Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center

Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center was established in 1985 and provides equine assisted activities to adults and children with a variety of physical, cognitive, and mental health challenges. 

Also known as therapeutic riding, these goal-driven activities include riding, care of the horses, ground work, and communication with the horses. Some riders want to improve mobility, others want to increase their ability to understand the world around them. Our programs are highly individualized and our instructors adapt lessons to meet the needs of each student, ensuring a quality therapeutic program that creates trackable and measurable success.

We serve individuals with a wide range of physical and mental health issues, including:

• autism
• PTSD
• addiction
• severe mental health challenges
• victims of abuse
• youth at risk
• ADD/ADHD
• traumatic brain injury, and more. 

Our team helps the riders to achieve their goals while creating a fun experience. The joy of being on a horse provides momentum to accomplish the goals that carry over into life beyond the farm. Participants usually come once a week as part of a 10-week semester. During lessons, they are assisted by up to three volunteers, and each lesson is led by a PATH Intl. Certified instructor.

Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center operates under the guidelines of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.), our instructors are all PATH Intl. certified and Rainbow is a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center.

Our volunteers are the backbone of all we do at Rainbow and last year alone they contributed more than 2000 hours to help us provide essential services to our growing number of students. 

Rainbow serves around 80 participants per week who come to us through scholarships, as private students, or through community and county-funded programs. 

Here's the story of one of our amazing Rainbow riders:

Serenity started riding at Rainbow in Summer of 2021. She started riding Apollo and he has quickly become her favorite therapy mule, “He is cute!” Serenity loves to brush Apollo and to practice trotting, and Rainbow means a lot to her, “I like to ride Apollo. It makes me feel happy and my worries go away. It is very hard to say goodbye to Apollo when I am done.” 

We have loved watching Serenity grow in her partnership with Apollo. She is learning all kinds of new skills from caring for Apollo to riding him, and most importantly she has learned that she can learn new skills and take on new challenges, “I learned that I can learn new things. And I learned about saddles, how to pet Apollo, how to get on Apollo and how to steer.” 

Her mom says: "As Serenity rides, we can BREATHE, be just a Mom, a Dad, observe Serenity giggle, wave, feel her happiness, her sense of community, her sense of peace, comfort, connection and joy. It is by far the most precious, special time of our week, and the fabulous part is that the positive feelings continue after we exit the lesson. We can navigate through the week’s challenges because we have Rainbow in our corner, and it truly is like having a superpower.” 

Serenity’s goal for her session is “Having fun!” and we can’t think of a better goal. Way to go Serenity! 

Your donation will help us to continue to provide services and fulfill our mission: to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities through participation in equine assisted activities.

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