Growing up, life was always very busy. I was very blessed to be raised on a small, family farm in rural Oregon with horses and farm animals. My love and passion for the horses started very young, spending countless hours riding the trails with my brothers and friends. My childhood shaped my first career, training and showing Arabian horses all across the country, earning many wins and championships for myself and the horse owners. During that amazing career, my passion for coaching grew as I taught the owners, of all ages, how to move a 1000+ lb animal around the show ring with grace and elegance and watch them earn recognition.
Throughout the years, I've had a lot of pain and inflammation and just figured it was due to all the years of hard work and young horses! Until one morning, I woke up with my joints on fire and could hardly walk because of the immense pain! I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that attacks your body. I have also been diagnosed with 3 other autoimmune disorders as well. Over the last 18 years, I have taken many medications to try and control the pain and inflammation, including biologic medications where I had to sit for an I.V. infusion for up to 4 hours! During this trying time, my rheumatologist kept telling me to work out, move your body, it will make you feel better. How could I work out in so much pain? I was already really busy, but my body needed something different than every day work. About 5 years ago, I decided I was done with the weekly infusions, and didn't want that to be "normal" for the rest of my life, so I went to the gym and started with a spin class and loved it! After that first ride, I felt so good that I could see how working out could help. After retiring from training horses, I went to work part time at a physical therapy office and started leading guided fitness classes for the patients that finished PT, but needed to keep moving. It was there, I found my new love for personal fitness and helping others succeed in their personal health journeys. As for me, through physical fitness and nutrition, I have been medication free for almost 5 years! I understand it hurts and some days, it's so hard to move, but you can do it!