GaitWay

Empowering girls and young women to a successful adulthood and confidence through mentorship and working with horses.

We are a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls and teen women through mentorship and working with horses. We are 100% donation and grant based; visit our link below to donate or learn more about how you can help!

09/01/2026

⭐ Sponsor Spotlight: Nicole Ghirardi - Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance ⭐

We’re excited to recognize Nicole Ghirardi of Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance as our first Station Sponsor for this year’s Wild West Fest! 🤠🐴

Nicole is a trusted local professional who helps individuals, families, farmers, and business owners protect what matters most. She’s also a wonderful supporter of our community, and we’re incredibly grateful that she has chosen to support GaitWay and Wild West Fest!

Sponsorships like Nicole’s help us care for the horses at the heart of GaitWay while continuing to provide meaningful programs for girls and women in our community. 💚

Thank you, Nicole, for investing in our horses, our participants, and our mission! ✨

🌵 Want to join Nicole in supporting Wild West Fest? Secure your sponsorship today! Sponsorship opportunities are available at a variety of levels, and we’d love to have you be part of this special event.

👇 More sponsorship information in the comments!

08/31/2026

From Dream Builder, Miranda:

Horseback riding is all about mindset.

Before you even get on the horse, the quality of your ride is determined by your mindset.

"I can't do this."

"This horse is stubborn."

"This ride is going to be difficult."

All of these thoughts produce a negative mindset that your horse can sense. Your horse will feel this negative mindset and feed off of it.

Instead of going into your ride thinking negative thoughts, substitute them for positive thoughts such as:

"I can do this!"

"I can motivate this horse!"

"This ride will be a good learning experience!"

Learning to shift your mindset will enable you to continue seeing things in a positive light!

📸: West of Jericho Photography

08/28/2026

Community is an action word …

In horsemanship sometimes we go backward to go forward. But this concept probably relates to literally everything in our lives.

Right now I’m struggling with Rooster. He has a hard time going to the left, even at the trot he fights me. It’s stiffness in his body. We are working on it through a holistic approach. But he can get pretty sassy about it. At the lope it’s even worse. And honestly when he’s fighting it scares me.

I’m scared of loping (cantering) altogether so if the horse fights I get doubly scared and start to shut down.

Many many times in my horsemanship journey I’ve had to go back to a horse I’m more comfortable with to work on my confidence in a particular skill. And we utilize this with the girls in our programs as well.

Pull back to shoot forward. Like an arrow. 🏹

The problem for me is I’m VERY comfortable going backward. It doesn’t hurt my ego at all. So right now I’m like “let me just go back to a horse I’m more comfortable with …”. 😅

And I said that yesterday. I’ll just go back to Saphira or Esme for a while.

And this is where community in action comes in.

Jackie sat in on my ride yesterday to help me and when I said “I’ll go back …” she said “No, you need to work through it with him. You’re ready.”

The community I’ve built for myself is supportive but that support looks like honesty, pushing me, and telling me when I’m trying to run from something out of fear. Support doesn’t always look like comfort. (I know, that totally sucks to hear, right?!)

Community is an action word for us. What actions are your people taking to help you achieve your goals?

08/27/2026

We’re so grateful for Rachel with Rae of Light Yoga, Sound Therapy, & Wellness LLC for pouring into our participants.

Rachel created such a special opportunity for our ladies to slow down, challenge themselves, and explore how movement, mindfulness, and body awareness can complement their horsemanship.

We love creating opportunities that encourage growth both in and out of the saddle, and we’re incredibly thankful for community members like Rachel who are willing to share their time, talents, and knowledge with our ladies.

Thank you, Rachel, for investing in our participants and bringing something new and meaningful to the ranch! 🧘‍♀️✨

08/26/2026

From Dream Builder, Miranda:

Here at GaitWay we would like to take a moment to shine light on one of our beloved mounted instructors, Sierra!

Sierra has been an incredibly faithful instructor to GaitWay's clients and Dream Makers for quite some time.

Sierra designs the curriculum for the Dream Makers and assists them in surpassing their levels, as well as instructing the Thursday DM lessons.

These Thursday DM lessons are always sure to be fun with Sierra's creative ideas for a unique ride. From doing patterns, to cantering barrels, to playing tag on our horses, we always look forward to spending our Thursday lessons with Sierra!

We are very thankful for Sierra's time, effort, and support poured into our clients and Dream Makers.

Thank you Sierra for everything you do!

📸: West of Jericho Photography

08/25/2026

🤠 Wild West Fest is riding back into town! 🐎

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 7th and get ready for a day of family fun, good music, great food, and plenty of Wild West excitement, all while supporting GaitWay’s horses and programs!

🐂 Take on the Mechanical Bull
🎶 Enjoy live music from Black Dirt Junction
🛍️ Shop at one of our GaitWay booths or visit the Golden Horseshoe Equestrian tent
🤠 Visit our custom hat stand
✨ Bid on awesome Silent Auction items
🩷 Enjoy family-friendly games and activities
🍔 Grab dinner from local food trucks
🐴 Snap a photo with some of your favorite GaitWay horses

Every ticket, purchase, sponsorship, and auction bid helps us continue creating opportunities for girls and women to build confidence, resilience, leadership, and connection through horsemanship and mentorship.

So come spend the day with us, bring the whole family, and help make Wild West Fest 2026 one to remember!

Check out the comments for more details! 👇

08/24/2026

Several of our participants had the opportunity to participate in or audit the Tucker Performance Horses, LLC Barrel Racing Clinic at the ranch this weekend! 🐎🛢️

We are so thankful for Haley and the time she spent sharing her knowledge, offering encouragement, and pouring into her riders. Opportunities like this give our girls the chance to learn, challenge themselves, build confidence, and gain valuable knowledge from an incredible horsewoman while learning alongside other riders.

A great time was had by all, and we’re so grateful to Haley for welcoming our ladies in the arena! 🤠🩷

08/21/2026

That’s another Barn Mentor Float Trip for the books! ☀️🛶

There’s nothing better than getting out of the barn for a day of sunshine, laughter, and time on the river together.

We had SO much fun soaking up the last bit of summer and laughing till our faces hurt. We just love getting to do life with these ladies!

Already looking forward to our next adventure!

08/19/2026

🤠 Help us make this year’s Wild West Fest bigger and better than ever! 🐎

We’re currently gearing up for one of our biggest events of the year, and we’re looking for support from our incredible community!

We are currently seeking…

⭐ Event Sponsorships: A great opportunity for local businesses and organizations to support GaitWay while being recognized throughout our Wild West Fest marketing and event material.

🎁 Silent Auction Donations: We’re looking for gift baskets, experiences, gift certificates, products, and other fun items to help us build an amazing silent auction!

Every sponsorship and donation helps make Wild West Fest possible while supporting the horses and programs at the heart of GaitWay.

Interested in getting involved? Check out the comments for more information on sponsorship opportunities or email us at [email protected] to learn how to donate an auction item.

We’d love to have you be part of Wild West Fest this year! 🌵✨

Address

5327 Liberty School Road Suite 101
Hillsboro, MO
63050

Website

https://linktr.ee/gaitwayinc

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