Illinois
Message from the State
Chair
Illinois NARHA
Centers:
I want to thank those
centers that responded with information to share. I have condensed some of
the material forwarded to me and have tried to keep the essence of each unique
facility. I hope to keep the news letter at a length that everyone will
read it fully. If Centers indicate that they want longer e-mails I will
accommodate. Please give me feedback as to what you want from this
newsletter.
I hope to put
out another News letter in Jan 2007. So I am again asking Centers to share
information. I would like to start a problem solving question and answer
column. Centers could ask other centers to help them
solve problems they are facing and other centers could share how they have
tackled the same problem or similar problems. So send me any problems and
I will post them in the next newsletter. Of course we are always
interested in what is happening at your center. So please keep the information
coming.
We have 22 NARHA
Centers in Illinois. These are the Centers that have provided information about
their programs.
Rafter M located in
Harrisburg Illinois 618-252-3494
Rafter M is moving to
a new location and is looking for a way to provide an indoor arena in the winter
months for their cliental. Any suggestions on how to accomplish this would
be appreciated by Betsy Moore who is the Director. Founded in 1992
Rafter M is an all volunteer organization. Funding is provided by civic
groups, businesses, individuals and some lesson fees. For several years the
Illinois Elks Crippled Children's Corporation has sponsored riders under the age
of 21. All funds raised by their annual Trail Ride and Silent auction go
back to the program. They have gone from their original six adult riders to
twenty-five riders. Rafter M has six horses. Lessons are given
individually or in small groups. Lesson include Riding
skills, groundwork and Showmanship skills for those who are able. A Physical
Therapist is involved with all of the riders. She advises the staff on
each rider and keeps written progress notes.
Freedom Woods located
in Morton Grove 847-967-9800
Betsy Stojanoff assists Dr. Jeffery Lee in running their center
which offers both Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Riding. The program is
still growing with 8 horses, 45 clients, 6 staff members and about 12
volunteers. Their center is unique as it offers four different
programs. Therapeutic riding, Hippotherapy, Hunter/Jumper riding academy
and a Hunter/Jumper show team. They are located very close to the Chicago
limits, approximately a ten minute drive and have access to miles of Cook County
Forest Preserve Trails.
Beverly Farm
Therapeutic Center located in Godfrey 618-466-0367
Von Pilkington is the
Program Director of a very unique Center. BFTC is a residential center.
on a 240 acre community with 400 adults as
residents. BFTC is judged by many as the best residential center in the
United States. Von has been a NARHA Therapeutic Riding Instructor since 2000, she also earned a CHA certification in English and
Western.
BFTC is now able to
accommodate outside riders, they have some integrated classes which include
beginner able bodied riders with residential disabled riders. Beginners learn
how to ride, balance steer and stop the horse while the disabled children are
doing the same thing.
Able bodied riders are
moved into another class as they are able to advance. This helps the able
bodied children to be more accepting of others with
disabilities.
This facility has 10
riding horses and 3 miniatures that are only used for sensory stimulation for
the residents who for whatever reason are not able to
ride.
BFTC is looking to
expand in the future. They will be hiring new instructors to handle the
able bodied population. Their present instructor will be teaching English/huner jumpers beginners through advanced. Another instructor
will be teaching western pleasure. All of these children will be helped to
get themselves and their horses polished for these competitive
sports.
All of BFTC horses
must pass a level 1 Parelli Natural
Horsemanship before they are used in our program. Their volunteers are
also trained to understand the concept of the horse using their brain instead of
the horse just being pushed or pulled to get the horse where they want it to go.
Volunteers are partners with their horses to assure riders of the safest arena
and horses. Horse donations of horses that are lame are gently denied only
quality horses are used in this program.
Fund raising will have
to be increased in the future to keep the program at it's present quality level. BFTC has participated in
several buddy walks in conjunction with the National Down syndrome Society
raising money for scholarships for children with DS. They would like to have a
Barn Dance. Von invites everyone to come and visit their
facility.
New Kingdom Trail
Riders in Moline, Illinois 309-787-0627 (Barn) 309 764-4220
(Mall)
NKT is going through
transition this year. After 22 years of service Barb and Stan Clauson, due
to Stan's health felt it was time to sell their farm. In Oct 2005 NKT
moved to a mall space at South Park Mall in Moline. A Grand
Opening brought IL Senator Mike Jacobs and a promise of $10,000 in
funding. The value of the mall space is $40,000. NKT pays $150/month
plus additional insurance. NKT has recruited volunteers, riders and have
accepted donations of cash and horses. It has allowed them to do small
amounts of fund raising such as selling Dinning Tour Books and Yonker's Community Day Sale booklets. They cannot do a
great amount of sales without putting their guest status in jeopardy. The
location has allowed them to set up a resource library for Therapeutic Riding
and disabilities,
and to be a
representative in Special Olympics and 4-H.
6-1-2006 NKT riding
program moved to Schone's Friendship barn just outside
of Moline. NKT has their own barn, pasture,
arena, stalls and indoor arena if needed.
Program hours are
April-September, Mon-Thurs 5:45PM-8PM. Fridays accommodates short term
classes and private lessons. Vaulting is held in September. Total enrollment-60 riders, 85 volunteers. Each evening
class is designated to a specific level of riding. Each night there are 10
riders. NKT conducts progressive riding lessons where riders must earn
their equipment. Riders start riding with just a surcingle and must earn reins, saddle and
bridle.
