack sometime and check
this stuff out.
Yeah, I've never been to ahorse race in my life well, and
horse racing.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
People ask me all the time like why horse racing?
And how does that even fit in?
And horse racing at the core,when it's done?
Well, and when it got reallybig here in in US, it was around
the Great Depression.
And it was so big around theGreat Depression because
everybody had hope.
At a racetrack, everyone atthat time felt like an underdog,
right, there wasn't hope.
(32:24):
And so they'd go to a racetrackand realize, well, the underdog
always has a chance, always hasa shot.
If you can get in the startinggate, you always have a chance.
And so there was this beautifulparallel of hope.
Um, and, and that's what racingis all about, so I love going
to the races and we had a 60 toone shot in my bar in that one.
Uh, and it was.
(32:45):
So we were like, oh my god, wewere screaming, like we couldn't
believe it.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
So there's always hope, always a chance I watched
kentucky derby for the firsttime this year too yeah, I know
I yelled at you for that thefirst time, like come on, yeah
and I was like I watched all thehype getting lit up to it and
then I watched the race and Iwas like that's it, we're done
we're done.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Two minutes it was so cool though?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
yeah, no, it's.
Do you know a little bit aboutthe history, about you know
people in the Kentucky Derby orjust races in general, and how
they dress up?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Yeah, I don't really know, to be honest, I don't
really know the whole, likefashion stuff, like I mean I'm
just, I mean I know it, theracing always came from kind of
like it came from europe, and soit was very like queen right,
very like extravagant and, um,the common folk were in the
(33:41):
infield, right, that kind of athing.
So there's definitely historythere.
I mean, when I watch racing Iknow like the background of each
horse and their pet.
You know their sire and their.
You'm.
I'm a nerd, so when it comes tolike hats, I don't really care.
I'm like if I have to wear one,that's fine, but I'd rather
have boots on.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
No, that's cool.
So the the uh in the infancy ofAbijah.
You know when you um, we'redoing this elsewhere.
And then you started Abijah.
How did you get to the name ofAbijah?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
What was the history there and what's the
significance there?
So Abijah was my first ownhorse.
I grew up riding and then as alittle girl and then would ride
horses off the auction forpeople and just did a number of
things kind of across thecountry with horses, but I never
had my very own, and so I sawBajia and my faith is really a
(34:40):
big part of who I am.
And so as a little girl Iremember I was in church and I
called my dad, pa, and I waslike he looked at me, he's like
Sally, you got to shut up, likeI was just being that obnoxious
little kid and so I just startedreading the Bible, cause I'm
like what the hell am I supposedto do here in church?
I'm so bored.
And I opened up revelation 1911,and that's the title, is
(35:04):
revelation or is the rider onthe white horse?
And so I was hooked as a littlegirl.
I'm like wait, he comes back onlike a horse, like he's a
warrior and all that kind of allthat kind of stuff.
And again, family of origin ismilitary.
So our dinners consisted of,like I don't know, conversation
around the battle of the bulgewas like Thanksgiving talk,
(35:27):
right, like.
So growing up in that.
So I saw this horse when I wasprobably early, early 30 or late
20s and I ended up getting herand she.
Horses have always reminded meof God.
Like they're graceful, they'rehuge, they want a relationship
(35:48):
with you, and so I named herAbijah, which means the Lord is
my father.
She is just a badass, beautiful, amazing girl, and she ended up
passing away this past October.
Um, but she was.
She's, the greatest thing ever,so that's where the name comes
from.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Oh well, that's cool that you get to honor the horse
and have that follow up and it'sa good story.
Yeah, that's cool, that issuper cool.
So, and then the other thingtoo is with our partnerships and
stuff.
I know that we intend to dosome more down the road, but
with the health and wellnessdays, you know, just for anyone
(36:31):
who may be listening, if you'reinterested, you know and this
could be for anyone who might beon the military side or first
responder side that if you're inthe state of Minnesota or local
to us, you know, even if you'reout of state, we'll try and
figure something out because wehave some teams there.
Obviously, traveling with a lotof horses might be a little
harder, but we'll figuresomething out.
But reach out to us, we'llfigure it out.
(36:52):
Yeah, and we can plan a day togo through some stuff.
(37:20):
And I know the most recent oneyou guys tailored a little bit
more I was out that Sally likesto use as well, and we introduce
people to HHO and Brittany andgive people resources is really
the thing and just being openand talking about the things
that we've been through.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yeah, creating a space of humanity right, where
we can all be we're all messedup, we're all human and there's
beauty in that too and justcreating that space of safety
where we can struggle and learnhow to struggle well and come
together.
And I mean, I tell everybodyyou'll never meet a counselor
that's not messed up, likethere's a reason we do what we
(37:49):
do, like it's not.
It's not because we know how tofix or help or cure it.
We get it and so it's justcoming alongside people.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
And maybe you've been through something that you know
triggered you to go.
I want to make sure I can helppeople with that, because I've
been through that and that'spart of me too, you know, and
what I've been through, andwanting to help others and
taking that armor off andletting people know that it's
okay to be vulnerable a littlebit yeah, off and letting people
know that it's okay to bevulnerable a little bit, yeah.
So talk about the system thatyou've been trained in with, you
(38:19):
know, your counselor therapyand then also with the horse
side.
I know there was a certain termyou used about what that model
looks like yeah, so when?
Speaker 3 (38:27):
when counselors?
So you go through school andyou get your master's in
counseling minimum right andthen you can go on and be crazy
smart like britney and get herphd and suicidology.
But not yeah, she's crazy, cooland brilliant totally but with
um, with counseling, just kindof in general, you get your
master's but then you want to,you know, possibly kind of hone
(38:48):
in on a type of model right,whether that's cbt cognitive
behavioral therapy or emdr CBT,cognitive Behavioral Therapy or
EMDR and so this model is calledARCH, a-r-c-h and it's called
or stands for Arenas for Change,and so kind of coming into your
arena right, coming into yourstory.
So everybody at Abijas iscertified or trained up in this
(39:11):
model and also culturallytrained.
So that's a huge part of whatwe do If we're going to work
with first responders, military,culturally, a lot of my team is
from family, you know, frommilitary, military themselves or
from first responder families,and that's a big part too.
