Jodie Morton: On a Mission

Horses are used in therapeutic activities throughout the world. Be it a backyard horse bringing a smile to a young child’s face, a horse used in a hippotherapy program aiding physically challenged riders, or a horse ridden to bring awareness to a message, there is something healing about these massive four-legged animals. When Jodie Morton needed comfort following the loss of two dear friends, she sought a return to the horses that brought her joy when she was younger. 

The Australian native grew up loving horses, starting riding lessons at 5. She got her own horse at 16. When she was 24, she moved to Colorado after completing a master’s degree and began to work for IBM. She also spent three summers working as a wrangler at a local ranch, still looking to fill her heart with horses.  

“I was at the ranch in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the last year I was there, one of my friends and coworkers passed away by suicide,” she says. “That was the first time I’d been personally impacted by suicide. Then the following year, 2017, was when I lost Catherine, who I called my grandma, who lived back in Australia. I was actually over in the States at the time, and nobody told me until the day before I came back. By that time, the funeral  had already happened. It was really strange because I felt kind of guilty and awful because I wasn’t having a serious emotional reaction at all.”

Embarking on Epic Rides

Between losing her friend and grandma, the emotions hit Morton like a tidal wave the day she returned to work. The weight of guilt from not being able to aide others weighed on her, and she decided to do something that would bring awareness to the issue instead of focusing on her own feelings. 

“I’d heard about this trail that goes from one side of Australia to the other,” Morton recalls. “The common ground between Sarah and my grandma was that they both lived in rural areas and they both were really passionate about horses. I decided that the best way to actually do something was to grab a team of horses and ride through rural areas and fundraise for mental health and talk about it. I feel like the more that we talk about it and even just bring it into general conversation, the more comfortable people will be discussing the topic, talking about their experiences, and hopefully inspiring others on their own journey through their struggles.”

She launched the Green, Gold and Blues project in August of 2017, dedicated to raising awareness for depression and mental health. Morton created a website, blog, and social media (@greengoldandblues) to bring awareness as well as track her progress on the ride. She says an injury like a broken arm is visible, but those struggling with mental health issues often bear that weight alone. 

The ride on the Bicentennial National Trail from Queensland to Victoria began in April 2018, when Australia was in a drought. While her ride was cut short of her goal of trekking 3,300 miles due to no water availability on her route, Morton still impacted rural communities and worked through her own emotions.

“It takes so much courage to even be able to share emotions, especially in the rural community, and especially with the drought going on in Australia,” she says. “The rural communities were the ones that were being hit extra hard by depression and suicide rates. It was so special, and I just felt like it was such a privilege for people to trust me enough that they felt comfortable sharing their own stories with me.”

Morton returned to the United States and planned a new long-distance ride, the Continental Divide Trail. Through connections on social media and in Colorado, she gathered horses, supplies, and planned a route. The ride started in Wyoming in 2019 and completed after 900 miles aboard her horses, Tigger, who traveled 300 miles, and Thelma, who completed 600 miles.

“The Continental Divide Trail was tough,” Morton recalls. “I still look back at it now and go, that was so awesome! You go into some really weird places when you have that much time by yourself. I call them ‘trail thoughts’ because you don’t have any interruptions from the outside world, and you get to really live inside your head. It was good to be able to work through some things without any external distractions. It’s so easy to use [social media] as a distraction from something that you really need to address.”

Sharing Her Journey

While Morton’s current full-time job keeps her from long-distance riding, she intends to do it again. Her rides after work and on weekends remind her to stay present, to avoid unhealthy situations, and to continue to advocate for mental health awareness with the Green, Gold and Blues project.

“At no point growing up did I ever think that I was going be a mental health advocate,” she says. “I’ve done mental health first aid, but I’m not formally trained as a psychiatrist or a psychologist. I’m more than happy to help people with finding resources—but I am not a resource. But the impact that you make on others, I think that’s the driving force for me sharing my journey. And by sharing [on social media], so many people say the sounds of the horses moving across the country is like equine ASMR, and for them, and for me, hearing that silence—except for hoofbeats—is therapy for the day. This is what brings me peace.”  

Learn more about the Green, Gold and Blues project at greengoldandblues.com.

This article about Jodie Morton appeared in the February 2024 issue of Western Life Today magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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