05/04/2024
The title to this page and my upcoming book, serves as a dedication to my heart ❤️ horse Odin 🧡🦒🐎 whom I sadly lost in August 2023, just 2 weeks before my wedding. It is a little book 📕 of insight (with a little bit of magic ✨ where I hope to empower equestrians living with overwhelm, anxiety, depression and chronic illness to heal, laugh and live again through the love of horses! 🐴
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ✍️
Shelley L. McConnell is a residential development lawyer by day and an enthusiastic amateur equestrian 24/7!
Coming from a background where very few people had a car, let alone a horse, Shelley was determined to live a lifestyle of horses from a very young age.
As a result, Shelley has loved horses for a lifetime and through her personal experiences, draws upon the ways in which horses can help to heal the mind, body and soul.
Being no stranger to the juggling act of a busy family and work life balance, alongside her passion for all things equine, within her book she provides an honest account of what it's like to live with high functioning anxiety, depression and chronic long term illness as well as a number of other life challenges which can often impact not only our personal life but also our riding and precious time with our horses.
In a world where we as equestrians feel the need to constantly compare ourselves to others, set up by the latest "perfect posts" on social media, or getting caught up in livery yard gossip, it can be all too easy to forget the reason why we fell in love with horses in the first place.
Within this account, Shelley shows just how these sentient beings can really be the light in the dark, their eyes being the window to the soul and once we create that bond, we are inextricably linked to them in their lifetime and beyond – if we would only listen.
She now lives her dream of having her horses at home (something she never dreamed possible as a child) on a farm owned by some of her closest friends. She is married to her husband David, is step Mum to Harry and has a Boston Terrier called Noodles, an ex – point to point horse called Milo, the pleasure of looking after and riding Dino, who belongs to a dear friend and a sports horse youngster called Vidarr whom she hopes to train as an event horse for the future.