We want to be able to relate asbest as we can to the
(39:34):
individuals coming our way.
So all of them are certified inARCH and then ongoing
continuing education, so alwayslearning, always growing,
recognizing.
We're not the expert, you know,we strive to do the best.
The standard super high, butthe standard always continues to
get higher and higher andhigher right, because we don't
know what we don't know, alwayscontinues to get higher and
(39:54):
higher and higher right Becausewe don't know what we don't know
, and that's the cool thingabout this model and, I think,
understanding their strength andnot knowing if that makes sense
.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Totally yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
So that's really the culture of who we are and you
know, continuing to learn andgrow along with you guys.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, and talk about your team a bit.
Who's all on your team, and dothey have different things that
they do specialize in, or doeseveryone kind of one shoe fits
all?
I'm guessing not.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
No, so there's always , typically there's always a
mental health professional and ahorse specialist or equine
specialist on each session.
And so you know, obviously themental health person has their
schooling, their education,their certifications right that
they bring into the session, andthen the equine specialist also
(40:43):
has their trainings and theirschoolings that they bring into
the session.
So they're both looking at.
You know, es is the equinespecialist is really looking at
safety a lot of times, butthey're still, they can still
ask mental health questions,external questions, right, and
then the mental health person'sreally looking at the emotional
safety of it.
So our team I mean, like I said,we have one that's Air Force, a
(41:07):
retired Air Force, me we haveone that you know married to a
firefighter, you know thingslike that.
So really wanting to to tapinto that culture piece and have
people that really get it andunderstand it, and if they don't
, we send them to culturaltraining and things like that.
So I like we work with one ofthe local fire departments and I
(41:31):
don't see anybody from thatdepartment in session because
I'm their point person, so I goto their training.
So a lot of times I'm like thedummy in the car they have to
like you know, that's been arule, or I've gone into live
birds or climb the ladder likejust to be in there.
Yeah, and so then when shithits the fan, they're not just
(41:53):
calling a counselor they don'tknow, they're calling Sal.
There's a relationship there.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
There's a humanized aspect.
Right yeah, that's fantastic.
This is your financial copmoney minute.
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Nothing starts with a plan.
Unless you have a budget, youcan't pay off debt, just like
you can't really technicallysave for retirement and a
vacation and other thingswithout understanding what your
budget is.
And so I had to get a grasp ofwhat my outflow versus my inflow
was, and I kind of came to arealization that you know, we
have this gift in lawenforcement called overtime
(42:30):
right, and far too many of ususe overtime as a mechanism to
elevate our standard of living.
Well, I changed and said youknow what we're going to use
overtime to build our financialstrength, and I'm going to use
it to accelerate things.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
This is your financial cop Money Minute.
Well, that's cool.
So if people want to learn moreabout you or potentially reach
out about sessions, or even wantto volunteer for help like what
are those?
Let's start with volunteering.
Like if you take volunteers, ifthere's opportunities to
volunteer, what does that looklike?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
so at the racetrack it's been a little tricky
because you have to be licensedto even get back into the
racetrack right into the stablearea.
Um, but this year, you know, weknow we're when we're in our
winter months.
Yes, there's much morevolunteering that can.
That can take place, and peoplecan reach out to me just
directly with my email.
(43:25):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (43:28):
What's your email.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
It's long.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
We'll make.
We'll make a note on thepodcast episode, but say it out
loud.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
We're changing it because I'm an idiot, but it's
sallyatabijas on the backsidecom.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Hey, mine is christatro at
hometownherooutdoorsorg, so Iget along.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
Okay, good, all right , that's good, that's good.
Yeah, I don't feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
I need a short nurse.
It should just be sally atabijahscom.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
yeah, I know mine should be chris at hhocom org.
Yeah, yeah I get it so that'ssocial media website yeah, our
website is abijahscom, um, andso you can look that up.
It's a.
You want me to spell it because?
Speaker 2 (44:10):
yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
A as in apple, b as in boy.
I-j-a-h-scom.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Dot com Perfect, that's great.
So then, volunteeringopportunities, maybe at the
stable throughout the winter,they can do some things.
Or even if people areinterested in sessions or they
can reach out or health andwellness days, they can reach
out to you myself.
The organization here, brittanyI'm going to have Brittany on
another podcast at some point,since she has a unique education
(44:45):
.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
She is huge.
Yeah, my, my battery's about todie, so hold on.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
You're good, no worries.
So if you guys want to reachout to Sally at any point in
time, you can reach out to us.
You can reach out to her, herwebsite, her social media
presence as well, and be able tomaybe make contact and see if
there's any opportunities forsomeone that you may know.
There's a different avenue foreveryone when it comes to their
(45:14):
healing and their journey, andthis is one of the avenues and
it's very unique and different.
So, even if you are intimidatedby horses like myself, it's
okay to go try it.
Uh, you're with trainedprofessionals that know what
they're doing and it's justinteresting to be able to
navigate those feelings that youhave and see it played out in
different horses that are there,and and it's uh, it's very cool
(45:36):
.
It's very cool and I think itchanges a lot of people's lives.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Thanks, yes.
Speaker 2 (45:41):
Yeah Well, thank you for coming on the podcast.
Sally, Thanks for having me.
We'll get together soon.
I'm sure we'll see plenty ofeach other coming up with the
next legislative out at theCapitol.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
Yeah, that'll be fun.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
Yes, Well, it's a budget year, so fingers crossed
right.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
I know, fingers crossed, it'll happen, it'll
happen.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Well, everyone, I hope you enjoyed today's podcast
.
You know, even if you areunable to get to Minnesota to do
some equine therapy with Sallyand her team, there are a lot of
different places across thecountry and hopefully in the
future we will see Sally inAbijah, in different states, but
definitely look into it.
It is an awesome option andthank you for listening and we
will see you on the nexthometown hero course podcast.
(46:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
The hometown hero outdoors podcast is made
possible by the followingsponsors O'Neill Electric
Contractors.
The Minnesota Police and PeaceOfficers Association.
Relentless Defender, appareland Financial Cop Financial
Advisors.
Thank you for listening to theHometown Hero Outdoors Podcast.
(46:53):
For more information, visit ourwebsite at
hometownherooutdoorsorg.
