Swiftsure Ranch’s Cowboy Ball – A Huge Success

Thank you to everyone who came out to support The Swiftsure Ranch at The Cowboy Ball on Thursday July 11th, 2013. The auction was a resounding success, thanks to the generosity of those participating on all sides, whether bidding or auctioning off their skills. Alex put himself on the block, auctioning off a private show, which raised an incredible $5000 to contribute towards the fantastic work being done at The Swiftsure Ranch. For more information about how you can get involved please go to http://swiftsureranch.org/

 

About the 2013 Annual Cowboy Ball

The funds generated from the Annual Cowboy Ball allow Swiftsure Ranch to teach the students without cost. The fundraiser accounts for 50% of the operating budget. Over the years, the success of this Ball has played a major role in the services Swiftsure is able to offer the community such as their affiliation with the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind as well as Camp Rainbow Gold and Higher Ground.

 

Learn More about the Swiftsure Ranch

 

You Don’t Matter (Neither Do I)

Dear You,

You don’t matter.

I know I said I wasn’t going to hit you with that right away because it’s not what you want to hear, is it? But I felt we should get to that quickly, because… the problem is, it’s true.

I don’t want to hear about how you can’t quit coffee, or how you aren’t aligned with your chakras, or how you are trying to hold space for me right now. I don’t want to hear about how you are manifesting a boyfriend or a career or a smoothie for yourself.

Would you quit making it about yourself all the time?

You don’t matter. And neither do I.

Who does matter, then?

The other guy.

Sometimes I get the sense that the greatest irony of the self-help movement is that if you really want a better life, it probably won’t happen only from helping the self. I think the ‘You’ that doesn’t want to hear ‘You don’t matter’ is the ego-driven self, and the best kind of help for it would be a swift kick in the ass as it lingers by the door, trying to convince you that it is important.

If you close your eyes, you may be able to see it standing there, telling you that you’re not good enough, or talented enough, or deserving enough. It’s telling you these things because that’s how it stays alive, and you feed it by continually going over your own stories in your head. That’s been my experience, anyway, and as far as I can tell, the only way it can survive is through your own thinking and thinking and thinking about you.

So maybe it’s time to get over your self and push it out the door.

You have so little time here on the planet. It is so precious. So precious. Do you want to spend it thinking about your self and how Kevin doesn’t like you ,or how your mother never will, or how Jessica is lame, or whatever your story of the day is?

No one truly great is remembered for what they thought about themselves or did for themselves. Yes, we are society committed to recitation of individual statistics and accomplishments, but the truly great are remembered at kitchen tables, in bars and on subways, and in the everyday talking between people, for what they did for their country. Or their team. Or their family. In essence, they are remembered for what they did for the other guy.

And they are remembered for what they DID. That’s the important thing. That’s love. What you do.

The beautiful thing is that what these great people do for others feels good to them, too. It feeds their spirits and souls and fills their everyday lives with meaning. It’s like a letter written to someone expressing love that fills the receiver with light: that letter is written for the sender, too, and the overall beauty out there is raised up a notch because of it.

I was in New York recently and saw a toddler walk up to a homeless woman who was crumpled up against a building. The little girl had a bright pink jacket on and held a single dollar in her hand, and she sort of stumble-walked over to the broken-down woman and held the dollar out to her. I didn’t see a parent around, although I’m sure someone was there somewhere. All I saw was this small child, holding a dollar bill out to a street-stained woman who looked back at her with an expression that was at once incredulous, stunned, and grateful.

I looked away before the dollar bill passed from one hand to the other, because I wanted to keep that last image burned into my consciousness.

I will remember that child forever. And it’s not because she was manifesting something for her ‘self.’

It’s because she did something for the other guy.

Annual Cowboy Ball to aid of The Swiftsure Ranch

Alex is attending the Annual Cowboy Ball tonight, in aid of The Swiftsure Ranch in Idaho. All proceeds raised from the event provide 55 – 65% of the ranches operating budget, and we are delighted to announce that Alex will be auctioning off a very special private concert to the winning bidder and friends, in support of this very worthwhile organisation. The event is now sold out, but please check back very soon to hear all about the result. For more information about The Swiftsure Ranch and how you can get involved, please go to http://swiftsureranch.org/

About the Swiftsure Ranch

swiftsure-ranch

Kristy Pigeon built the Sagebrush Arena in Hailey, Idaho, and developed the therapeutic riding program in the summer of 1991. Her interest in doing so was a result of her desire to share the beauty and serenity of the Sawtooth mountains and the Wood River Valley and the healing power of horses with challenged individuals. Kristy trained as a volunteer at the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in Woodside, California, and she brought her skills and resources together to start the Sagebrush Equine Training Center for the Handicapped (SETCH) at the Sagebrush Arena. Her vision was to provide therapeutic horseback riding lessons to individuals with disabilities at no charge. Kristy served as the executive director until her retirement in August 2010, and her vision is still carried out everyday!

Having already served as a board member and volunteer for many years prior, Cheryl Bennett began as the executive director in April 2011. SETCH leased use of the Sagebrush Arena for 20 years, and it had been a long time goal of the board of directors to find a permanent home for the program. Having the heart and soul to bring the program to the next phase, Cheryl began working hard to secure a permanent home for SETCH.

The Swiftsure Ranch had served the equestrian community in Blaine County as a cutting horse ranch and an eventing facility. In November 2011 with the help of generous individual support and a low-interest rate loan, the ranch was purchased at auction by SETCH. After reconstruction on the office, kitchen, and lounge space, creation of new ADA bathrooms, a fresh coat of paint, irrigation maintenance, and hundreds of new fence rails, SETCH moved into its new and permanent home in May 2012. With the move, the SETCH board decided to change the program’s name to the Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

The Horse Pasture

The Swiftsure Ranch, located on 191 acres just south of Bellevue, Idaho, is a dream come true for the members of this team and the participants in the program. The new ranch offers not only a permanent home to the program but also pasture for the horses, trails on the property, and plenty of room to grow!

The journey to this remarkable new home begins and ends with incredible donor support and countless hours donated by the devoted volunteers who are the key to the operation and its success. The Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center is able to provide riding lessons to its participants without cost because of the devotion of these amazing and selfless people.

Visit Swiftsure Ranch

See Alex at I Can Do It

Alex will be participating in a number of Hay House, I Can Do It Events, across the country this fall. These hugely popular weekend conferences will take place in Washington on September 28 – 29, New York on October 26 – 27 and http://www.alexwoodard.com/event/i-can-do-it-2013-pasadena/?fts=true.

Alex is slated to appear on the Sunday in each instance. To avoid disappointment, take advantage of early registration, and head over to our events page today for all the latest dates and information and to book your tickets for these unmissable events. To view all events, please visit http://www.alexwoodard.com/events/upcoming.