Joanna Gaines is proving that it's never too late to pursue your passions.
The 46-year-old opens up about a newfound hobby — horseback riding — that's reawakened her childhood sense of wonder in the summer 2024 issue of Magnolia Journal, TODAY.com can exclusively reveal.
“You see, riding a horse has been a wish of mine ever since I was a little girl. I’ve always longed to know how it would feel to fly, so wild, so free. And the back of a horse seemed the surest way possible,” she writes in the magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday, May 17.
Although she’s dreamed of riding a horse for decades, Gaines notes that she never did for one relatable reason.
“Of course, as I got older and witnessed enough people get injured or bucked off, that was that. Fear, as it’s known to do, rooted itself deeper than any childhood dream ever could,” she writes in her monthly note.
Gaines says her husband, Chip Gaines, has never been able to relate to her delayed dream.
"Chip has never understood why I’d stall a curiosity that was still clearly in my subconscious. Why I’d delay a dream that I could, somewhat easily, wake up and try tomorrow. But if you’ve ever felt the way fear can creep in and shadow curiosity or how insecurity can quiet a desire, then you understand," she writes.
Like many people, Gaines says she focused more on responsibility and became more rational as she grew up. As a result, she wasn’t fond of anything that could be deemed “reckless.”
“When you crave security and stability, it doesn’t take long to forget to exercise the muscles that once let you live more curiously," she writes.
Over time, the "Fixer Upper" star realized that she had to exercise her curiosity muscles to keep them working.
“It hit me that one day I may not be able to wake up and say, ‘All right, I’m ready to go ride a horse.’ I started to feel that inner whisper again, some 40 years later. Only this time it was telling me it was time to be brave before it’s too late,” she writes.
When Gaines' youngest son Crew began taking horseback riding lessons last fall, the proud mom seized the opportunity to tag along.
"A few weeks into watching him trot around on a pony named Violet, I asked his coach if she might have room for one more student," she writes. "As I write this, I’m only a couple of months into lessons — and trust me, you’ve never seen a horse move slower. There’s been absolutely no indication that I’ll be riding at record-breaking speed in any version of the future."
Gaines still says a prayer every time she mounts a horse, but she's also learning to loosen up.
“I’m relearning what it feels like to get out of my head and let instinct take the reins, which for me looks like living more curiously, more courageously ... There was a time when I would have convinced myself it would be wise to play it safe. But today, I’m surer than ever that the best thing for me looks like getting on a horse that might scare me — and yet — still letting instinct tell us both where to go," she writes.
The theme of the summer Magnolia Journal issue is “Reclaim: the practice of rediscovery; finding your way back to the people and places and plans that make you feel whole.” In her editor's letter, Gaines elaborates more on her passion for horseback riding.
"I’ve found that I feel most like myself when I move through life with a childlike spirit. When I’m experimenting with a new design, braving a horseback riding lesson, or walking in the garden with Crew and seeing it through his eyes—those kinds of things wake up the best parts of me," she writes.