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement
was born.
Welcome to Hometown HeroOutdoors.
We are dedicated to honoringour military service members,
veterans and first responders byproviding them with
unforgettable outdoorrecreational opportunities.
We believe those who haveserved and sacrificed so much
(00:24):
for our country and communitiesdeserve a chance to reclaim
their spirit and find healing inthe great outdoors.
This is Hometown Hero Outdoors.
Welcome to the Hometown HeroOutdoors Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Here is your host, chris Tatro.
I have watched that videohundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of times and it givesme goosebumps every time.
Still, I love it.
I love it.
So for our listeners.
Today we have a guest on namedSally Mixon.
She's with Abijah on thebackside.
She is a good friend of mine.
We've been working togetherhere for about half a year with
Abijah on the backside.
She is a good friend of mine.
We've been working togetherhere for about half a year and
our relationship between thenonprofits and our friendship
has grown.
I'm excited to have her on.
(01:32):
I know we've had a couple ofmisses with trying to catch each
other here, but life happens,things are busy.
But I just want to introduceeveryone to Sally Mixon.
Sally, welcome to the show, andjust want to introduce yourself
to the listeners and who youare.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thanks, chris.
So yeah, I'm Sally Mixon.
I run a organization calledAbages on the backside, and so
we simply put, we incorporateretired racehorses to work with
our military and firstresponders struggling with PTSD,
trauma, anxiety, depression allof the above you know, etc.
Depression all of the above youknow, etc.
(02:09):
So I'm a counselor, um, as wellas um a horse person.
I I exercise racehorses atracetracks and just love the
racing industry, so I wanted tobring my two loves together, um.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So here we are yeah, as I say so, you truly got this.
Let me say do what you love.
You truly got that yes, that.
We've got a friend sittingthere next to you.
Why don't we introduce yourfriend who's there?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, so this is Louie.
He's my French bulldog.
He's in a lot of sessions.
He thinks the world revolvesaround him, which it totally
does.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I hear him grunting.
I love it.
He is a good dog.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, he's awesome, so he'll be here.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
He'll probably crawl on my lap occasionally.
Support for the podcast.
Yeah, oh my gosh Luke, that'sawesome.
Yeah, so you operate out ofCanterbury Park during the
summertime and then you haveanother stable you're at during
the winter.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So explain to our listeners who is Canterbury Park
.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
This is from Minnesota, so there are horse
stables and racetracks allacross the country, but Sally is
specifically out of Minnesotaat Canterbury yeah, so
Canterbury Park is the um, thethoroughbred racetrack here in
in Minnesota and they have beenawesome and have opened up their
doors and caught the vision ofAvijas and said they'd love to
(03:23):
be the first track um to reallyhost this healing for our first
responders and military.
So the vision and hope is thatwe can take this across the
country to different racetracksand that's been really exciting
just to dream and to startconversations with other tracks.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
It's a great vision.
You know, I've got toexperience some of your your
therapy sessions as well and youknow, for me, horse has always
been a little more intimidatingfor me.
I'm not a horse person for themost part, but I think that you
kind of tip those scales alittle bit, which is good.
But uh, when it comes to equinetherapy, explain a little bit
about what that process is, oryou know what?
(04:03):
What is the science behind that, what are the things that
you've noticed?
And we'll definitely go backand talk about who you are and
your history a bit, but justgive us a baseline of what
equine therapy is.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yeah, so horses are prey animals and first and
foremost and I think a lot oftimes people forget that because
of their size, and so theybring up a natural kind of
vulnerability in us all becauseof their size, and so they bring
up a natural kind ofvulnerability in us all because
of their size.
They, because they're preyanimals, they pick up on what's
going on internally and theyplay that out externally.
(04:35):
So it creates this really cooldistance between kind of what
we're struggling with, becauseoften what we struggle with
becomes our identity and we gotto really create that distance
to separate it and look at itexternally.
So an example might be you know, an officer comes to us really,
really struggling with anxietyand there could be a horse that
(04:57):
all of a sudden starts pacingright and just going back and
forth and now you have this 1200pound representation of what
they're feeling internally.
So it helps them put words tothings.
It's crazy powerful, reallycool how it works.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Helps them process what the horses are displaying
or exhibiting.
I guess, right.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, so they become, for lack of a better
word kind of characters in theirstory.
Yeah, so they become, for lackof a better word kind of
characters in their story.
So you might have one thatrepresents PTSD, one that
represents, you know, emotionsor sadness, one that represents
self, and they actually play,play that part.
It's so weird.
One of my employees called ahippie shit the first time.
(05:42):
She's Air Force veteran andshe's like what is, what is this
?
And she's also a horse person,and so it's just, it's crazy,
when you lean into it, whatthese horses will uncover in a
really, you know, gentle,respectful way and begin that
healing process.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's fantastic.
And then the cool part too isthat you know you're really
giving these retired racehorses,uh, another identity.
You know life after explain tothe listeners a little bit about
.
You know what happens with thenormal thoroughbred racehorse.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
You know, once they're done racing, what that
normal process or is for thatand then what you're able to
provide yeah, so the racingindustry has gotten, I mean,
leaps and bounds ahead of wherethey've been when it comes to
kind of the second career forthese retired racehorses.
What happens, though, is a lotof times, I mean, they're
(06:32):
athletes, so they might go intohunter jumper, they might go
into dressage or Western barrelracing, things like that, but a
lot of times the horses that weuse can't be ridden or have
injuries that just don't allowthem to be that kind of sport
horse anymore, and so, with that, their value really goes down
(06:54):
in the industry.
So we have one who, I mean,cannot be ridden, she can't
carry weight, a crazy, amazingathlete, and then, from a horse
perspective, her value went from, you know, thousands upon
thousands of dollars to zeroovernight, because she slipped
on ice and broke her pelvis.
So what do you do with a horselike that?
Right, and so now she's savinglives, so her value, I mean, has
(07:18):
gone up, right.
In my opinion, it's just notmonetary, but that doesn't
opinion, it's just not monetary,but that doesn't that this is
way more worth more, all of that.
So, so that can be really,really powerful as well, with
first responders, military whomaybe are shifting right, who
maybe are coming out of themilitary or changing jobs,
(07:39):
transitioning, and what is theirvalue outside of the uniform
now?