NKT's current goals are to
increase paid staff to include a program director, a development director and to
increase the number of certified instructor. Currently, there is one full
time staff member who is an advanced certified instructor and 4 part time
instructors who are not certified and 4 volunteer office
workers.
Partners for Progress
NFP Gurnee, Illinois 847-226-1300
PFP's director Diane Helgeland whose background includes a degree in Special
Education as well as being a very knowledgeable horse person moved Partners for
Progress NFP to Fields and Fences in Gurnee Illinois in October of
2004. We started with 9 horses and 60 clients, the program has grown to 12 horses
including one Percheron, three paints and eight
quarter horses and is serving 150 clients per week. PFP has 4
certified riding instructors, three of whom are also certified special Olympic
coaches, 3 Physical Therapists and 1 Occupational therapist. We have a
full time person who coordinates fund raising. A full
time accountant and a person who is in charge of new cliental. A full time horse manager who is in charge of their training and
exercise as well as their health care. A volunteer
coordinator who is in charge of the recruitment and training of our 70 plus
volunteers. Some of theses roles overlap.
PFP is unique because
they offer a power hour, where a Physical or Occupational therapist is in the
arena to help with goal setting and to address physical issues such as hips that
are out of alignment or rib cages that are not mobile. There is no extra
charge to the client for this service. Our director insists on quality
horses and all of our horses are hand picked by the director and the horse
manager. PFP has a horse buddy system, each horse is
assigned a volunteer who is responsible for a through grooming once a
week. Grooming includes curry, hard brush, soft
brush, picking and braiding the tails, which are put into tail bags so they are
ready to be picked for shows, combing the manes and picking the feet. In
the summer the horses are also bathed. Volunteers also take the horse out
to graze. This is addition to the daily grooming given by staff and
volunteers. The horses have daily turn out and are kept in a
barn.
PFP has their own inside arena and an outside arena is being
built. PFP has access to a grassy area and 12 miles of groomed
trails.
PFP offers a variety
of programs, Therapeutic Riding, Companion riding for siblings who want to learn
to ride, Lessons for siblings who want to compete in English or Western and
Showmanship, Hippotherapy, Vaulting, an At Risk Program and a Recreational
Riding program for group homes. This year PFP is taking 13 children and four
horses to Special Olympics.
PFP does several
fundraisers through out the year. In March we do the Plop of Gold or pony
poop. For ten dollars you buy a numbered square of land in the
arena (the position of the square to be determined randomly by computer)
there were 2000 squares available. The pony is let into the arena and if
the pony poops on your deed of land you win $2000.00 the deed seller wins
$500.00. In the spring we will be hosting a first ever Golf outing.
We have had Bowlathons with the teams being the names
of our horses. PFP hosts a Horse show in Wisconsin at the Walworth County fair
grounds. PFP's horse show has special
classes for the disabled along with the usual horse classes. We have a
Ride-A-Thon for two days, one day for the able bodied and one day for the
disabled riders. Everyone must raise a minimum of $100 to ride. We
also get T-shirt sponsors for this event. For $100 the sponsor gets
their name on the back of one of our T-shirts. We have a Summerfest with carnival games in our stalls (cleaned out of
course) raffle baskets and items to bid on, and of course our student horse show
which starts with a Drill Team. Student riders demonstrate their skills
for a professional judge, weaving cones and at barrel racing (all at their
own pace of course). Two riders ride at the same time. Ten horses to
each class. Sixty riders participated this year. Each rider receives
a ribbon. Every participant takes this horse show very seriously and PFP riders
practice for this event for weeks in advance. PFP's biggest fund raiser is their annual Barn Dance held in
the Barn at Fields and Fences. There are raffle baskets a live auction
with a professional auctioneer, a casino, a pig roast with lots of wine and
beer for the adults and water and soda for the children and of course square
dancing for everyone. PFP needs to do a lot of fund raising to keep the cost of
riding affordable for their riders.
I was so pleased to
hear from all of these great programs. Please feel free to write to me at
any time. I will be glad to post any information you want sent to other centers
at any time. Please write to me by December 20 and I will put together
another news letter in Jan 2007. I hope to meet all of you at the National
Convention in this November in Indianapolis.
Sue Aileen Lutz Illinois State Chair
Input for State
Meeting Requested
Hello Illinois NARHA
Centers:
I am seeking input
from the Illinois NARHA centers in order to set up the State Meeting. The
meeting will be in January. I would like the Illinois
NARHA Centers to let me know the direction you would like the meeting to
go. Please advise me as to the subjects you would like to have
addressed.
1. Assessment and
Goals and the updating of Goals
2. Grant
writing
3. Fund
Raising
4. At Risk Groups
5. Training of
Volunteers and Safety issues
6. Sensory
Issues
7. Fine Motor and
Gross Motor issues as addressed by the Horse
8. Activities on
and off the Horse
9. Any other
issue. Please feel free to suggest an area.
Input is needed
by Sept 30, as I need to get speakers and a block of Hotel rooms. The
Meeting will be Held at Fields and Fences in Gurnee Illinois. The time and
date to be determined by the speakers
availability.
I look forward to
hearing from each Center. I can also be reached by fax at 847-918-9555 or
by snail mail at 624 Nordic CT Libertyville, Illinois, 60048, phone
847-680-7461.
Thank you for your
input.
Sincerely,
Sue Lutz Illinois State
Representative