Helen Hilgeman is riding alone in a pasture in Virginia Beach when it happens. The sun is out, her horse, Sampson, is steady beneath her, and the ground starts to look—in her words—like a beautiful, vast ocean rising up to meet the beauty of the sky pouring down. This warmth spreads over her and through her, filling her with peace.
“It feels like the glory of God is raining down,” Helen says, glowing. This isn’t a one-time occurrence either. Riding has always been Helen’s happy place and, even though she’s 91, she still goes trail riding by herself several times a week.
She also barrel races. Yes, at nearly a century, she still runs barrels, the same thing she’s been doing since she was a teenager. And people often mistake her for someone half her age. So, how does she do it?
Longevity in something deeper than workouts
When I ask Helen what’s kept her strong enough to swing a leg over a horse in her 90s, she doesn’t credit her gym routine. Though, she does have an exercise regimen that would make some people a quarter of her age seem like couch potatoes (she spends three to four days a week at the Princess Anne Family YMCA, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, lifting weights and running circuits). She also doesn’t credit healthy eating, family, or hobbies—although she certainly has all those as well…