What do they do with that?
Who are they and what is theirvalue outside of the uniform now
, what do they do with that?
Who are they, what's theiridentity, all of those things.
So it's a really cool parallelbetween these racehorses,
retired racehorses, and thepopulation we serve.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
A lot of people do struggle as they transition out
of those careers.
I was actually writing a blogarticle yesterday about the top
five things that our militaryservice members yesterday, about
the top five things that ourmilitary service members,
veterans and first responders uhencounter when they uh the top
issues that when they transitionout of light that career field,
what are the things that arethe most influentially, um,
(08:17):
mentally, to them in a negativeway?
And that transition piece ishuge, you know, and to be able
to correlate those twodefinitely makes um make some
light bulbs go on, because youcan see that you know, if these
horses are capable of doing thatand helping me, then I am
capable of doing that on my own.
And that was not my identity.
It was a big piece of my lifeand everything you know and, um,
(08:41):
being able to move on to thenext chapter is huge, yeah
totally so for the listeners too.
I just want to let everyone knowtoo.
So, hometown, here outdoors,you know this past legislative
session that we had this pastwinter that went from 2023 to
2024 we began to look at adeeper way of being able to help
(09:01):
give back to our people that weserve the military service
members, veterans and firstresponders.
We went to the legislatureasking for some monies and able
to increase our programs andhelp in a deeper way Excuse me
and one of those things that wewanted to do was to find other
nonprofits or people that wecould trust and, I'll be honest,
(09:22):
our circles are tight when itcomes to working with others.
At times, we can be open toworking with others, but there's
a lot of trust that needs to beestablished.
There have been times in thepast where we have worked with
others and we've been takenadvantage of and a lot of our
contacts that we help provideand network with people end up.
It gets to be a littletemperamental and people throw
(09:44):
elbows unfortunately, you know,because we're all trying to do
the right thing and help theright people and, unfortunately,
at times, you do get burned.
So when we started lookingaround for other individuals to
help.
We wanted to bolster our assistprogram, which is the Applied
Suicide Intervention SkillsTraining, which we've talked
about in previous podcasts andall over social media.
Who can we give a deeper levelof service to and leverage who
(10:05):
can give that?
So we had previously met withSally, many, many years ago and,
unbeknownst to us, you know,our paths crossed again and
Sally had started with Abayazand her own nonprofit and we
began to have conversationsabout.
You know, if we do get thislegislative money, you know we
can use our assist training inorder to bolster and help our
(10:30):
peers that need the assistance.
But what do we do after that?
And that's where we startedtalking to Sally.
You know that was a way for usto be able to make this
connection with those we servewith, be able to get them off
that ledge, get them out of thatcrisis.
But then where's the follow-upcare come in, and that's where
Sally came in.
So our referrals to Sally is toassist our peers in a further,
(10:53):
deeper way.
She has the training, she hasthe experience, she has a method
.
I'm just a guy that's trying tohelp all people with our
volunteers and get them here tobe fighting tomorrow, and
Sally's able to help take thosenext steps beyond what we are
capable of.
So we're really excited to getto meet Sally and we've done a
handful of different things withyou, you know, and it's been a
(11:15):
little slower for us and beingable to be at these, but you
know, we started to implementhealth and wellness days with
Sally and also Brittany MissQuick, who's with wellness that
fits.
She's a psychologist whoactually has a PhD in
suicidology, which is absolutelyamazing, but she's been doing
this her whole life.
So we've kind of formed apretty cool little team here,
with Mike Hendricks and everyonea retired Hennepin County
(11:37):
deputy and being able to providean outlet for other individuals
who've been through somethingtraumatic.
Maybe it's a department thatwent through a shooting, or they
lost a close loved one, ormaybe they lost one of their
peers on a call.
So we're helping provideoutlets and different options to
them and let them know thatthere are people here, there are
(11:59):
nonprofits here, that are hereto help you, and I thought
they've been pretty successfulfor the most part.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, no, I think they've been really, really,
really cool.
We've gotten great feedback.
I think what's so cool with thepartnership with y'all is, you
know, hometown Hero Outdoors isit's outdoors, right, like it's
all about that and getting intothe landscape and the beauty of
nature and all of that.
And so this model is so coolbecause we're outdoors, right
(12:25):
Horses are typically, and soit's a really cool fit in that
sense.
But also experientially, whatyou guys do is all experiences.
That's what it's based on andthat also is a cool fit because,
with trauma, trauma is anexperience and we take in that
experience through our senses ashumans.
(12:46):
That's how we're you know that'show we were created.
So what we do in these wellnessprograms is create experiences
to help your body kind of healand release some of this trauma,
and so that's been really cool,whether it's with horses, ice
baths, saunas, right walks, likethings that are outdoors and
really engaging.
So I think it's a win-win allaround.
(13:07):
We've had really good successright.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah, you know, the way I kind of look at it too is,
you know, we're, we're the peerprogram people that are here.
You know, boots on the ground,we got people everywhere.
We're able to reach out and puton adventures and trips, you
know, and then if they reach outto us, we have some tools
that'll help them get totomorrow.
We can go to you and you haveyour deeper stuff, and then we
can go to Brittany too, who hasher even deeper stuff.
So it's just a little bit moreof this structure and this
(13:32):
tiered program where we're ableto leverage each other.
And you're absolutely correctwith the outdoor stuff.
You know we're able to, insteadof just being on a couch and
doing a therapy session, whichdoes have its place.
You know, there I've I've beenthrough those and you know, I
think everyone's experiences aredifferent, but everything has
its own place.
You know, with britney and whatshe can do and what you can do
(13:55):
with the hands on, with thehorses, and what we can do with
getting people out and be ableto reconnect with people who are
like-minded and be able torelease.
But it all plays, plays well,and it's, it's a, it's a puzzle,
you know, in a way, and we'rejust helping put those pieces
back together.
And you did mention somethingthat's pretty cool, you know.
So we the health and wellnessdays with the saunas and the
(14:16):
cold bath plunge actually justtalked to a firefighter
yesterday from Arizona,firefighter Fenton, and he does
cold bath plunges now every dayand he said that my mental state
is so much better and my moodis better and everyone around me
notices it, so it's pretty coolthat we can implement that into
what we do together.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, I thought it was like the dumbest thing I've
ever heard not really, but I didit like this, you know, and I
and it is, it's really cool.
