Send Nicole to the Running Wild Retreat
Donation protected
This feels like a super indulgent thing to do, but... here I am, asking for help to attend this amazing horse gentling retreat -- something which I would never be able to afford without help.
Here is a link to the retreat I'm hoping to attend in August, but I will need to come up with a deposit soon to get one of the 6 available spots https://www.mustangmaddy.com/product/running-wild-retreat-parts-iii-iv/
It might be a long shot but because life is short, I'm throwing this out there. Maybe some friends or friends of friends will think "hell yes" and contribute enough that I can get the $2500 USD deposit in time to reserve a spot, and maybe I'll find a way to come up with the rest before August.
My story in a nutshell: grew up poor dreaming of horses but never had the chance to ride until I moved to Mexico in 2015, whereupon I quickly ended up with a mare, and then her colt, and then a rescue mare & filly .... and another colt. I've been on a crazy learning journey over the past 4 years, trying to soak up everything I can learn from all sources available to me. My mare, Mika, has been my greatest teacher, and I've learned an incredible amount from my friend and neighbour Aldo, who has years of experience in charreria and who I've been helping to organize horseback riding tours in our very tourist-friendly area on the pacific coast of Jalisco, Mexico.
But as much as I'm learning from hanging out with the Mexican cowboys, I am not and never will be a Mexican cowboy, and their training and handling methods aren't an ideal match for who I am. I have found that perfect match in Maddy's training methods, and the little experience I have learning from her online videos and applying her positive reinforcement training methods have absolutely blown my mind. I want to learn more, and the best way I can do that is by attending one of her immersion training retreats. But they are not cheap, and I am not rich. I'm a part time researcher/writer and a full time mama of two little ones. My wonderful Mexican partner works his butt off in the bush up north in Canada slinging a chainsaw so we can live a simple life here in Mexico. Without some kind of miracle, I would never be able to attend something like this.
I never imagined that I would become a horse trainer -- riding and being with horses was always a latent dream, a childhood fantasy for me. But that decision in 2015 to seize the day and get a horse when I knew next to nothing about what was involved ... in hindsight it was probably the second best bold decision I've made, because it has allowed me to survive the loss of the first best bold decision I made, when I got pregnant by accident just after my 21st birthday, and decided to keep the baby. I had Noah for 21 beautiful, amazing, and yes, sometimes really hard, years. But nothing prepared me for how hard it would be to lose him last year from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
So many people rallied together to help me and support me after Noah died--partly through a gofundme that allowed me to take some time off work and focus on being present with my newborn baby and young daughter, and allowed us to follow my loving & hardworking partner to northern Alberta so we could be together as a family for that hard time and still pay the bills. And in the months that followed, once I came back to Mexico on my own with the kids, it was the horses that provided me with the soft healing energy I needed (and still need) to keep going and be present for my little ones every day.
One day I'm hoping to be able to provide retreats to people who have experienced the loss of a child or another loved one. I know the healing power of horses, and this go-fund-me campaign is me leaning into that warm healing place in the hopes that I can share it with others -- not just other humans, but also other horses who need healing and another chance at a softer, more understanding, and gentler life. We all deserve that.
Thanks for reading my story. I would be so grateful for any small amount and any share that could help me reach my goal. <3
Here is a link to the retreat I'm hoping to attend in August, but I will need to come up with a deposit soon to get one of the 6 available spots https://www.mustangmaddy.com/product/running-wild-retreat-parts-iii-iv/
It might be a long shot but because life is short, I'm throwing this out there. Maybe some friends or friends of friends will think "hell yes" and contribute enough that I can get the $2500 USD deposit in time to reserve a spot, and maybe I'll find a way to come up with the rest before August.
My story in a nutshell: grew up poor dreaming of horses but never had the chance to ride until I moved to Mexico in 2015, whereupon I quickly ended up with a mare, and then her colt, and then a rescue mare & filly .... and another colt. I've been on a crazy learning journey over the past 4 years, trying to soak up everything I can learn from all sources available to me. My mare, Mika, has been my greatest teacher, and I've learned an incredible amount from my friend and neighbour Aldo, who has years of experience in charreria and who I've been helping to organize horseback riding tours in our very tourist-friendly area on the pacific coast of Jalisco, Mexico.
But as much as I'm learning from hanging out with the Mexican cowboys, I am not and never will be a Mexican cowboy, and their training and handling methods aren't an ideal match for who I am. I have found that perfect match in Maddy's training methods, and the little experience I have learning from her online videos and applying her positive reinforcement training methods have absolutely blown my mind. I want to learn more, and the best way I can do that is by attending one of her immersion training retreats. But they are not cheap, and I am not rich. I'm a part time researcher/writer and a full time mama of two little ones. My wonderful Mexican partner works his butt off in the bush up north in Canada slinging a chainsaw so we can live a simple life here in Mexico. Without some kind of miracle, I would never be able to attend something like this.
I never imagined that I would become a horse trainer -- riding and being with horses was always a latent dream, a childhood fantasy for me. But that decision in 2015 to seize the day and get a horse when I knew next to nothing about what was involved ... in hindsight it was probably the second best bold decision I've made, because it has allowed me to survive the loss of the first best bold decision I made, when I got pregnant by accident just after my 21st birthday, and decided to keep the baby. I had Noah for 21 beautiful, amazing, and yes, sometimes really hard, years. But nothing prepared me for how hard it would be to lose him last year from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
So many people rallied together to help me and support me after Noah died--partly through a gofundme that allowed me to take some time off work and focus on being present with my newborn baby and young daughter, and allowed us to follow my loving & hardworking partner to northern Alberta so we could be together as a family for that hard time and still pay the bills. And in the months that followed, once I came back to Mexico on my own with the kids, it was the horses that provided me with the soft healing energy I needed (and still need) to keep going and be present for my little ones every day.
One day I'm hoping to be able to provide retreats to people who have experienced the loss of a child or another loved one. I know the healing power of horses, and this go-fund-me campaign is me leaning into that warm healing place in the hopes that I can share it with others -- not just other humans, but also other horses who need healing and another chance at a softer, more understanding, and gentler life. We all deserve that.
Thanks for reading my story. I would be so grateful for any small amount and any share that could help me reach my goal. <3
Organizer
Nicola Lucky
Organizer
Prince George, BC
