Running Toward Purpose: Circus, Special Needs & Radical Possibility | Jason Barrett | Ep 42

✨ "You’re not stuck. You just haven’t talked to the right mentor yet." – Jason Barrett
✨ "If you find a purpose—and the courage to follow it—you’ll surprise yourself every time." – Jason Barrett
What happens when a 12‑year‑old kid walks into a summer camp for people with profound disabilities—and never really leaves? Performer, father, and nonprofit co‑founder Jason Barrett joins Rupert Isaacson for a funny, vulnerable, and deeply inspiring conversation about service, special needs, faith, horses, circus arts, and what it really takes to build a life around purpose.

From his first summer at Camp Smile at age 12—changing diapers, pushing wheelchairs, and learning forgiveness from the people he was supposed to be "helping"—to running Ali’s School of Equestrian Arts and the touring troupe Equestrian Chaos, Jason has spent his life saying yes to hard things. Along the way he walked through Southern Baptist culture, Jehovah’s Witness ministry, corporate retail, massage therapy school, and a Dolly Parton equestrian dinner show… before hitching his future to a pregnant trick rider, two horses, and $1300 in a Honda Element.

In this episode, Jason and Rupert explore how mentorship, community, and rhythm (both equine and human) can change a life; why therapeutic riding often gets the economics and excitement wrong; and how a tiny backyard fundraiser became one of the most badass horse shows in the U.S.—all while centering neurodivergent and disabled riders.

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🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What Jason learned about gratitude, privilege, and perspective from disabled adults in diapers and wheelchairs ([00:03:00])
• Jason’s journey through Southern Baptist culture and Jehovah’s Witness ministry—and why he ultimately walked away from organized religion ([00:04:00])
• How Camp Smile and a brave youth pastor pulled 12‑year‑old Jason into the world of special needs ([00:04:18])
• Why teen volunteers are a “sweet spot” for mentorship—and how the right community can change a kid’s entire trajectory ([00:06:33])
• How neurodivergent campers taught him forgiveness, intention, and how to really see the person behind the behavior ([00:08:46])
• How leaving the corporate retail world led him toward hands‑on work, massage therapy, and back into direct service ([00:32:04])
• The love story: meeting Sise at Dolly Parton’s equestrian dinner show, an unexpected pregnancy, and starting over in Alabama with two horses and $1300 ([00:36:15])
• How Ali’s School of Equestrian Arts began at Camp Smile—and what Jason and Sise had to learn the hard way about the economics of therapeutic riding ([00:40:00])
• Jason’s 3‑part formula for getting unstuck: find purpose, seek mentors, and stop rehearsing your problems on loop ([00:43:30])
• Why Equestrian Chaos was born as a backyard fundraiser—and how COVID nearly killed the program before the show saved everything ([00:53:22])
• Why boredom is dangerous for both horses and riders—and how performance goals keep everyone mentally alive ([00:59:35])
• How they safely integrate autistic and brain‑injured riders into high‑level circus acts (including standing on galloping horses) through tiny steps, rhythm, and obsession‑based motivation ([01:05:37])

🎤 Memorable Moments from the Episode:

• Rupert’s provocative question about the Southern Baptist Church and slavery—and Jason’s honest answer about separating individuals from institutions. ([00:04:00])
• Jason’s first day at Camp Smile: a 12‑year‑old kid, a 49‑year‑old nonverbal camper, a restless lunch line—and the realization that “most of us don’t really have problems.” ([00:05:37])
• The autistic boy who ended up standing in full Hippodrome position on a running horse after months of micro‑steps (and hot Cheetos). ([00:05:37])
• Learning forgiveness from the special needs community: “You get a second chance without a slap in the face—because the relationship matters more than the mistake.” ([00:08:46])
• Jason knocking on doors as a young Jehovah’s Witness, learning public speaking and resilience from the world’s hardest audience. ([00:27:27])
• Selling everything, loading two horses into a $900 trailer, and driving home with Sise and $1300 to start a new life in Mobile. ([00:36:15])
• Realizing they were losing money running camp programs with 15–20 horses and 100 riders a week for $3000—"our budgeting was make‑believe in the real world." ([00:40:00])
• Jason’s closing counsel on spirituality and purpose: find a purpose, talk to people who’ve found theirs, and stop replaying the same painful story in your head. ([00:43:30])
• COVID hits: programs shut down, savings run out, and Equestrian Chaos (the show) becomes the only way to keep the herd—and the mission—alive. ([00:53:22])
• A 70‑year‑old woman in tears at the rail: “You just put my 70‑year dream on display. I was the first woman to compete in mounted archery when they didn’t want us to ride.” ([01:06:39])

📚 Books and Projects Mentioned:

• Equestrian Chaos – touring equestrian circus & mounted archery show 
• Celisse’s School of Equestrian Arts – therapeutic riding & performance‑based horsemanship 
• Camp Smile – the special needs summer camp where it all began 
• New Trails Learning Systems – Movement Method & Horse Boy Method 
• Helios Harmony – classical dressage training in the style of the old masters Website: https://equestrianchaos.com

🌍 See All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows:

Website: https://rupertisaacson.com

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