Mission Statement
The mission of the Ride Away Center is threefold:
To wake up the bodies and minds of physically and mentally challenged individuals by encouraging them to develop an individual sense of empowerment and to experience physical ability and confidence through safe and professionally supervised interaction with horses.
To involve various facets of the community: Volunteers - People with and without disabilities, and trained personnel in a common purpose, "People Helping People, " to achieve a heightened sense of community spirit.
To foster in the challenged individuals a sense of equality and inclusion in the greater community at large.
Description
Our therapeutic horsemanship program for adults and children, without or without special needs, builds
Skill Development:
Riders can learn:
*The basics of equine psychology
*Care of the horse and its environment
*Walking, mounting, and riding
*Equipment usage and care
*Safety around horses
*Horse behaviors, reactions, and interrelating with them
*Improved Rhythm, balance, spatial awareness, motor skills, self-efficacy, concentration, and focus
Intuitive-Awareness: The process of learning to listen and respond to the horse from a centered and balanced frame of mind.
Self-Awareness: Horseback riding can increase balance and flexibility, as well as, improved focus as the rider becomes more self-aware.
Impulse Control:Horseback riding builds patience and self-discipline.
Creating Connections is achieved first with the horse. Horsemanship requires becoming intimate and creating friendships where mutual respect is in action. This leads to the rider building confidence, empathy and feelings of self-success.
Our PATH Certified Instructor:
Carolyn White is a PATH Certified Instructor with over 25 years of experience. PATH sets national guidelines and standards for safe and effective horseback riding for all disabilities, including mental illness, learning disabilities, disorders such as mood, personality, eating, ADHD, and other disruptive disorders. As well as many physical disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, visual and hearing impairments, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism, spina bifida, brain injuries, amputation, and CVA/stroke. The Ride Away Center is utilizing this curriculum to provide an early intervention program to target at-risk children and adults in a non-clinical, and non-institutionalized setting.
Therapeutic riding is recognized by the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association.
