Our first annual women’s wellness retreat in California has ended. We said goodbye after our breakfast ride to the historic ranch house for a cookout. On the way back, along the lake we saw a pair of bald eagles, Fred and Ethyl. We spotted them at the top of a tree in a fortress of a nest overlooking the lake. Just up the trail from the eagles was a flock of wild turkeys and a buck deer grazing. But the best part was the trail back to the barn, which had several good spots for a lope and our horses were game.
Looking back on our first Women of the Rancho Retreat, I learned as the facilitator this year, that at heart, women who come to Women of the Rancho think they need alone time in nature for space and grace, and our retreat does provide that. But after hanging together in the bar, gathering around our dinner table, and sharing at the opening ceremony over desserts, we discovered that hanging together is fun and relaxing.
While there is some alone cabin time mid-day, we are looking for in a women’s wellness retreat is a getaway from the routines and challenges of raising a family, a demanding career or aging. For some working in careers or raising families, transaction density is the rule of the day, with very little alone time. Others are looking for a recovery from a loss during covid or a respite from caregiving for a family member. Women of the Rancho is a break from all that. Some came with friends, and others, traveling alone to the retreat, made new nutritious friends.
We all find or reconnect with our inner horse girl during our horse activities. Horses have big hearts for connection and adventure. They draw you in. Some talked during the opening ceremony about how, as little girls, we remember more than anything in the world, that we wanted a horse. For most of us, that just wasn’t possible. But one way or another, each woman found a way to connect with horses while growing up. Women shared the memories of being young and riding fearlessly.
The funny thing is in our heads, our biological age doesn’t match who we are inside. We feel young, and riding horses is the perfect opportunity to go back to the younger version of ourselves on horses.
Looking around at our riders on the last day, I am happy. I see women sitting tall in the saddle with heels down and a balanced seat. While we had a couple of spooks, everyone stayed on with no injuries. After four days together, our riders were comfortable and connected.
I plan to offer the program twice in 2025 if all goes well. It will be limited to 15 riders. The ranch wants to provide us the best riding horses out of the herd. What could be finer than that?