I just hate cold water.
So I was like this is not likeseriously, but I did it and I
mean they're awesome, like Iwould do it again.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
So yeah, I think all the people from Sweden and
Finland were onto somethingthere, right?
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, they were.
They were.
That's Louie backing upsomething, just FYI.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
That's all right, I get it.
The animals here do it too.
So one of the things I thoughtwould be kind of cool in the
future for us as we continue todo our programs together would
be it would be pretty cool forus to find a mobile sauna that
we could purchase and utilizetogether and use between the
organizations and help be mobile.
It may seem like somethingsimple but in reality it's kind
(15:26):
of cool and a lot of peopledon't.
So as far as some of yoursessions, I was able to get to
one of them and I won'tspecifically say what it was,
but there was a lot of traumathat recently occurred in a
local department and I was ableto experience the horses being
(15:48):
put into the pen in the stableand watch them kind of work out
everything and it was kind of itwas a little intense for a
little while there.
You know my first.
I remember looking at you andgoing, wow, I don't know what's
going on here.
One person even told me thatthe horses are freaking out.
So you know, from yourperspective and seeing that, you
(16:11):
know when all those peoplewalked in the room and the
horses reacted that way and yourexperience, what was that
reaction to you?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, I mean, we see it happen a lot when, when
trauma enters the room right.
When there's a lot of thatenergy, they're going to pick up
on it, and so they startrunning, they start running,
bucking, you know, doing allthose things, and that's what
they do in the wild.
So when there's trauma thatthey face in the wild, they run
it off.
They literally shake it off,and whether it's a wolf or you
(16:41):
know, but when they get awaythey continue to run, and so we
see that a lot.
And so when you know, when youhad 20, some people that had
just experienced somethingpretty horrific come into this
space.
Obviously we're alwaysnavigating, monitoring safety
that's part of what we do.
(17:02):
Um, but letting those horseskind of show them externally
what's going on and they're ableto see that, you know, that
process being ran out, and so,um, I mean that that's what they
, in my mind you know that'swhat they were doing, were doing
is releasing a lot of thattrauma.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, and over time, you know, I remember watching
people walk around out there andthen being able to engage with
the horses and having thesemassive horses come up into your
face is intimidating.
I remember, even for me, youknow, I I'd been going through
some stuff at the same time andwhat was the really big horse's
name?
Again, finn, finn, yeah, finn,coming and getting right in my
(17:42):
face and like I think he waseven like, had his nose in my
beard and started chewing on ita minute and then, and like I I
started to like reflect, likewhat is this?
And uh, you know, I rememberthinking and talking to you
about that, like I had this bigmountain in front of my face
that I'm trying to climb, youknow, and it was, it was this
huge object and at that point itwas thin.
(18:02):
Uh, kind of reflecting that,and he snorted in my face a
couple of times and he walkedaway and then he went to the
next person and to me it justkind of spoke to me that like
okay, to the next person and tome it just kind of spoke to me
that like, okay, there's a bigobject in my face but it went
away, right, you know, like sobeing able to translate that to
my personal life is sayingthings are gonna get better.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
that went away, yeah, yeah, well, and I, when you're
saying that I think it was, Ithink finn was with, it was
rocket, because I remember Iasked you, I said what is big
and black standing in front ofyou?
Because, cause he was dark, Iremember like so and and that's
externalizing it right Like yeah, we can say it's this black
horse, but like well, no, whenwe really step into our story,
what is this big thing that'sdark, that is blocking our view,
(18:47):
like we're not able to seeanything else and we have to, we
have to go around it, under it,over it, over it, whatever, but
it's also very difficult tomove right um, and so, as we
kind of started processing andtalking, that's when, you know,
some things came to light foryou.
So that's, yeah, that's how itworks maybe it was locket now, I
think about it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, yeah, he's big, yeah, he is big and I've never
been a horse person, but it was,it was.
I mean I'm glad I did it, youknow, I'm glad I got in there
and, um, I think that Ishouldn't say fear, but just
that that stigma that I'vealways had being around horses
kind of washed away a little bitbeing in there very cool one of
(19:29):
the things that I noticed, too,was the mirrors that were in
there and the horses looking inthe mirrors.
Do you want to talk about that?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Yeah, and so you know these are things we don't plan
for, they're just things thathappen in session.
And so a lot of people noticedthat there were mirrors and
different horses were stoppingand looking at that, and I know
one officer in particular saidthat, like what with this horse?
What this horse represented tohim.
(19:56):
He said I have never been okayto just look at myself in the
mirror again since this ordealhappened and like how do I do
that?
How do I move on?
How do I be able to really lookat who I am?
So even that idea of mirrors,reflection, what's being
reflected back to you, all ofthose things become part of the
(20:18):
story, and that happens like inevery session.
In that particular session, themirrors played a really big
part in it.
There's other sessions whereeagles fly in and they become
really big parts of the session.
I've been in sessions wherecoyotes come in and they've been
really big parts of a session.
So like it just depends onwhere we're at location, where
(20:41):
we're working, all of thosethings, but externally anything
can become part of that sessionfor that individual or that
group.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Very sensory.
Yeah, very sensory or thatgroup Very sensory, yeah, very
sensory.
I know you've given me a coupleof examples and I don't know if
you can talk to them, but highlevel.
But you had one with someonewhere a bunch of horses laid
down.
Are we able to talk about that?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, yeah, that was a.
That was.
This was quite a long time agowhen I first started Abijah's
and it was just one of thesesessions that was so bizarre.
So this individual stepped intothe space and we had seven
horses, I think, in that spaceat the time and I didn't know
(21:26):
this person was pretty closedoff.
I didn't know a lot of detailabout you know what they were
really struggling with.
I knew there was struggle withsome depression and some other
anxieties and things.
They stepped into the space andit wasn't like at a certain
time of day where, like thisherd of horses would typically
lay down Right, and so all of asudden one of them laid down and
(21:50):
then another one, and thenanother one and another one, and
pretty soon all seven of themwere laying down.
It's like what in the world?
