Cowboys Racing Ltd is a new initiative in Southeastern Manitoba that aims to raise mental health awareness while sharing a love for ATVing. A journey of recovery Three years ago, Ryan Ward was struck by a drunk driver, leaving him with a brain injury that affected his speech, walking, and daily life. Unable to work, his wife became his full-time caregiver for nearly three years. After making significant progress, Ward applied for a job on a farm last year, where he met Brian Brown, who he now calls ‘Pops.’ “Little did I know that by applying at that farm, it would become a father-son relationship and that through the power of positive reinforcement and through the power of, ‘You can do this and we're going to work through it together,’ that I would get back on an ATV because I was told I would never ride a motorcycle or an ATV again.” Getting back in the saddle Ward says he faced many challenges and moments of doubt, but Brown was always there to support him. “Pops was very encouraging and helping me do that, and so we got back on the saddle, we entered her first mud bog back in June, and I fell in love with it again.” Ward lives with PTSD and ADHD, but being in a mud bog brings him relief. “It all goes away, and it's something that I do because it helps my mental health, and that's why I believe it would help others as well.” Building Cowboys Racing Ward, Brown, and their team created the Cowboys Racing ATV race team to help those dealing with mental health, brain injury, and addiction. “It's been quite the run. We started out with literally nothing doing this, and we've now brought on two other guys that also have some difficulties in their life, and they race for us, and we just help them out where we can, and we're there to be that backing for them.” Ward says that while some people look down on the ATV community, he has discovered something different. “We're really starting to find is that the ATV mud bogging community is really a bunch of cool guys.” By sharing his own struggles, Ward hopes others will feel less alone. “I wanted to tell my story, and I wanted my story to encourage others who may be in that community or even just out in society that it's ok to not be ok.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cowboys Racing Ltd (@cowboys_racing_ltd) Breaking stigmas and building connections Brown says that while Cowboys Racing was created to support others, the founding members themselves have grown closer and worked through personal challenges together. “We've noticed a lot just within our us four that we've worked through a lot of stuff between each other to help each other just in our little group even already.” Ward adds that breaking the stigma around men’s mental health is one of their key goals. “That's where we want to love people and accept them for who they are and not for what people in society think they should be, and it's been great so far.” A growing movement Though still new, Cowboys Racing is quickly gaining interest. “We're noticing that people want to. They love the initiative, they love the message behind it, and it's a message of hope, and that's what we want to spread.” The group is hosting an event on Saturday, August 30 at Reynold’s Ponds to connect with the community. The start time is 10 a.m. “We want to have you there, we want the kids to come out. We definitely have some stuff that we're going to be able to give away at that point to people that come out, and stickers, and so forth. We want to try to involve the community as much as we can.” To follow their journey, Ward encourages people to check out Cowboys Racing on Facebook and Instagram. “There they could see our story, they could see our mission statements, they can see what we've done in the past already, and always looking to bring in more people definitely, and we're always looking for support from the community.” Ward and Brown are grateful for the encouragement they’ve received so far. “Just thanks to all of our other sponsors and those are behind us and helping us to move forward,” says Brown. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for mental health crisis support.