Do you have that place you go when you need to reset? A place you can go to experience calm, serenity, peace and stillness. Maybe it's fishing in the South Platte River or hiking at Cheyenne Mountain, or maybe it's remembering a beautiful life moment from the past. Whatever it may be, those moments are sacred and bring you back to center.
But for a lot of our veterans these moments of serenity are much harder to come by. These opportunities to reset can become tainted by memories of days past and flooded with stress and anxiety.
My name is Ray and for nearly the last 10 years I've gone to war as a soldier and as a federal contractor. I am a United States Army Special Forces Veteran with multiple tours of combat supporting the war on terrorism. I have spent years deploying supporting the US government as a contractor in high risk environments. I have seen the horrors of war and have luckily come through unscathed. So many of my fellow service members have not been this lucky and they need help from all of us. In the last few months I've learned about a new cause for veterans, none like I've heard before. Heroes and Horses (H&H) out of Bozeman, MT uses the remote wilderness, and the horse/human connection to challenge, and inspire growth in veterans suffering from mental and physical scars.
In May 2014 I had a unique opportunity to spend a week in the mountains learning and teaching the guys at H&H and it was one of the best weeks of my life. I have decided to focus all my energy on raising funds and awareness in support of this amazing nonprofit.
My goal is to raise $20,000 - enough to buy one horse, three mules and tack. Then I will ride from Woodland Park, Co all the way to Bozeman, MT, to donate all the contributions to H&H. It will be an enriching journey from start to finish.