NorthWest Therapeutic Riding Center Grant Request



Project Description:

This project will continue a decade-long collaboration the NorthWest Therapeutic Riding Center (NWTRC) has had with another nonprofit, Families for Autistic Children’s Education and Support (FACES). With scholarship and equipment support from AHC we would enroll 25 autistic children in customized sets of riding lessons in 2010. This initiative reflects our long-term plans to increase capacity to meet rising demand for our services as well as having a lasting positive impact on the Autistic Community.

Costs, needs and other considerations:

Actual cash costs per five-lesson riding session in 2010 are estimated at $450 per child for the total $11,250. The NWTRC has offered its lowest rate to riders in the FACES program ($110 plus $10 registration in 2010) by way of securing project costs through fees, general fundraising and grants (pending). Rider scholarships would aid in this effort.

We also need a small western saddle with safety stirrups, such a saddle which would allow us to safely accommodate the more active, smaller riders. Western saddles can provide more security to a rider who is hesitant about riding as well as protect riders with sensitive skin from developing sores on certain pressure points. We also would like to purchase extra safety stirrups for our other three adult western saddles. Safety stirrups ensure the rider’s feet do not get caught in the event of an emergency and allow for safe riding when wearing improper shoes. We are requesting $6325.00 towards scholarships and procurement of the saddle and stirrups.

Project Details:

Our partnership with FACES draws upon complementary strengths: FACES has many years of experience seeking the best approaches to improving the lives of our county’s autistic children. As NWTRC collaborates with FACES’ leaders, we become better able to customize riding lessons, reach out to new volunteers and leverage the limited resources of our two small nonprofits so that we can meet more of the demand for autism-related services.

With your support we will provide a 5-week course of weekly lessons to 25 autistic children enrolled in FACES’ program. In addition FACES and NWTRC will plan and cooperate on a set of trainings in stables maintenance and cleaning and other tasks required to maintain our animals’ well-being. Five to seven of the children enrolled in riding lessons will be chosen for the additional weekly opportunity to learn skills that could eventually command wages in addition to providing them with fuller involvement with the lives of the horses at the heart of the therapeutic experience. This program was started last year and proved to be successful. Participants’ concentration, direction following and temperament skills increased. These trainings will complement the riding lesson plan and we will be able to evaluate success independently of progress these children achieve while riding. This is important because it balances the time the children are on our grounds and waiting to ride.

American Quarter Horse Foundation funding will help preserve and enhance our ability to serve 25 families at a time of uncertainty for individual and institutional contributions to NWTRC.

Our program simply could not exist without bringing together a diverse community of people, organizations and other resources. First of allAs the Center collaborates with FACES Program Director Roger Goodwin, we become better able to customize riding lessons, reach out to new volunteers and leverage the limited resources of our two small nonprofits so that we can meet more of the demand for autism-related services. Second, therapeutic riding lessons help the child become more effective within his or her life and family. As witnesses to these types of improvements, the families, caregivers, and other volunteers see and become part of each rider’s success, building community connections. “Everyone is involved in this endeavor,” says one parent, Patricia Paulson. “It really bonds people.” Says Keeley Bumford, who volunteered at the Center as part of an 8th-grade project: “You could see the glow on their faces.” Third, the quality of the volunteer experience at the Center has ensured our success in recruiting people from every walk of life. We are especially proud of our work with students undertaking projects or earning credit from the Mt. Baker School District, Whatcom Community College and WWU. Fourth, the skills-training program will open new avenues for autistic children to normalize their relationships and connections to our community.

Why this collaboration is important:

Research in recent years has led to greater awareness of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reporting in 2007 that they are being diagnosed more often now than in recent decades and may affect as many as one out of every 150 children at age 8.[1] While there are no available data on how many Whatcom County children have been diagnosed, ASDs occur four times more often in boys than girls, but are equally prevalent among various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, and are now being detected in children younger than two. Little is conclusively known about the causes of ASDs, which are not curable. While some autistic children have extraordinary learning abilities, they tend to face challenges in social interaction and communication, and often display unusual behaviors and reactions to different sensations.

Equine therapy can address these issues, enhancing autistic riders’ physical, psychological, emotional and social development. Treatments involving horseback riding have been in use for decades, and research into effectiveness is both encouraging and still evolving. For example, work with autistic and behaviorally challenged children at Arizona State University in the 1990s found that therapeutic riding provided benefits beyond other sports activities tested (basketball, weight lifting, running and archery).[2]

NWTRC is highly qualified to conduct the program as a NARHA-affiliated riding center that has earned statewide recognition and support in its 16 years.

NWTRC Program Description:

In the early 1990s, concerned citizens recognized that Whatcom County’s seriously ill or otherwise challenged children and adults lacked access to the effective treatment known as equine-assisted therapy. Through the leadership of Founder and Executive Director Julia Chapin Bozzo and other volunteers, the NorthWest Therapeutic Riding Center was established in 1993 with a mission of providing therapeutic horseback riding to people of all ages with a wide range of disabilities. NWTRC is dedicated to enriching the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of riders and their families in an environment that is safe, nurturing, challenging and fun.

Program Logistics: We expect in 2010 to provide 720 therapeutic riding lessons, concentrated into three 5- to 7-week sessions during which clients ride for about 45 minutes weekly. The Center is affiliated with the NARHA (Formally known as North American Riding for the Handicapped Association), and follows its guidelines and standards, helping result in program excellence and an impeccable safety record.

Clients: About 90 percent of our more than 50 riders are Whatcom County children between ages 5 and 18. They face autism, Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis among other challenges. While the Center does not require rider families to provide demographic data, in a recent period we noted this breakdown: Caucasian, 78 percent; Asian American, 9 percent; African American, 6 percent; Native American, 6 percent.

