Trail of GRACE
Green Trees Farm gives people a place to reflect and heal
Story and photos by BRANDY CRUZ
“The pasture, the trees … everything … it makes me feel grateful for what we have here,” Lynda Schumann, co-owner of Green Trees Farm, said.
Schumann’s love for the beauty of nature helped inspire her to create a Grace Trail on her farm in 2020 to help people suffering from traumatic events or just release life’s stress.
“We were all shut down and I felt everyday that I was blessed to walk out and see beauty everywhere, and breathe, and hear all the sounds and be next to these great creatures called horses,” Schumann said. “I felt like my cup was being filled, but nobody else’s was.”
While learning about an equine assisted learning program, Schumann was on a Zoom call when the moderator asked what everyone was doing to stay connected during the COVID-19 lockdown. A woman in Pennsylvania mentioned she was creating a Grace Trail, so after the Zoom call ended, Schumann called the lady and asked her about it. That’s when she first heard the name Anne Barry Jolles, the woman whose creative vision first inspired Grace Trail Inc. more than 20 years ago.
“Who would have thought that an inner voice I heard at one of the most challenging times in my life would blossom into this wonderful thing called Grace Trail? How did that happen,” Jolles said. “In 2000, I was in my kitchen feeling beaten and discouraged. At that low moment, I saw and heard these five Grace words and questions. And here I am, 23 years later, sharing it with anyone who can benefit from it.”
Inspired by Jolles’ story and wanting to pay it forward by helping others, Schumann licensed a trail kit and by doing so, worked directly with Jolles to design and install a Grace Trail on her 90-acre farm in Troy.
While there are Grace Trail’s located across the United States, Green Trees Farm’s Grace Trail is the first to be licensed in Texas, the first on private property and the first on a horse farm. Schumann said that horses are empathetic by nature, so after reflecting on the five components of GRACE — Gratitude, Release, Acceptance, Challenge and Embrace — the horses act as nature’s siphon to help release that turmoil.
“Horses are prey animals, but they allow us, as predators, on their backs. Because they’re so gentle and they have such big hearts, they can feel what you feel. They feel angst and emotions and anger and they can somehow take that out of you if you ground yourself,” Schumann said. “You have to ground yourself in the moment and we, as humans, are rarely in the moment. Our heads are going in 40 million different directions, so when you go into the arena to work with the horses, you have to ground yourself. When they (participants) just sit and become one, the horses will go up to who needs them, and put their noses on them. It’s really lovely.”
She said what she likes to tell people is, “Think about what is in your control and what is out of your control. Let go of what you can’t control.” The powerful quote came from Jolles’ book, “Grace Trail: Find Your Footing and Move Toward the Life You Were Meant to Live.”
After opening three years ago, the Green Trees Farm Grace Trail finally hosted its official grand opening on Oct. 14, with Jolles in attendance.
“Grace Trail venues have been installed all around the United States, but the Schumann farm is special, in particular, because it represents the first horse farm in the U.S. to contain a Grace Trail. Now, as I start to learn about the wonderful people living in Central Texas, I can see an authenticity that is unique in all of the country, and I have grown to love the attitude and respect that is so freely given here,” Jolles said.
“I cherish all of the Grace Trail licensees, but like her family farm, Lynda is a uniquely special and caring person. Can you imagine caring for dozens of horses, ponies and one’s family every day? With that type of love and non-stop activity, the Grace Trail fits right in to Lynda’s life. No matter where on the farm she is, she can take a breather and ask herself ‘What am I grateful for?’ right there and now. It’s an amazing thing to witness.”
The Green Trees Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and funded mostly through donations. Grace Trail Inc. is a commercial endeavor, and every Grace Trail installed across the country is intended to be unique in its terrain and custom routes, so as to reflect its designer and location. Jolles has introduced a variety of ways people can make their own Grace Trail at the location they choose, and recently even introduced a “Trail in a Box,” which is a Grace Trail that is mailed to people in a reusable envelope. The users take the signs from the envelope, hang them on the walls, and “walk” the Grace Trail with family members and friends, wherever they might find themselves.
“It’s is a great stocking stuffer to give to loved ones and friends,” Jolles said.
Trail Kits can be ordered directly though the Grace Trail website, gracetrail.com. At Green Trees Farm, walkers have three trail options, depending on their preference. One is a quarter-mile trail; one is a half-mile trail and the third is a 1.1-mile trail. While participants walk their preferred trail, each stop poses a question for reflection. Each G-R-A-C-E sign station poses the five questions on carved rock boulders for user reflection as the walk or sit on benches:
Gratitude — What am I grateful for?
Release — What do I need to release?
Acceptance — What do I need to accept?
Challenge — What is my next challenge?
Embrace — What can I embrace as possible?
Schumann said the trail has helped first responders, trauma victims, military veterans and even service members suffering from traumatic brain injuries. As someone who has suffered from two traumatic brain injuries, she said being able to help military personnel is very close to her heart, and she’s happy to assist in any way she can.
“I don’t do anything. I just allow them to be in the presence of the horses,” Schumann added. “It’s a powerful experience.”
Green Trees Farm Grace Trail
Address: 2520 Rock Road, Troy
Phone: 254-624-4919
Website: GreenTreesFarm.com
Social: facebook.com/greentreesfarm
Grace Trail Inc., Plymouth, MA
Phone: 617-680-2251
Email: Anne@GraceTrail.com
Website: www.GraceTrail.com
Official Grace Trail Social: instagram.com/gracetrailofficial
