Meet Christine: Keeping Her Chin Up

“I have to look at what is happening to me like I look at riding—the only way to get better is to sit up straight, throw your shoulders back and keep your chin up.”

 A lifelong horsewoman, Christine Campbell has trained everything from field hunters to elite-level jumpers. She has worked in some of the country’s most prestigious stables, yet her passion lies in the dusty, grassroots arenas where she’s given countless children their foundations in horsemanship. Here, she has shared with kids her love of horses, her love of life—and even the saddle from her own trunk.

 A mother herself and primary caretaker to an adult son with Aspberger’s Syndrome, Christine has supplemented her equestrian-related income by working in fields as diverse as real estate, professional canine training and even emergency services. But in 2016, a litany of illnesses and barn-related injuries left her unable to work enough to make ends meet.  “I’d recover from one, then literally get knocked down again,” Christine said.

 The resulting financial devastation knocked Christine down as well. Finally, when she was no longer able to soldier through, she applied and was accepted as an Equestrian Aid Foundation grant recipient. “Without this help, I wouldn’t be standing, let alone have a roof over my son’s or my head,” says Christine.

 Permanently disabled but bolstered in spirit by the generosity of fellow horse people, Christine has spent much of her convalescence looking forward: revising her resume and trying to determine a next step that will provide financial security for her son and herself. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without Equestrian Aid,” she says. “I am so grateful.”