It's snowing out, right,they're laying in the snow.
This individual walked backover to me and they said, well,
how do they, how do they know?
And they began, their eyes kindof began to tear up and I said,
(22:12):
well, how do they know what?
And they said well, I almostdidn't get up this morning, I
almost just threw in the towelthis morning, and then the tears
came.
(22:35):
And so all of these horsessomehow were picking up on this
story of this individual whoalmost took their life that the
morning of.
And so, as that was beingprocessed, they said, well, I
got to learn how to get up outof bed, like I got to learn how
to continue to stand up, how tocontinue to walk forward.
And so they began to literallygo over and push and shove each
horse back up.
That's so cool Cause that, fromthat point on, I mean that's an
(23:00):
experience, like to get sevenhorses to stand back up.
I mean that's a lot of weighthaving all that.
All that it symbolizes is big.
So that was.
I mean that's that was cool.
That was a really cool sessionthat's incredible.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Yeah, the, like you said, sensory and just the
feelings and um, understanding,like it feels like they can
almost see your soul, yeah, in away, and they know exactly what
you're going through and theythey have like a sympathetic
remorse yeah, to them, I guess.
Absolutely incredible.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Yeah, they're so cool .
Speaker 1 (23:40):
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Speaker 2 (25:45):
RelentlessDefendercom .
I think there was another onetoo that you told me about,
where there was a person who hadsome severe PTSD, that they
were handling and the horseswere running and charging and
stopping in front of her.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Yeah, yeah, that was one, where the one that was
identified as PTSD the horse.
Yeah, the horse came running atthis cop and again, safety is
huge right, and so we know thesehorses were always going to
step in all of those types ofthings if needed.
(26:23):
And right before I was about tostep in, this individual
screamed F?
You at the top of their lungsat trauma, right at PTSD.
And this massive representationof that stopped, like floored
it or like like came to a skidbasically a skid stop and walked
(26:44):
up, smelled their shoes and laydown at their feet.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
And so like talk about one in adrenaline, but
also the huge representation ofwhat trauma feels like for a lot
of people, like they can'tcontrol it, they can't move it,
they can't stop it.
I mean, it's just it'scontrolling them.
And this was all of a sudden,the tables turned yeah and they
stood up to it and they wereable.
This thing submitted to them andI mean it was crazy cool.
(27:16):
We just had, um, we just hadsomebody who was saying it was
their first time out and theywere saying how they just don't
deserve to be here and you meanat the session, or just yeah,
okay and and like.
Like they're not.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
They're not bad enough right, like what's a
pretty big mentality for a lotof people in this career totally
like you know, I don't.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
I just I feel like somebody else should, should
have this someone's worse thanoff than I am.
Yeah, yes, all of that.
So they're they're saying thisand we have one of our.
They were in stalls at the timeand he reached over, uh, the
the stall gate and he grabbedtheir belt and he pulled them in
(28:01):
.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
No kidding.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Swear to God.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Like, yeah, you're supposed to be here.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
It was like okay, I guess I'm here, like you can't
fight this.
It's this.
This particular horse is about1500 pounds, like what.
Are't fight this.
It's this.
This particular horse is about1500 pounds, like what are you
going to?
Do.
And then he put his head overhis back and just pulled him in.
And this was, I mean, a bigdude, you know, six foot
(28:29):
something.
Um, it was.
It was really cool.
The horse was just like no,you're supposed to be here.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
That's awesome.
Yeah, that's so cool.
It's just amazing.
It's incredible.
You know it's, and this is awhole world that a lot of people
don't know about.
You know, and I think it'sabsolutely amazing that you're
doing these things and, uh, it'ssharing the experiences like
this and showing people likewhat representation of how
they're acting really means tosome people.
(28:54):
There was something else that Ithought was very interesting
when we were at that session andthere's two horses that were
next to each other, a male and afemale, and how you kind of
explained that to me withsomebody else's session was very
interesting.
You know, I think it was themale horse was hovering with the
(29:14):
female horse pretty heavily.
Do you want to give any morebackground on that at all?
And, like some of theexperienced people have thought
about that, yeah, I mean everysingle person, because we're all
different.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
They're going to interpret that differently based
on their story, right?
So if there's 100 people,there's going to be 100
different interpretations of it,because it's going to fit their
story.
For one in one particularofficer, when I was processing
some stuff with them, it was anidea of protection and
(29:46):
protecting the other one,stepping in front right, taking
the bullet, those types ofthings, right.
For another one it could be,you know, they can't get away.
Maybe one of the horses justcan't get away from the other.
And what can't we get away from?
And that could be anxiety,depression, right, all of those
things.
So it could be just a gamut ofwhatever they're.
(30:09):
However they're interpreting it, it's going to be part of their
story.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Right?
No, it's going to be part oftheir story, Right?
No, that's so cool.
So what's the future look likefor Abijah?
I know you got a lot of movingparts and pieces.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
I mean right now we're in some conversations with
Santa Anita and Gulf Stream, soSanta Anita racetracks out in
California Gulf.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Streams in Florida.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
And so you know, talking about what this could
look like, how do we replicateit to really bring this across
the country?
Yeah, I mean it's.
It's definitely has to be acalling, not a job, because it
can be really tiring.
And, as you know, chris, I meanit's definitely a calling.
I know my dad I don't, I don'tthink I shared this, but my
(30:59):
dad's a Marine and my twinbrothers were both cops, and so
it is.
It is personal, it's what wewant to do and continue to grow
and build, and so it's exciting,it's really exciting to see how
this is going to evolve, andthe success we've had here at
Canterbury has been amazing.
We want to continue to growthat and build that and
(31:19):
legislatively, you know, getmore and more funding and help,
you know everybody.
So we'll see, we'll see, we'llsee.
I mean I love that hometownhero is is national Cause, it's
just kind of that.
That could be really cool tooTo see where we end up.
And then you know, england hassome really cool tracks too.
(31:41):
Maybe we'll head over theresomeday.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Oh, that'd be cool.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
That'd be super cool.
Nah, I need to get down toCanterbury and I've never been
to the horse races and I know wewere supposed to do an event
here early september and thatwent to the wayside.
People busy, things happen.
But I do need to get down tothe racetrack sometime and check
this stuff out.
