Body Proud: "What I Love About My Body"

More About Haley

Haley Didier, 24, assistant ranch manager, Fort Collins, Colorado

A typical day has me stacking and loading up to 30 bales of hay, cleaning animal pens, and hoisting massive garage doors. My abs are the first muscles I call on for every task: When riding a quarter horse at full speed across the prairie as I round up mares, I need to keep my core contracted and my back straight to maintain my balance and follow the horse's motion. Animals can sense when you're in control. If I were wobbling around with a weak center of gravity, the horses wouldn't have any confidence in me and might even try to buck me.

Before this job, I struggled with my body image for years. I never appreciated how my body could serve me in the way that it has. Now I look in the mirror and feel strong, confident, and powerful.