Gamilah Unbridled

12/03/2024

It’s not just a saddle…

Becky Shewchuk came over and gave me a pleasant surprise last week, one that I will cherish forever.

She gifted me the saddle that I rode in every… single… DAY… during my 2.5 years at WindyHill Equine Rescue and Rehoming. Most days out there from morning to evening, getting educated from her amazing horses. The school of hard knocks in many ways; a young/green horseman, learning from very challenging horses with mental baggage. 😆❤️🙏

The saddle is more than just a saddle… it symbolizes the foundation we stand on to this day.

WindyHill gave me the perfect start to my horsemanship journey, and one that I know makes me the man I am today. Without Windyhill Rescue, Becky, and the horses, my path would be so different. I’m thankful everyday for that opportunity. The rescue shaped my journey in so many ways. WindyHill will be the root for helping so many horses, even beyond just the ones they have saved. Every life Gamilah Unbridled has impacted in the past or going forward comes from WindyHill, and the foundation they set within me ❤️

God had a plan when he brought us together, and couldn’t be more blessed 🙏

Below are just SOME of the faces behind this saddle ❤️

12/02/2024

If you’re in North Texas, come out and celebrate with us this weekend.

Gamilah Unbridled is a proud supporter of Youth Equine Liberty Organization

We will have our rescue stars; Floki, Nostalgia, and Triscuit making special appearances ❤️

We are SO excited for the first annual, YELO Holiday Bash. If you’re attending, make sure to wear your favorite holiday attire or Christmas sweater ❤️😊

If you’re in the area, please make sure you stop by and celebrate with us. It is a free event for everyone.

We will have a concession stand set up for food.

There will be games with and without horses, a short presentation of the inaugural YELO year, and lots of smiles.

If you’re bringing a horse, please make sure to RSVP.

https://yelo.wufoo.com/forms/z3cmuau0nt3fj2/

Can’t wait to see you all ❤️

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

We hope you all have a wonderful day filled with loved ones and delicious food. ❤️

Leo came over to help us check the turkey that’s been smoking all day. Although he let us know he’d rather have some apple pie and carrots! 😉🦃

11/18/2024

Friends in the Texas area, come on out and have some fun with us on Dec. 7th (with or without a horse)! 😊

Are you in the Texas area? Join us on December 7th for our Youth Equine Liberty Organization Year End Bash!

This event will run from 12-4pm. Let's celebrate YELO's first year and all the amazing people who made it possible AND have some festive Holiday fun!

There is no charge to attend, but we do ask you fill out the form below so we can have a headcount for activities and food. 😊

https://yelo.wufoo.com/forms/z3cmuau0nt3fj2/

11/15/2024

Friday’s Thought of the Week: Traditional vs Relationship based training; where do we stand?

10/31/2024

How I spend my lunch break after a morning of farm work… Niah and Fenn cuddle time ❤️ (can you find Fenn in the background)

This slightly delays my horse time in the afternoon, but can you blame me?

10/28/2024

Arizona friends - we’ll be back in the area at the end of January, 2025! We’ll be doing a 3 day liberty and bridleless clinic in Mesa.

Participant and auditor spots are limited, so you can learn more and sign up here: https://yelo.wufoo.com/forms/zzcykg60l265gu/

10/24/2024

Rest in Peace Jim, my Father. You don’t have to be blood, to be family 🙏❤️🙏

10/11/2024

When you “know”, do you REALLY know?

10/06/2024

“Do they rent those horses out like that? Without the bridles?”

Thank you to the person who asked us that question this weekend while we were riding, you gave us some good laughs. 🤣

We had a fantastic weekend up at Acadia National Park riding on the carriage trails. And in typical Gamilah Unbridled fashion, doing it all bridleless.

The horses were such trusty partners throughout all our rides. We encountered lots of passing bikes, carriages, hikers, bridges, and even a fire truck with its hose running.

I had a bit of nostalgia on our last ride this morning, as I looked at Avery’s sweatshirt and saw Gami’s face. She may not be able to go on these adventures with us anymore, but without her, we wouldn’t have gotten here in the first place.

She was the first horse that taught me giving our horses some freedom, can lead to a very special partnership where you take care of each other.

Who knows…maybe one day you will be able to rent out a bridleless horse for a trail ride. 😜❤️

09/30/2024

EXCITING NEWS!! We are going to have a professional demonstration division for the upcoming YELO virtual Freestyle show in October.

For this class, pros won’t have to become a member and they won’t be “ranked” but you’ll get feedback, a score card, etc.

Our goal with this is to inspire the Youth and Youth at Heart Members AND to connect them with professionals in their area for ongoing liberty support. The stronger and more connected our community gets, the better.

Additional show details will be shared later in the month.

PS. We tried to align the October Freestyle show with Halloween because of the awesome costume potential 😉

09/24/2024

Happy Birthday Avery,

I am so thankful that God put you in my life. Every single day, I count my lucky stars that you are in this journey of life with me.