Yeah, I've never been to ahorse race in my life well, and
horse racing.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
People ask me all the time like why horse racing?
And how does that even fit in?
And horse racing at the core,when it's done?
Well, and when it got reallybig here in in US, it was around
the Great Depression.
And it was so big around theGreat Depression because
everybody had hope.
At a racetrack, everyone atthat time felt like an underdog,
right, there wasn't hope.
(32:24):
And so they'd go to a racetrackand realize, well, the underdog
always has a chance, always hasa shot.
If you can get in the startinggate, you always have a chance.
And so there was this beautifulparallel of hope.
Um, and, and that's what racingis all about, so I love going
to the races and we had a 60 toone shot in my bar in that one.
Uh, and it was.
(32:45):
So we were like, oh my god, wewere screaming, like we couldn't
believe it.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
So there's always hope, always a chance I watched
kentucky derby for the firsttime this year too yeah, I know
I yelled at you for that thefirst time, like come on, yeah
and I was like I watched all thehype getting lit up to it and
then I watched the race and Iwas like that's it, we're done
we're done.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Two minutes it was so cool though?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
yeah, no, it's.
Do you know a little bit aboutthe history, about you know
people in the Kentucky Derby orjust races in general, and how
they dress up?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Yeah, I don't really know, to be honest, I don't
really know the whole, likefashion stuff, like I mean I'm
just, I mean I know it, theracing always came from kind of
like it came from europe, and soit was very like queen right,
very like extravagant and, um,the common folk were in the
(33:41):
infield, right, that kind of athing.
So there's definitely historythere.
I mean, when I watch racing Iknow like the background of each
horse and their pet.
You know their sire and their.
You'm.
I'm a nerd, so when it comes tolike hats, I don't really care.
I'm like if I have to wear one,that's fine, but I'd rather
have boots on.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
No, that's cool.
So the the uh in the infancy ofAbijah.
You know when you um, we'redoing this elsewhere.
And then you started Abijah.
How did you get to the name ofAbijah?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
What was the history there and what's the
significance there?
So Abijah was my first ownhorse.
I grew up riding and then as alittle girl and then would ride
horses off the auction forpeople and just did a number of
things kind of across thecountry with horses, but I never
had my very own, and so I sawBajia and my faith is really a
(34:40):
big part of who I am.
And so as a little girl Iremember I was in church and I
called my dad, pa, and I waslike he looked at me, he's like
Sally, you got to shut up, likeI was just being that obnoxious
little kid and so I just startedreading the Bible, cause I'm
like what the hell am I supposedto do here in church?
I'm so bored.
And I opened up revelation 1911,and that's the title, is
(35:04):
revelation or is the rider onthe white horse?
And so I was hooked as a littlegirl.
I'm like wait, he comes back onlike a horse, like he's a
warrior and all that kind of allthat kind of stuff.
And again, family of origin ismilitary.
So our dinners consisted of,like I don't know, conversation
around the battle of the bulgewas like Thanksgiving talk,
(35:27):
right, like.
So growing up in that.
So I saw this horse when I wasprobably early, early 30 or late
20s and I ended up getting herand she.
Horses have always reminded meof God.
Like they're graceful, they'rehuge, they want a relationship
(35:48):
with you, and so I named herAbijah, which means the Lord is
my father.
She is just a badass, beautiful, amazing girl, and she ended up
passing away this past October.
Um, but she was.
She's, the greatest thing ever,so that's where the name comes
from.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Oh well, that's cool that you get to honor the horse
and have that follow up and it'sa good story.
Yeah, that's cool, that issuper cool.
So, and then the other thingtoo is with our partnerships and
stuff.
I know that we intend to dosome more down the road, but
with the health and wellnessdays, you know, just for anyone
(36:31):
who may be listening, if you'reinterested, you know and this
could be for anyone who might beon the military side or first
responder side that if you're inthe state of Minnesota or local
to us, you know, even if you'reout of state, we'll try and
figure something out because wehave some teams there.
Obviously, traveling with a lotof horses might be a little
harder, but we'll figuresomething out.
But reach out to us, we'llfigure it out.
(36:52):
Yeah, and we can plan a day togo through some stuff.
(37:20):
And I know the most recent oneyou guys tailored a little bit
more I was out that Sally likesto use as well, and we introduce
people to HHO and Brittany andgive people resources is really
the thing and just being openand talking about the things
that we've been through.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yeah, creating a space of humanity right, where
we can all be we're all messedup, we're all human and there's
beauty in that too and justcreating that space of safety
where we can struggle and learnhow to struggle well and come
together.
And I mean, I tell everybodyyou'll never meet a counselor
that's not messed up, likethere's a reason we do what we
(37:49):
do, like it's not.
It's not because we know how tofix or help or cure it.
We get it and so it's justcoming alongside people.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
And maybe you've been through something that you know
triggered you to go.
I want to make sure I can helppeople with that, because I've
been through that and that'spart of me too, you know, and
what I've been through, andwanting to help others and
taking that armor off andletting people know that it's
okay to be vulnerable a littlebit yeah, off and letting people
know that it's okay to bevulnerable a little bit, yeah.
So talk about the system thatyou've been trained in with, you
(38:19):
know, your counselor therapyand then also with the horse
side.
I know there was a certain termyou used about what that model
looks like yeah, so when?
Speaker 3 (38:27):
when counselors?
So you go through school andyou get your master's in
counseling minimum right andthen you can go on and be crazy
smart like britney and get herphd and suicidology.
But not yeah, she's crazy, cooland brilliant totally but with
um, with counseling, just kindof in general, you get your
master's but then you want to,you know, possibly kind of hone
(38:48):
in on a type of model right,whether that's cbt cognitive
behavioral therapy or emdr CBT,cognitive Behavioral Therapy or
EMDR and so this model is calledARCH, a-r-c-h and it's called
or stands for Arenas for Change,and so kind of coming into your
arena right, coming into yourstory.
So everybody at Abijas iscertified or trained up in this
(39:11):
model and also culturallytrained.
So that's a huge part of whatwe do If we're going to work
with first responders, military,culturally, a lot of my team is
from family, you know, frommilitary, military themselves or
from first responder families,and that's a big part too.
