She Got Thrown. She Fell Off. She Won.

Life Coaching Tip: Resilience isn’t about avoiding the falls. It’s about how quickly you get back up. My client Ann has proven this again and again, from getting thrown off a horse mid-competition and climbing right back on, to showing a green, unpredictable horse through a painful back injury and still landing Reserve Champion. She’s the longest-standing member of Shine On, having been part of every single round since it began, and her story is a masterclass in persevering through setbacks instead of letting them define you. Read on to see how Ann keeps proceeding as if success is inevitable, no matter what gets in her way.

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Years ago, Ann Winegar was competing in an equestrian jumping competition when she and her horse hit a rough patch. She was anxious and out of alignment, and she fell off, landing hard.

Everyone assumed she was done for the day.

But to everyone’s surprise, Ann got back on the horse.

She found her way back into alignment and into the zone. She created a oneness with her horse, and then she nailed every jump and won the competition. 

That’s one of my favorite Ann stories, because it illustrates her courage and sense of adventure.  It’s who she is. 

Then, a few weeks ago, Ann shared another story in the Shine On community that once again, inspired us to the moon and back!

This time, Ann was showing her new horse, Archer, in the final two shows of a summer series. But she almost didn’t go at all. She’d strained an intercostal muscle in her back, the kind of injury that makes it hurt to take a deep breath or sneeze.

Archer is still green and learning, and he sometimes gets strong in the show ring. That Friday’s practice lasted only a couple of jumps before the pain stopped Ann cold.

But she still went into that Saturday with an open mind. She told herself she’d let the day unfold and listen to her body. She competed in the jumping classes and skipped the flat classes, the pain too much to push through those.

By Sunday, she felt a little better. She and Archer competed in all five of their classes, and she said it was some of their best riding yet.

They ended up Reserve Champion for the entire summer show series. How freaking cool is that?

This is Ann: hurt, uncertain, riding a green horse she’d fallen in love with anyway, and still finding her way to the ribbons.

Ann’s favorite quote is: Proceed as if success is inevitable.

And her advice:

“When I think things are not going my way, or that I have failed (like when I’m sitting in the dirt after falling off a horse), I remind myself to persevere because my next great success could be the next moment.”

Ann is the OG of Shine On. She has been part of every single round since the very beginning, all seven of them.

She first started coaching with me back in 2019, a month after her father passed away, in the middle of rebuilding her life after years as his caregiver.

In her first round of Shine On, Ann adopted her first dog, cleared out and sold her father’s house, closed out his estate as executor, bought a truck and camper and taught herself to back it into a tight spot, traveled over 10,000 miles across 29 states, found her dream job without even submitting a resume, got back into running, restarted her novel, and had a personal essay win 16th place in a national contest.

And that was just the beginning.

Since then, Ann has launched and grown EnviroLearn, a training and resource business for environmental professionals, while working full-time as an environmental consultant. She’s run multiple long-distance races, including two half marathons. She took up watercolor painting, with a soft spot for painting dogs, and enrolled in an illustration course with hopes of one day writing a children’s book starring her pup, Cora. She even tried improv for a season.

And she’s returned to equestrian riding and show jumping, the very passion she’d set aside years earlier to build her business.

Ann has so many ideas flowing through her at any given time that she started keeping an “ideas journal” just to stay focused on today’s goals without losing tomorrow’s dreams.

Ann is proof that bold steps and self-investment compound. The more she takes on, the more energized, fulfilled, and alive she becomes.

If you’ve been circling the idea of joining Shine On, let Ann’s story inspire you. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be pain-free or fully prepared. You just have to be willing to get started on the adventure and get back on the horse whenever you fall off.

xo Tracy

PS – If Ann’s story has you thinking about what’s possible for you, mark your calendar, my friend. Enrollment for the next round of Shine On opens October 7, 2026 and runs through October 21, 2026. Space is limited.

And if you’d like priority access, secure your place at the front of the line by scheduling a complimentary consultation now: https://calendly.com/movingforwardlifecoaching/shineon?month=2026-09