ATV racing group seeking to bring awareness to mental health, addictions

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This article was published 15/08/2025 (223 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A newly formed ATV racing club is hoping to bring awareness to mental health and addiction issues one race at a time.

About three years ago, Ryan Ward suffered a major brain injury after his car was struck by a drunk driver. That collision sidelined him where he was told he would never ride ATVs and motorcycles again. Just last month with three other guys he formed the ATV racing group, Cowboys Racing Ltd., where Ward is the vice-president.

“Last year, I came across an employer who spiritually adopted me as his son…he was able to get my confidence back up and work with me to the point where we were able to start a racing team,” said Ward.

“When that started, I really wanted the racing team to be built on people who suffered from mental health, people who suffered from brain injury, people who suffered from close concussions injuries, people who suffered from addictions.”

Ward has been sober for almost nine years from heroin and alcohol. He said he really wanted to build a team with the focus on no matter who you are and no matter where you come from that you’re going to be loved and accepted.

He said when he was dealing with stress and anxiety he would race with the ATV and all his mental health issues would disappear “in that pit.”

“It’s something that brought a peace to my life and that’s what it did for me and we firmly believe that’s what it can do for other people,” he said.

Ward also noted that as a man, getting mental health support is difficult as there is a stigma associated with men sharing their feelings when they’re struggling.

“One of the hardest things for me was that I just felt like nobody listened and nobody cared and back when I was dealing with my addiction, I wished people would have been quick to listen and slow to speak,” he said.

For Jeremy Wiens, co-founder of the Southeast Men’s Group, a support group that helps men struggling with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, the news of the Cowboys Racing team is welcome. He echoed Ward’s sentiments that there is a stigma to men sharing their feelings if they’re struggling mentally and are told to, “Suck it up, be a man.”

“The fact that they’re bringing awareness – it’s very easy to get stigmatized. You can’t talk about it you just have to suffer in silence I think is how a lot of men feel, but we can bring awareness that it’s a real thing and we actually need to have open dialogue about it and it’s an awesome thing.”

In 2023, 17 percent of men aged 15 and older reported fair or poor mental health with only 30 percent accessing mental health services.

While there are four members on the team, Ward plans on cycling out the members every year so that more people have the opportunity of being part of the racing group.

Ward and his team will be racing at the Hanover Ag Fair Aug. 16 and on Aug. 30 they’ve organized an all ages ride at Reyonld’s Pond near Richer.