Image by Eleanor Smith

I have a little heart-shaped, green stress ball on my Standsome standing desk. It says in Norwegian «Hva banker ditt hjerte for?» which in English means something along the lines of «What does your heart beat for?» or «What are you passionate about?». Why am I telling you this? Let me explain.

The stress ball is from the Norwegian Mental Health Awareness Day (10 October) Verdensdagen.no («Verdensdagen for psykisk helse»). I picked it up at a Red Cross event a couple of years back. It really is the prop of the week if I were to choose one object to illustrate what my business (Eleanor Smith Communications) is about.

Today I am writing about following your passion and sharing it with others, and using your skills to brighten someone else’s day.

This week I did actually manage to follow my passion in a way that I have not been able to do before. It was like the pieces of a jigsaw falling into place. A natural combination that should have happened ages ago: horses, nature, rehabilitation, prison, and photography.

Horse therapy for women in prison

Those of you who know me, know that I love horses and that I have been horse riding basically since I could walk.

What you probably don’t know is that for the first time, I have managed to combine my passion for horses with another passion, helping people who find themselves in a difficult place in their lives (either due to drug abuse, encarceration or mental health issues).

I have written extensively about my integration and rehabilitation volunteer work with the Red Cross (rock climbing and prisoner rehab activities) and also touched upon my involvement with the UK prison art charity Koestler Awards last year (see my previous articles).

However this week marks the first time that I was involved in horse therapy. It has long been a dream of mine. Finding an opportunity has, however, been harder than expected.

International Women’s Day

On Monday this week, we were a group of twelve women taking part in horse therapy together on a sunny day, way up a mountain on the outskirts of Bergen. Our group was made up of four inmates, a prison guard, a health professional and researcher, her assistent, two students, and three of us from local charities.

It struck me as very fitting for International Women’s Day (08 March) and I felt grateful for being able to mark the event in such a meaningful way.

This is going to be a regular activity from now on, taking place every two weeks on a Monday. It is organised by a local charity CRUX Kalfarhuset together with another, WayBack Bergen, and Høgskulen på Vestlandet (more about their horse therapy activities here), and the local prison, Bergen Fengsel.

As my Red Cross activities have been put on hold for several months over the last year due to COVID19, I have become increasingly involved with CRUX Kalfarhuset in Bergen. They have managed to continue with social hikes several times a week and on one of the hikes I found out about their horse therapy activities. I kept going on about it until I made the right connection and was invited to join.

My job: Take pictures & ensure a lasting memory

As we were so many this week, my main role was to document the day by taking photographs. I spoke with everyone, helped them prepare their horses and of course took lots of pictures.

I took several portrait pictures and also anonymised pictures during the ride that can be used for promotion.

The beauty of photography is that you can capture moments and immortalise them. These pictures mean that the good memories from the day can be relived instantly .

As I write, these portrait pictures have been delivered (today!), printed on proper photo paper, to the four women in prison and are maybe already on a wall somewhere or on a desk. A memory of a sunny day. A promise of a bright future. Hope. Possibilities.

Would you like to see more pictures from the day? Have a look at my “Horse therapy” photo album! For pictures taken on horseback: “Between the ears of a horse”.

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Do you work in mental health? Do you need a hand with your communications?

I am a multilingual writer, content editor, copy-editor, proofreader and public relations specialist who helps organisations to make an impact. I am also a photographer who loves to capture animals, buildings, nature & people.

Find out more on my website https://eleanorsmith.no/ and here about my commitment to mental health and rehabilitation.