Daily Inspiration: Meet Beth Godbey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Godbey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always loved being on the land and around livestock. Horses have always been an important part of my life, and so I knew that horses would need to be included in my life work. I feel so blessed to get to partner the animals I love with helping others in the work I love.

I grew up horseback and know firsthand how horses can impact lives because they certainly did mine. Chris Ledoux sings a song, “You Just Can’t See Him From the Road” and a line in it says, “He’s had one or two good horses that he counts among his friends” and I feel the same way. Although I showed and rodeod throughout my childhood and college and love to ride fast and slide far, it was always the relationship and friendship with my horses that I valued the most. There is nothing like moving cows in the difficult ground and knowing that your horse will take care of you or asking your horse to give all they have running home from the third barrel and knowing that they are doing it because they love you. It’s the relationship with the horse that I love the most, and it’s the relationship with the horse which brings healing to others in my work.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I first began working in the field 21 or so years ago, it was still fairly new. Many people really misunderstood why horses would be used in therapy and I often heard the joke that I was actually a therapist for horses! So one big obstacle has been to validate this work as a respectable career and model of therapy and to teach others the reality of what we do in this work, why we do it and the tremendous life-changing effects it can have.

Before we had our own place where I could work out of, finding a location that is accessible was very difficult. Now that I can work and provide sessions here on our ranch, making sure that I find a good balance to be able to do it all can be challenging.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Many things make Equine Empowerment unique! Providing therapeutic riding lessons at our home ranch allows me the ability to use my family’s horses in the lessons. Where often times therapy horses main role is therapy, our horses wear lots of different hats that I think help them to stay focused, not get bored and be well rounded. Our horses go through a testing process to insure that they are good fits for therapeutic riding before being placed in lessons, but they also are used for ranch work, cattle work hauled to rodeos and used in 4-H. Their role as a therapy horse is often times their favorite job!

Another element that makes Equine Empowerment unique is the wonderful collaborations that we have both locally and beyond. I travel and provide lots of facilitation and equine therapy programs for several groups across the country. I love collaborations and believe that we can do so much when working as a team with other like-minded organizations.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Passion! I consider it a blessing to have a passion to chase after, learn about and do! It is truly an honor to work with each client I partner with in the arena and I have so much respect for horses and the way they help us.

I think that one of my strengths is valuing people for who they are, their stories, their struggles and their gifts. One way I use this is when teaching therapeutic riding, I don’t like to use the word “disability” and instead see each rider for their “abilities” and believe in their talents with my whole heart.

I could not dream big or do this work without the amazing people I have supporting this work. My friend Cheri Trousil and I have worked together for 15 years providing many facets of this work and having such a great friend, partner and mentor has been so instrumental in making my dreams come true. I have an amazing board of directors, friends and collaborators whom I am so grateful for!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.equine-empowerment.org
• Instagram: equine.empowerment1
• Facebook: equineempowerment1

Image Credits
Jayna Rosentreter