Support Our Program

What Your Support Does for Your Community

We are so proud of the work we are doing to change the lives of those in our community with special needs. The benefits of therapeutic riding are well-documented. People with special needs improve motor coordination, muscle strength, and verbal abilities. And they gain something more, something impossible to replicate in other therapeutic settings, a sense of self-worth and confidence that comes when a large animal responds to them with gentleness and understanding.

We couldn’t have such success stories without these wonderful horses that make the magic happen. While our horses’ roles are key and provide outstanding rewards, it happens at a high price. It is a considerable financial challenge to care for these animals that RWP works tirelessly to meet.

RWP’s annual operating budget is almost $150,000. Among the many costs of the operation each horse at Ride With Pride is $160 a month for boarding fee, $30 a month to feed, and $100 a month to keep each stall clean and fresh. That’s an average of $290 a month per horse! We haven’t mentioned what it costs for the vet bills or shoes!

While the staff and volunteers donate hundreds of hours to the program, families continue to pay $220 for a 6-week program. The payment of this fee reflects each family’s commitment, their interest in having a real and active sense of ownership, investment, and confidence in the program. However, this fee barely covers 1/3 of the operating costs. For the majority of the costs, RWP depends on people like you, whose tax-deductible, charitable contributions and in-kind donations of supplies and services make our program possible.

Please consider being our partner in this life-changing program!