SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS

Therapeutic Riding and Driving Program for People with Disabilities

2800 Street Road, P.O. Box 1001, Warrington, PA 18976

Phone: (215) 918-1001

Fax: (215) 945-9080

Special Equestrians Therapeutic Riding and Driving Program Inc., located at 2800 Street Road, is offering rewarding opportunities for the Warrington community to help a great cause. Volunteers are needed to assist Physical and Occupational Therapists and Therapeutic Riding Instructors in providing much-needed services to children and adults with a wide range of disabilities. Training is provided.  Please call for more information. 

Special Equestrians is seeking local businesses, organizations, and individuals for support. Student fees account for 1/3 of our total operating budget; the remaining 2/3 must be made up by grants and donations. Care for our horses alone, that are an integral part of the therapy, is an extraordinarily high expense. Donations in any amount will help Special Equestrians provide services to individuals with disabilities.

Special Equestrians will be hosting several exciting fundraising events in the coming months. Please scroll down to see the list of events.

The horses at Special Equestrians are valuable members of the teams that assist clients. The monthly cost of feeding, shoeing, and caring for one of the therapy horses is $300.00. The new Adopt-a-Horse program allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to sponsor a horse on a monthly or yearly basis. Partial adoptions are also encouraged.

Warrington Township Seniors are invited to participate in a "Ridercise" program. A fun and innovative approach to increasing mobility, strength and improving balance in adults over the age of 55.

For information please call (215)-918-1001.

Our organization depends on volunteers. No horse experience is necessary - we provide training. We need help in all aspects of daily lessons and special events, including but not limited to: direct horse care, leading and side-aiding in lessons, committee membership, events planning, press releases, gardening, general maintenance, bookkeeping, phone calling, and fundraising. PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A PART OF OUR GREAT TEAM!

Both fresh and 4-month cured manure is available at the barn. For a donation of $5, we can fill your pickup or dump truck with our tractor. Please call ahead if you need help loading large quantities.

We are currently looking for therapeutic riding instructors, physical and occupational therapists, and substitute barn help to augment our staff.

We are currently accepting new client applications. Riders must be at least 3 years old. Warrington senior citizens are especially encouraged to apply for our "silver in the saddle" senior exercise program.

Go west on Street Road (Rt. 152). We are 11/2 miles west of Rt. 611 on the left, with a big cream and blue Warrington Open Space sign and a long gravel driveway. Our street address is 2800 Street Road.

For more information on any of our upcoming events, please contact Special Equestrians at (215) 918-1001. New and current volunteers are always welcome and greatly appreciated at all of our events.

Special Equestrian Center Background Information:

Warrington Township embarked on an Open Space Program funded by a referendum in 1992 to purchase critical parcels of open space. The Special Equestrian Center was built on a forty-acre tract on Street Road that links the Township and County parks as well as privately owned open space. A plan to provide a permanent home for Bucks County's only Special Equestrian program was amalgamated with passive recreation for open space goals that will enhance, augment, or connect existing parks and open space areas.

Special Equestrians was started with one volunteer and a borrowed horse in 1982 and has since then had several temporary homes. Special Equestrians now serves about 70 students each week with 16 horses and has several staff members and many volunteers. Hundreds of disabled children and adults have been helped with therapeutic riding and driving programs that enhance their physical abilities as well as mental and emotional well-being.

Therapeutic riding gives students the opportunity to control a horse as well as their body. A bond is formed between horse and rider that teaches them patience, self-control, respect for their horse, and needed self-esteem. The students gain confidence by mastering a skill normally performed by able-bodied people. A sense of normalcy and ability is gained. Through this interaction, the rider gains physical, psychological, social and educational benefits.

Project Description:

The Special Equestrian facility can house 28 horses in a wheel chair accessible barn. The building has classroom space, a heated office, and a large observation booth that makes it possible for family and friends to watch riding sessions. An indoor ring, a life-long dream for Special Equestrians, will enable riding sessions to be available year-round, regardless of the weather. This is important to the students' ability to accomplish their goals and not lose their hard-earned progress over the winter. Abundant pastures will give the Special Equestrian horses a chance to rest, relax, and stretch their legs.

Special Equestrian's new home is the result of an unusual effort to balance open space preservations, inevitable development and the needs of a valuable non-profit group serving the community. Through the efforts of the Warrington Township Board of Supervisors, the Bucks County Commissioners and C&M Builders, the Special Equestrian dream has become a reality.

The forty-acre tract on which the Special Equestrian Center is located was slated for 115 single-family homes. This parcel was critical to the Warrington Township Open Space plan because it connected several parks. The facility links the trail system with the Township and County parks as well as the Bradford Dam, thus bringing the total open space area in Warrington Township to twelve percent.

Special Equestrians is the only therapeutic riding facility in Bucks County and was the training facility for the 1999 Pennsylvania State Equestrian Team for the Special Olympics World Games held in June in Raleigh, N.C.

Benefit / Results:

By sharing resources and coordinating efforts with local government, county government and developers, this facility serves a special section of our population. The benefits of this program reach far into the community because it allows able-bodied residents to become involved in a program that is recognized as one of the most progressive forms of therapy available for special needs children and adults.

Special Equestrians serves individuals with a variety of disabilities. These include Down Syndrome, mental retardation, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or auditory impairment, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, post polio, spina bifida, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as many other disabilities.

Physical benefits include improved gross and fine motor skills, balance, coordination, reflexes, motor planning, range of movement and muscle tone. Psychological benefits include improved self-confidence, emotional control, self-discipline, risk taking, patience, and sense of self-confidence. Social benefits are developed through working with horses, therapists, other students and volunteers. Educational benefits include remedial reading skills, sequencing, patterning, motor planning, eye-hand coordination, differentiation and visual spatial perception.

Therapeutic riding for those with disabilities stretches tight or spastic muscles and improves coordination, reflexes, and motor planning. The ability to control a horse as well as one's body inspires self-confidence, responsibility and teamwork.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS!