Meet Kristi Hurley | Educator & Equine Assisted Learning Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristi Hurley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My name is Kristi Hurley, and I am the owner and founder of The Giggling Life Care Farm. The thought process behind starting my business all stemmed from overcoming many obstacles and tragedies throughout my life, and especially within the last 14 years.

It all started with the devastating loss of my 21 yr. old brother in 2006, his best friend also in 2006, financial devastation in 2008, our house burning down in 2015, losing my son’s best friend and roommate at age 23 in 2017, to yet another devastating loss of my 18 yr. old nephew in 2018.

Oddly enough, my positivity came from surviving these tragedies and traumas over the years. It was after many years of struggling, going from one tragedy to another, I knew there had to be a better way to live. I knew there was so much more to life and the hard lessons that I was learning, and I knew I had to figure it all out. That is when I became a full-time student to find ways to retrain my brain and shift my thoughts.

After many years of research, classes and training, I was able to shift my entire life, and I am so grateful that I did! Now, all of my dreams are coming true. I am able to share with children & adults the benefits of living life with gratitude, and all of the tools that have enhanced my daily life so much.

Through any tragedy there can be beauty. We may not see it for quite some time, but it will be there, you just have to learn to find it. For me, on my journey, I found healing in being outdoors as well as being in the presence of all of my animals. This package of unplugging, being outdoors, and sharing time with animals became my basis of healing, not only for me, but so many others in my family.

This is where my thoughts of creating The Giggling Life Care Farm were formed. I realized something beautiful was happening…and it felt truly amazing! I realized that all I had gone through in my life was for a reason, and it had finally all come together.

l love learning, & I love helping others who are struggling or have struggled, by giving them simple steps to overcome obstacles in their lives! I have a passion for teaching children how to live a life each day with gratitude, implement daily positivism into their lives, believe in themselves, be kind, hard workers, be respectful, use manners, communication skills, learning to dream big, believe in their dreams, all in a very simplistic way…through being outdoors and interacting and creating relationships with these animals.

I truly love what I do and am so grateful that it is so beneficial for ALL of us! I see amazing things happen here at The Giggling Life Care Farm; I just wish I could share all of them with everyone. It is truly MAGIC!

I have the pleasure of watching children connect with animals, and I get to see such incredible changes by letting them form these relationships with them, they truly can help heal our souls…even when we don’t think we need it. The animals help us to build confidence, learn patience, communicate, and so much more!

It has been such an incredible journey for me, and as I reflect on how this business came to life, and where my thoughts were, I realize it was such a gift, one that I will be forever grateful for!

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Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe that what sets me apart from so many others in my industry, is that my business was created out of love and my personal healing. I am so deeply connected to every aspect of my business, because it has helped me to heal in so many ways, and it has changed my life 100%. I was my own student, trying to heal and move forward, without even realizing that someday what I created would become a successful business of helping others to do the same!

As of today, I am most proud of staying true to myself with my business. Creating a space where I find safe, comforting, healing, inspiring, challenging, and fun has been amazing. Being able to watch kids come through that barn gate and let out their stress, run, laugh, get dirty, be creative, and getting back to having good old-fashioned fun, has been a dream come true for me!

Creating this dream, The Giggling Life Care Farm definitely came with many challenges. First, I had absolutely no extra money to start this business, not one dime. I started with 2 bunnies, 2 horses, 2 donkeys, 1 pony, and 4 chickens. I had no idea who would ever come to our little Care Farm, nor did I know how to find clients. However, I did not let that get in the way of attaining my goals. I reached out to everyone I knew and let them all know what I was doing. Every single one of them thought I was crazy, but I kept going. I received one horseback riding client, that led to two, which let to 2 students for my Farm Programs, which then led to 4, and so the story continues! I kept putting one foot in front of the other each day, and each day I was grateful for whatever I was given, and I believe this was the key to my success.

We have overcome many challenges in our 3 years. I was injured badly in March of 2020 where I broke both of my legs, had compartment syndrome, and broken ribs, then COVID struck the following week. Our business was unsure if we would be able to continue, just like everyone else. Luckily, we were only closed for a month and were able to open our doors, as families needed a place to go outdoors and feel a little bit of normalcy in such a crazy world.

I do believe that overcoming such challenging obstacles, and our success, has truly been to the amount of love, passion, and gratitude for what I do. It is very hard work, as we now have 7 horses, 1 pony, 1 steer, 3 donkeys, 4 sheep, 70 chickens, 6 ducks, and 8 rabbits! The workload to maintain their health and proper care, as well as the maintaining the property, creating Afterschool and Homeschool curriculums, buying supplies, getting clients, taking care of clients, organizing schedules, websites, etc. takes so much effort and time. However, I enjoy every moment of what I do, as I know this has been such a gift to not only my family, but so many others as well!

The most important thing I would love everyone to know about The Giggling Life Care Farm is that this is such a healing place. Our space gives everyone the opportunity to disconnect from our crazy world, disconnect from our screens, any technology, and get back to what is so important, being outdoors, enjoying the beauty of the animals, getting dirty, letting go of stress, communicating, and just learning from the beauty of nature and the pure love that the animals have to offer us.

I want to educate everyone on the importance of living life with gratitude, getting back to nature, enjoying the silence, the dirt, the lessons that we can learn from what the different seasons offer us, to be still, and enjoy every single moment!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I were to entertain friends here in our hometown, I believe I would start by taking them to the mountains! I absolutely love the mountains in every season, as their beauty is just so powerful. Maybe shopping in Estes Park, skiing at Copper Mountain, and of course depending on season, seeing a performance at Red Rocks Ampitheatre. We also love going to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. What a beautiful little zoo, everyone should enjoy it!

I love eating at Teocalli in Lafeyette, Adelitas in Denver, honestly everywhere in Denver is great!

We live in a fantastic city where there is so much to do! We are so lucky to live here!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to credit those in my journey to success. I would not be where I am today without reading ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne, and studying all of her work, as well as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield, Andy Andrews, Chris Widner, Dr. Joe Vitale, and SO many other amazing authors.

I would also love to thank my husband Jon Hurley for always believing in me and pushing me to go after my dreams, as well as Nichole Meneley, for always pushing and guiding me to exceed my limits! I am beyond grateful for all of the amazing mentors in my life!

Website: www.thegigglinglife.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegigglinglife