"Back in the saddle" isn't just a cliché or a metaphor. For Crissi McDonald, it describes where she's spent four decades of her life, and a challenge she wasn't sure she'd still be able to meet.On an ordinary sunny afternoon in 2014, Crissi's world falls apart. Waking up in the hospital after a freak accident with her horse, the doctors tell her that a small bleed in her brain has stopped and that she's dodged brain surgery.As the news sinks in, she realizes the facade of her confidence has crumbled. She's at a crossroads: either find ways to overcome the fear that now engulfs her or give up on horses.Adrift in uncertainty and pain, she discovers that confidence unchallenged is a fragile notion, and that strength can be found in the rebuilding of it. She confronts the reality that if she wants to get back to what she most loves doing, the room of her fears must be smaller. Each day is a choice between giving in to doubt or taking steps toward getting stronger.Continuing the Ride chronicles the lessons she learned and the horses who helped her return to the life she loves. Whether you'd like your confidence to be more robust or you're looking for a good horse story, you'll find this a satisfying account of healing inside and out-and how to get back up after falling down. Crissi McDonald, who now calls Colorado home, spent her Arizona childhood looking for horses to ride. As a teenager and young adult, she traded barn work for riding lessons and spent summers on cattle ranches and running horse programs at a Girl Scouts of America camp; along the way, she earned a BA in philosophy from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. Now a trainer and a certified Masterson Method equine bodyworker, she travels with her husband, Mark Rashid, offering clinics nationally and internationally.Along with horses, Crissi has had a lifelong interest in writing and photography; her articles have been published in The Bark, and her photographs have been used in several of Mark Rashid's books. Through her blog, she connects with those looking for ways to build deep and trusting relationships with their horses. "Continuing The Ride," is her first book.