We want to be able to relate asbest as we can to the
(39:34):
individuals coming our way.
So all of them are certified inARCH and then ongoing
continuing education, so alwayslearning, always growing,
recognizing.
We're not the expert, you know,we strive to do the best.
The standard super high, butthe standard always continues to
get higher and higher andhigher right, because we don't
know what we don't know, alwayscontinues to get higher and
(39:54):
higher and higher right Becausewe don't know what we don't know
, and that's the cool thingabout this model and, I think,
understanding their strength andnot knowing if that makes sense
.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Totally yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:06):
So that's really the culture of who we are and you
know, continuing to learn andgrow along with you guys.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, and talk about your team a bit.
Who's all on your team, and dothey have different things that
they do specialize in, or doeseveryone kind of one shoe fits
all?
I'm guessing not.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
No, so there's always , typically there's always a
mental health professional and ahorse specialist or equine
specialist on each session.
And so you know, obviously themental health person has their
schooling, their education,their certifications right that
they bring into the session, andthen the equine specialist also
(40:43):
has their trainings and theirschoolings that they bring into
the session.
So they're both looking at.
You know, es is the equinespecialist is really looking at
safety a lot of times, butthey're still, they can still
ask mental health questions,external questions, right, and
then the mental health person'sreally looking at the emotional
safety of it.
So our team I mean, like I said,we have one that's Air Force, a
(41:07):
retired Air Force, me we haveone that you know married to a
firefighter, you know thingslike that.
So really wanting to to tapinto that culture piece and have
people that really get it andunderstand it, and if they don't
, we send them to culturaltraining and things like that.
So I like we work with one ofthe local fire departments and I
(41:31):
don't see anybody from thatdepartment in session because
I'm their point person, so I goto their training.
So a lot of times I'm like thedummy in the car they have to
like you know, that's been arule, or I've gone into live
birds or climb the ladder likejust to be in there.
Yeah, and so then when shithits the fan, they're not just
(41:53):
calling a counselor they don'tknow, they're calling Sal.
There's a relationship there.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
There's a humanized aspect.
Right yeah, that's fantastic.
This is your financial copmoney minute.
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Nothing starts with a plan.
Unless you have a budget, youcan't pay off debt, just like
you can't really technicallysave for retirement and a
vacation and other thingswithout understanding what your
budget is.
And so I had to get a grasp ofwhat my outflow versus my inflow
was, and I kind of came to arealization that you know, we
have this gift in lawenforcement called overtime
(42:30):
right, and far too many of ususe overtime as a mechanism to
elevate our standard of living.
Well, I changed and said youknow what we're going to use
overtime to build our financialstrength, and I'm going to use
it to accelerate things.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
This is your financial cop Money Minute.
Well, that's cool.
So if people want to learn moreabout you or potentially reach
out about sessions, or even wantto volunteer for help like what
are those?
Let's start with volunteering.
Like if you take volunteers, ifthere's opportunities to
volunteer, what does that looklike?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
so at the racetrack it's been a little tricky
because you have to be licensedto even get back into the
racetrack right into the stablearea.
Um, but this year, you know, weknow we're when we're in our
winter months.
Yes, there's much morevolunteering that can.
That can take place, and peoplecan reach out to me just
directly with my email.
(43:25):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (43:28):
What's your email.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
It's long.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
We'll make.
We'll make a note on thepodcast episode, but say it out
loud.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
We're changing it because I'm an idiot, but it's
sallyatabijas on the backsidecom.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Hey, mine is christatro at
hometownherooutdoorsorg, so Iget along.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
Okay, good, all right , that's good, that's good.
Yeah, I don't feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
I need a short nurse.
It should just be sally atabijahscom.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
yeah, I know mine should be chris at hhocom org.
Yeah, yeah I get it so that'ssocial media website yeah, our
website is abijahscom, um, andso you can look that up.
It's a.
You want me to spell it because?
Speaker 2 (44:10):
yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
A as in apple, b as in boy.
I-j-a-h-scom.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Dot com Perfect, that's great.
So then, volunteeringopportunities, maybe at the
stable throughout the winter,they can do some things.
Or even if people areinterested in sessions or they
can reach out or health andwellness days, they can reach
out to you myself.
The organization here, brittanyI'm going to have Brittany on
another podcast at some point,since she has a unique education
(44:45):
.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
She is huge.
Yeah, my, my battery's about todie, so hold on.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
You're good, no worries.
So if you guys want to reachout to Sally at any point in
time, you can reach out to us.
You can reach out to her, herwebsite, her social media
presence as well, and be able tomaybe make contact and see if
there's any opportunities forsomeone that you may know.
There's a different avenue foreveryone when it comes to their
(45:14):
healing and their journey, andthis is one of the avenues and
it's very unique and different.
So, even if you are intimidatedby horses like myself, it's
okay to go try it.
Uh, you're with trainedprofessionals that know what
they're doing and it's justinteresting to be able to
navigate those feelings that youhave and see it played out in
different horses that are there,and and it's uh, it's very cool
(45:36):
.
It's very cool and I think itchanges a lot of people's lives.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Thanks, yes.
Speaker 2 (45:41):
Yeah Well, thank you for coming on the podcast.
Sally, Thanks for having me.
We'll get together soon.
I'm sure we'll see plenty ofeach other coming up with the
next legislative out at theCapitol.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
Yeah, that'll be fun.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
Yes, Well, it's a budget year, so fingers crossed
right.
Speaker 3 (45:59):
I know, fingers crossed, it'll happen, it'll
happen.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Well, everyone, I hope you enjoyed today's podcast
.
You know, even if you areunable to get to Minnesota to do
some equine therapy with Sallyand her team, there are a lot of
different places across thecountry and hopefully in the
future we will see Sally inAbijah, in different states, but
definitely look into it.
It is an awesome option andthank you for listening and we
will see you on the nexthometown hero course podcast.
(46:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
The hometown hero outdoors podcast is made
possible by the followingsponsors O'Neill Electric
Contractors.
The Minnesota Police and PeaceOfficers Association.
Relentless Defender, appareland Financial Cop Financial
Advisors.
Thank you for listening to theHometown Hero Outdoors Podcast.
(46:53):
For more information, visit ourwebsite at
hometownherooutdoorsorg.
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