By Delaney Crawford
Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted activities to improve the mind, body and spirit through horsemanship skills.
Located at 220 Leap Street in EHT, Hearts was founded in 2011 and serves riders beginning at just four years old. The riders are individuals with an emotional, cognitive or physical challenge, and all lessons are taught by certified therapeutic riding instructors. All instructors at Hearts are certified by PATH International.
Stefanie Green became the director in 2020 and shared that the program has continued to grow since its start.
“In 2020, we had 35 riders a week come out, and now we have around 100 every week.”
Each lesson is tailored to the individual riders and their needs. Some riders need no volunteers, while others may need two or three. Typically, lessons involve one to two riders, and the objective is to improve a certain riding skill. However, the actual riding objective in each lesson is usually hidden in a game, trail ride or different activities in the saddle. The team gets creative with its lesson plans to make learning fun for everyone.
“I love the impact we get to have on our participants. I love to see the smiles that happen here and the life-changing moments our riders go through. I love hearing the stories from the parents about how their rider has achieved a milestone they never thought possible, and they attribute it to their time here and the horses,” Green said.
In order to continue growing the program, Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center has recently announced the construction of a brand-new indoor riding arena. The Timbrook Family Arena will be a 70-by-160-foot indoor arena, along with a barn extension, full classroom, larger storage spaces, and a new tack and feed room.
Green shared that this project will help the entire program function more smoothly.
“This will increase access to services for us. Some of our riders can’t ride in certain weather or in the cold. Only about 20 to 30% of our normal riders can ride throughout the winter,” Green shared. “It will also increase mounted times. If it’s raining or windy, we can still do mounted work. And we can increase services, hold lessons until later or start earlier through the winter.”
While the Timbrook Family is the title sponsor and, thanks to their generosity, the funds to fully build the arena have been secured, Hearts is also hosting a fundraising campaign called “Raise the Barn” to help with some of the finishing work. Funds from the campaign will go toward outfitting the arena so it can best serve the program’s needs.
“It will also allow us to grow and become a center for education, not only for riders but for staff,” Green said. “We would like to be able to provide more training for people who are looking to get into this industry, and that classroom space will help with that. It will also make it easier to expand our mental health program.”
In addition to riding lessons, Hearts also offers mental health groups that come out and work with the horses and trainers alongside their therapists. Green shared that these groups work on things like boundaries, confidence and communication. Having more designated indoor spaces where they can hold private sessions will allow them to expand this program as well.
They also offer a Horses for Heroes program for active and retired military personnel, as well as first responders. This program involves working with the horses both on the ground and in the saddle. Hearts is pleased to offer the program free of charge to participants, with expenses covered through scholarships and grant funding.
With all of this going on, Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center relies heavily on volunteers and community support. Those interested in volunteering or contributing to the Raise the Barn campaign can find more information on their website at heartstrc.org.
In just 15 years, Hearts has been able to change the lives of so many people, from young to old. Through its programs, the organization continues to give riders opportunities to grow, achieve milestones and experience the many benefits of working with horses.
“Horses give everything. They teach a level of calmness that can’t be taught,” Green said. “They have a calm, protective energy about them that soothes our riders. They provide sensory input for our riders with autism, creating a calm environment that allows the rider to absorb other things. They just really create a safe space for our riders.”
As Hearts looks toward the future, the new indoor arena will provide more opportunities to serve riders, expand its programs and welcome even more people to experience the power of horses.
“I hope the future of this place is that it continues to be a safe place for not just our riders but their families and support groups, where they can come, feel included, thrive, achieve goals inside and outside the arena, and just feel and experience the magic of working with horses,” Green said.
Delaney Crawford is a dynamic entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling and digital marketing. Driven by a desire to empower local businesses, Delaney founded DLC Media, a company dedicated to helping businesses enhance their brand image and thrive online.
