Riding Through the Unknown with Ashley Sanders

Riding Through the Unknown with Ashley Sanders

From Pivot Point of View by Pivot Point

March 6, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

Ashley Sanders shares her journey of living with complex medical conditions and her determination to pursue her passion for barrel racing.

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Ashley Sanders — a nurse, horse trainer, and professional barrel racer who refuses to let a complex medical condition define her life. Ashley shares her journey living with cranio cervical instability and functional movement disorder, conditions that left her with frightening and debilitating symptoms — including episodes where her neck would completely lock up, leaving her unable to rotate her head at all. For years, Ashley searched for answers while navigating a medical system that often dismissed her symptoms or suggested they were psychological. Instead of giving up, she kept advocating for herself, pushing for testing, and seeking the truth behind what her body was experiencing. In this conversation, Ashley opens up about: • What her symptoms actually felt like • The frustration of being dismissed by the medical community • The tests that finally validated what she knew was real • How she continues to pursue her passion for horses and barrel racing despite the challenges Ashley’s story is one of resilience, self-advocacy, and determination. If you’ve ever felt unheard in the medical system or wondered how someone keeps going when…

People in this episode

Guest: Ashley Sanders

Topics covered

  • health
  • resilience
  • self-advocacy
  • medical conditions
  • barrel racing

Keywords

  • cranio cervical instability
  • functional movement disorder
  • medical system
  • self-advocacy

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Riding Through the Unknown

More episodes of Pivot Point of View

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Pivot Point of View podcast page.