You’re strong, intelligent, beautiful, funny, and have an amazing way with horses.

I think the best part about you, is that you challenge me everyday, to be the best version of myself because of just how special you are!

People see me as the extrovert and strong one, but for those who truly know Avery and I, they know that Avery is the true heartbeat that makes this all work.

There are not enough adjectives to describe how thankful I am for her as my best friend and amazing wife.

Happy Birthday Avery, LOVE YOU. ❤️🙏❤️

P.S. You are the best leader of the Misfit Mares that your amazing girls could ask for.

09/16/2024

This past Saturday was a very full circle moment for several reasons. One of the biggest was seeing our rescues not only participate, but excel with their young partners.

We had a group of participants come up from Rhode Island for the YELO show and because they weren’t able to bring the horses they normally work with up, we offered ours for the day.

Although the kids and horses knew liberty, they had not worked together at all until the afternoon before the show.

Pictured first are Sherman (formerly known as Jalapeño in the ATFo) and Connor. Sherman has done very little liberty this year, and yet he came out and rocked it with Connor.

Second we have Floki and Julie. Floki may seem like he would be an easier one because he’s so small, but he’s actually a very prideful guy and can be challenging if you don’t treat him with awareness and respect. Julie figured that out immediately and earned reserve high point champion with him.

Third you’ll see Triscuit and Marisal. Triscuit is VERY sensitive to energy and new people, if you push too much he’s out of there. Marisal did a phenomenal job keeping her energy at just the right level, and this team flowed through each class beautifully.

Fourth we have Nostalgia and Gretchen. Gretchen wasn’t able to make it up until the morning of the show, so she only had a brief introduction to Nostalgia before they started classes. Not to mention, Nostalgia is a BIG mare with some powerful energy. You would never know they had just met watching, as this team nailed every class.

There was a day where it didn’t look like any of these horses would be safe around kids, let alone kids they just met. But any horse can change through liberty.

Once they change, and let go of that baggage, they have the ability to bring so much joy to those around them. They have the ability to teach and heal those around them in a way only horses can.

We’re so thankful the horses reminded us of the purpose of what we do this weekend. Sometimes it can feel like the change you are making is just a drop in the ocean, because it’s just one horse and person at a time. But then days like this come together, and you get a little reminder that it’s bigger than that. ❤️

09/15/2024

Yesterday we had our Youth Equine Liberty Organization show in Maine. Many of our rescue horses participated with some of the kids, which we’ll share more on tomorrow, but today we want to share a story.

These pictures may not seem like anything super special, but the story behind them is.

This sweet young participant is named Sarah and she came up with a group from Rhode Island to be apart of the show.

Sarah started at a lesson barn where she had some bad experiences, coming off a few different horses, which really knocked her confidence (as I’m sure we can all understand).

She’s been working with Long Meadow Farm, Foster RI the past few months learning about liberty and working to gain some confidence back.

Knowing this, we decided to partner her with Leo for the event, for a few reasons. First, he’s such a gentle kind soul that tries his heart out with anything that’s asked of him. Second, Leo too had some confidence struggles that he had to work through (and still does sometimes) with big events.

When Sarah arrived on Friday for her practice sessions with Leo, you could tell she was a bit unsure. They started to get a feel for each other, but we weren’t sure how Saturday would go.

Saturday morning, she arrived ready for the day and confidently went into her first class telling us how much better everything was going to go today.

And boy was she right.

Her confidence that morning may have started as ”fake it till you make it”, but by midday that had totally shifted. She was smiling the whole time she went in the area. All the worry and timid energy was gone. These two were just having fun together.

They ended up high point champion for their age group. ❤️

The real success though, for us, is in the first picture below. In the look of pure love she’s giving Leo as she prepared to halter him after one of there classes. It’s in the way he softly lowers his head to let her halter him.

That’s what Gamilah Unbridled is all about. Eventually, with one horse and person at time, we hope it’s what the horse world is all about.

09/12/2024

We’ve been having fun preparing to head to Wisconsin next week for The Horseman’s Symposium hosted by Ryan and Emily Rose!

We are adding Indigo to the boys team for their big debut. I’m pretty sure she prefers her girls, but at least she can boss them around a bit to let them know. 🤣

Floki on the other hand is thrilled to make his first trip to an event and can’t wait to be the star of the show!

08/30/2024

Anyone recognize the handsome gelding on the left??

Another highlight from our time last week was getting to see Roman (now known as Courageux)! He was apart of our rescue project in 2022 and was adopted into the most loving home.

He lives in Kentucky with his new family, enjoying the best grass out there and lots of love! At the clinic one of Terry’s goals was to work him at liberty off a ridden horse with her sweet Icelandic mare.

As you can see from the big smiles, Cou remembered his training when he was with us and picked it up no problem. It was so fun to watch them work and learn together. ❤️

WindyHill Equine Rescue and Rehoming