Staff: Julia Chapin Bozzo is the primary staff member, overseeing all operations and handling most training and some instruction. She is paid for 20 hours weekly, but generally volunteers an additional 20. Ms. Bozzo’s qualifications include NARHA certification as a therapeutic riding instructor, a BS in Agriculture and Horse Production from Wilmington College, and graduate work in Animal Science at New Mexico State University. She is also a certified Equine Appraiser. Seasonal Riding Instructor Danielle Shimota graduated from Western Washington University, majoring in Biology and is currently working to fulfill her requirements to attend nursing school. She is a registered NARHA instructor. Kristina Haskell a Whatcom Community College graduate is a paid part-time barn manager.

Volunteers: Our program could not operate without the 2,100 hours donated by Ms. Bozzo and other volunteers who range from high school students to retirees. During each week of NWTRC programs, 20-30 volunteers serve as side walkers and horse leaders, care for the horses, and handle other tasks. As many as three volunteers are needed per rider. They function as a support team building connections with each other as they share in successes, experiencing how cooperation and patience can change lives. Our Board of Directors is also a critical part of our success (see separate attached list).

Financial: Support from our community has enabled the Center to proudly maintain its policy that no rider will be turned away for inability to pay. While our expense per 5-week session is about $450, we keep the program as affordable as possible by holding the fee to $175 or less, plus a session registration charge of $40. Full and partial scholarships are available, depending on a family’s financial circumstances, and some 60 percent of our riders are expected to qualify in 2010. The NWTRC balances its budget, $71,000 in 2009, by keeping expenses down, recruiting volunteers, and enthusiastically raising funds from the community. In 2009 the activities included a Riders Horse Show and Volunteer Recognition Event, the 11th Annual Golf Tournament, and the 6th Annual Dinner/Auction. In 2010 we project fees will provide just under 22 percent of our $71,000 in revenues and that other sources are fundraising events (47 percent), individual contributions (18 percent) and grants (just under $10,000, at 13 percent). Pending grants include planned applications to Whatcom Community Foundation and Puget Sound Energy (past funders), and the Lummi Nation.

Activities: Our primary activities include:

• Creation of a customized riding program of five lessons for each of the 25 children;

• Cooperation with FACES on a work-skills training program for five of the children;

• Recruitment and training of 20 to 30 volunteers required for the riders;

• Weekly 45-minute riding lessons for each child, and weekly trainings for five to seven children;

• Assessment of riders’ progress and adjustment of lesson plans.

Our professional staff will verify that the children are gaining therapeutic riding benefits, which include improved mobility, flexibility, strength, balance, stamina and coordination. Other specific outcomes for our riders include improvement of their self-sufficiency through greater ability to:

• Communicate and interact with other people;

• Orient themselves to left/right and forward/back; and

• Respond to instructors’ verbal cues to complete tasks, sometimes of multiple steps;

• Enjoy riding in the fresh air and (we always hope) beautiful weather.

Family members and other volunteers observe that the riders’ experience of being high in the saddle, holding the reins and relating to a powerful yet gentle animal is calming and helps them overcome sensory and other deficits. “I notice that, emotionally, he’s less agitated,” says Kim Reeves, mother of Ryan Reeves, a 11-year-old autistic boy who began riding at NWTRC in summer 2007 through our collaboration with FACES. She adds that “physically it has improved his core body strength and balance. Of all the therapeutic devices I use for him, this has been the best.”

Facilities:

The NWTRC’s home is on 5-acres of land leased since 1993 in Bellingham, Washington. Our stables currently are home to five exceptional, specially trained horses: Kurt, Kleng, DT, Cloud Nine and Zorro. The facilities are well known by parents, volunteers and riders as being safe, clean, appealing and efficient.

The arena is a fenced, non-covered area with all weather footing (Hogfuel) and is adjacent to a barn having four stalls with run-outs. There are also three loafing sheds for individual horses. Our equipment includes a ramp and mounting block, four grooming stalls, a range of saddles, individualized tack and a variety of SEI approved helmets. Our helmets are updated so that each is no older than 5 years. NWTRC has five all purpose English saddles, four dressage saddles, three adult/large western saddles, two vaulting surcingles, and two small English saddles. Each of the horses has their own halter, bridle and grooming equipment. This equipment is cared for regularly by our wonderful tack-cleaning volunteers. NWTRC does not own any transportation equipment. These needs are met by the director who loans her truck and trailer as needed.

The horses are provided annual health check-ups including vaccinations and dental care. Other veterinary aid is given as needed. NWTRC is proud to have a prominent equine veterinary on our board, Dr. David Sauter who provides for our horses ‘well-being at a discounted rate. Each receives farrier care every 6-8 weeks, also at a discounted rate.

Daily care includes three feedings times a day of high quality timothy hay, grain and supplements as needed (determined by the vet and director). The horses are stalled at night and turned out in the morning when their stalls are cleaned by a paid barn assistant and/or volunteers. The horses are blanketed according to the weather. Equine are groomed daily and are groomed multiple times during lessons days by volunteers and riders. Each horse is exercised 3-5 times a week by the director and skilled volunteers.

NWTRC has a history of making the most out of their budget but spare no cost on the well being of its equines. Dutch Treat, our eldest horse (22 years old) has been working for NTWRC since she was 16 years old and Kurt (18) and Kleng (18) since they were three and four years old respectively. We attribute the longevity of our program horses to all aspects of their mental and physical wellbeing. They love their jobs!

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[1] Autism Information Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, ncbddd/autism

[2] Hunkapi Horse Program (site of research), Scottsdale, AZ,

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