PEGASUS THERAPEUTIC RIDING ACADEMY INC
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Mission Statement
Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Philadelphia, PA dedicated to providing therapeutic horseback riding programs and equine-assisted activities and therapies for children and adults with physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities. Pegasus is a PATH International (Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship) Premier Accredited Center and a member of the PA Council on Therapeutic Horsemanship. As the city’s only therapeutic riding program, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy seeks to improve the quality of life for our program participants and their families. Led by PATH-certified instructors, we provide over 100 lessons per week to people with disabilities, helping riders improve muscle strength, flexibility, motor skills, communication, mental focus, and self-esteem. We also feature an autism program, a 6-week summer program, a Senior Saddles program for riders ages 55 and older, and an unmounted equine facilitated learning program.
About This Cause
The Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Program began in 1982 treating only 15 children with mild disabilities. Since 1982, the program has developed and grown into a full time, year round program that serves children and adults with mild to severe disabilities. Pegasus is now a PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) Int’l Premier Accredited Center, a designation of excellence in the field of equine assisted activities and therapies. The Pegasus program partners with horses, utilizing their movement and the important bond between horse and rider, to promote improved physical and emotional well-being and independence for individuals with disabilities. Located in Northeast Philadelphia, our facilities include a state of the art indoor riding arena that permits year round operation. Our stable houses 15 therapy horses of varied sizes and breeds in order to accommodate the needs of our riders. The Pegasus program reaches over 100 participants each week which translates into over 4500 lessons per year. Program staff consists of three full time employees and nine part time employees. During the six week summer program our staff increases by five additional part time employees and ten Philadelphia Youth Network “Work Ready” employees. Volunteers (approximately 90 per week) provide a significant part of the workforce since each rider requires three volunteers during the weekly sessions: one to lead the horse and two to sidewalk on each side of the horse for support and safety. Last year our volunteers contributed over 13,000 hours of their time to our program. Our volunteers include people who are both young and mature, people who have a love of horses, people with disabilities and high school students who are performing required community service hours. Half hour group (4 riders) riding sessions are conducted on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays. On Monday evenings our Autism Program has three lessons with four riders in each lesson. On weekday mornings, individual riders as well as groups from the HMS School in West Philadelphia for children with Cerebral Palsy (2 rotating students) and the Beechwood residential facility for adults with Traumatic Brain Injuries (4 riders per week) are involved in our program. A recent addition to our programming is Equine Assisted Learning (EAL), an unmounted program that focuses on life skills. Our summer program consists of riders from the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Moss Rehabilitation Hospital, the Mollie Woods Program of The Woods School (EAL) and a six week “try me” program for people who are on our waiting list or others who are interested in trying the program for a short period of time. This programming creates an additional 35 lessons per week during the six week period. Pegasus is the only therapeutic riding program in the City of Philadelphia, and therefore, draws a majority of its client base from residents of Philadelphia (52%), as well as Montgomery County (23%) and Bucks County (24%). Our riders range in age from 2 years old to 54 years old, with a majority of the riders falling into the 3-21 years range (76%). Male riders comprise 53% of our participant population and female riders the remaining 47%. Minority riders comprise 22% of our participant population. Economically, 56% of our riders and/or their families are classified as low income. Although our riders represent many different disabilities, those with Cerebral Palsy (19%), Autism Spectrum Disorders (26%) and Developmental Disabilities (15%) represent a majority of our riders. Our riders come to Pegasus from various sources including referrals from various area health agencies, rehabilitation centers, hospitals and schools for children with disabilities. Riders pay $45 per lesson, the cost of which is not covered by medical insurance. This fee covers only 50% of the actual lesson cost. The deficit is made up from grant funding, gifts and fundraising. For the first time since the organization’s creation, Pegasus adopted a new mission statement in 2017 which embraces the current goals of the organization and its programs. Additionally, the Pegasus’ 2016 – 2020 Strategic Plan incorporated for the first time in the organization’s history an Equine Strategic Plan. This plan carefully assessed our existing herd and determined the equine needs of the program going forward taking into consideration the age and condition of each horse. The value of this plan was realized when one of our younger horses needed to be put down suddenly due to an untreatable neurological condition. Lessons were able to proceed without interruption since coverage for the lessons the horse had previously worked were provided for by the Equine Strategic Plan. In the past year we have begun to increase the challenges for our riders. Many have advanced to riding under saddle and learning the skills that are necessary for equitation and dressage competitions. These advanced riders have formed the Pegasus Competition Team and they have expanded their independence by competing in horse shows such as the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA. The third success is also a challenge. The organization has seriously began succession planning for the executive director. This fall we hired a part time development director who will be handling the fundraising activities. Additionally, the Assistant Program Director is being trained in day to day operational tasks. While there are no imminent plans for the executive director’s retirement, the Board of Directors has embraced, through the Strategic Plan, the need to recognize and plan for this event. . One of our great challenges is finding qualified staff to instruct our riders with disabilities. All instructors must be certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship. Our location in Philadelphia is not conducive to locating and/or attracting people with competent equine experience. We devote a great deal of time and effort to train talented young volunteers who become interested in becoming instructors. Additionally, Pegasus is constantly faced with financial challenges. The number of foundations that support programs for people with disabilities continues to shrink. Therefore, facing the challenge of having reached capacity for horses and number of riding lessons, Pegasus embraced the opportunity to augment programming with an unmounted Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program for use with classes which seeks to improve behavioral and social skills of children with disabilities by increasing their engagement in their own learning process. This program provides a supportive educational environment that allows for individual learning, including one-on-one assistance, when interacting with the horses as well as a way for us to provide services to a broader population. We are currently planning an EAL program with the students from Life Skills classes at Farrell Elementary which is located across the street from Pegasus. Therapeutic Horseback Riding Therapeutic riding has many components, including physical, psychological, recreational and educational. The natural, unrestricted and three-dimensional movement of the horse provides a unique action that stretches and strengthens joints and muscles and has been extremely effective in building muscle tone, relaxing spastic muscles and developing balance, coordination and perception. The horse's movement resembles the human gait. Therapeutic riding also provides recreational, socialization and educational opportunities, as well as personal development, elevated self-esteem and self-confidence for people with disabilities of all ages. Therapeutic riding is not just a pony ride. All riders are carefully evaluated prior to joining the program. Medical forms and releases from treating physicians are required. Prospective riders with physical disabilities are evaluated by the staff physical therapist and those who do not have physical disabilities are evaluated by the program director. A set of goals are established and incorporated into the rider’s “plan” which includes the activities and exercises that will direct the lessons. During the lessons the riders are also evaluated in different categories relating to horsemanship skills and supporting skills. Supporting skills include balance, coordination, posture, communication, problem solving, social interaction, follows directions, etc. Progress is recorded on a periodic basis and reviewed with the client/parent in regular intervals. Each session (four per year), lesson plans are revised for each rider based on the set of individual goals that are achieved. We are especially appreciative of the fact that the feelings of the joy and happiness that our riders experience cannot be accurately reflected in quantitative data. Being on a horse gives the riders a great feeling of control and independence; something that is often impeded by their disability. With more children being diagnosed with Autism every day, equine-assisted activities and therapies have come to the forefront as a progressive treatment. Many in the medical community believe there is a special connection between horses and children with Autism because both interpret the world pictorially. The things that horses observe are the same things that children see and react to, making them more in sync with each other. As this bond grows, progress such as eye contact, facial recognition, and interaction become possible.