Mission
NARHA changes lives by promoting excellence in
equine assisted activities.
NARHA
Since 1969, the North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association, Inc. (NARHA), has provided Equine Assisted Activity
and Therapy (EAAT) programs in the United States and Canada
through its network of nearly 800 member centers. Each year,
dozens of new centers initiate new programs and more than 38,000
individuals with disabilities benefit from activities which
include therapeutic riding, hippotherapy, equine assisted
psychotherapy, driving, interactive vaulting, and competition.
Headquartered
in Denver, Colorado, NARHA’s mission is to “change and enrich
lives by promoting excellence in equine assisted activities.” To
accomplish this mission, NARHA fosters safe, professional,
ethical and therapeutic equine activities through education,
communication, research and standards. The association ensures
its standards are met through an accreditation process for
centers and a certification process for instructors.
A section of NARHA, the Equine
Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA), founded in 1996,
provides equine-facilitated
psychotherapy (EFP) for people with psychological issues and
mental health needs, including anxiety, depression, and autism.
EFP is facilitated by a
licensed, credentialed mental health professional that works
with an appropriately credentialed equine professional, or is
dually credentialed as an equine professional.
History
The therapeutic value of horseback riding goes back
centuries although the origin of organized therapeutic riding is
relatively recently. The achievements of Liz Hartel of Denmark
are generally regarded as the impetus for the formation of
therapeutic riding centers in Europe. Polio impaired Hartel’s
mobility but not her spirit. In 1952, she won the silver medal
for Grand Prix dressage at the Helsinki Olympics. Medical and
equine professional took notice and soon centers for therapeutic
riding sprang up in Europe.
Canadians and
Americans studied what was happening in England and quickly made
plans to start centers. Two of the first were the Community
Association of Riding for the Disabled (CARD) in Toronto,
Ontario, organized by J.J. Bauer and Dr. R.E. Renaud, and the
Cheff Center for the Handicapped in Augusta, Michigan, with Lida
McCowan as executive director.
Recognizing
the need for an organization to act as a clearinghouse for
information on therapeutic riding, 23 individuals gathered at
the Red Fox Inn in Middleberg, Virginia on November 2, 1969, and
laid the groundwork for NARHA. Today, many medical
professionals, including the American Physical Therapy
Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association,
recognize the therapeutic value of equine assisted activities.
NARHA Today
In its ongoing support of research and education in EAAT, NARHA
hosts a four-day annual conference that draws nearly 700
national and international participants to share the latest
studies and advances in the field of equine assisted activities.
October 29- November 1, 2008
in Hartford, CT attendees will convene to
celebrate the theme of “Lengthening our Strides”. In
addition, each of NARHA’s 11 regions hosts an annual conference
that promotes continuing education for EAAT professionals and
adherence to NARHA standards.
To further advance the study of
the effectiveness of EAAT, NARHA publishes a quarterly
publication, STRIDES, and encourages ongoing research. Most
recently NARHA published Resources for Research and Education
in Equine Assisted Activities & Therapy, a comprehensive
100-page international bibliography, compiled by Beth Macauley,
Ph.D., CC-SLIP, HPCS. In 2006, NARHA
was awarded a $5,000 Quality of Life Grant from the Christopher
Reeve Foundation to develop The Parental and Professional
Information Resource Guide.
Last year, two
NARHA centers and one NARHA Advanced Riding Instructor offered
pilot therapeutic riding programs to wounded U.S. veterans,
demonstrating how broadly the umbrella of EAAT can touch
people’s lives. The sessions were so successful that Walter Reed
Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. is considering adding
therapeutic riding to its rehabilitation program.
With the
explosion of interest in EAAT, NARHA centers and EAAT have been
spotlighted in numerous national magazines, such as Reader’s
Digest, Practical Horseman, and Blaze Magazine and TV
shows, including Good Morning America and the Saddle
Club TV series. Palaestra Magazine, which covers
issues related to athletes with disabilities, launched in 2006 a
regular department written by NARHA’s Health & Education
Committee called “Humans, Horses and Health.” NARHA’s Horse
Ambassador, Nevada Joe, a former wild mustang adopted by Ernie
and Diane Purcelli, continues to give therapeutic riding
demonstrations at shows throughout the U.S.
Future Trends
In response to this public attention, EAAT, NARHA has
increased its support to regions and centers and reorganized its
center accreditation and instructor certification procedures.
Currently NARHA certifies instructors in three specialty
areas--Riding, Driving and Interactive Vaulting—and is
developing a certification for a fourth specialty, Equine
Specialist. In the next decade, the association expects the
rapid interest in driving to accelerate and foresees increasing
growth in the Equine Specialist area.
As one of the
global authorities in the EAAT field, NARHA belong to the
worldwide Federation for Riding for the Disabled International (FRDI).
NARHA has been certifying instructors outside the U.S. for many
years and has four international center members. However, in
2006 NARHA welcomed its first accredited center outside of North
America, the Fundació Terŕpia A C@vall in Barcelona, Spain, and
expects that this kind of global accreditation will only expand.
For the next
three to five years, NARHA will be focusing on tactics to
achieve the three major goals outlined in a strategic plan that
was launched in 2006: (1) Enhancing NARHA’s leadership
capabilities within the EAAT industry, (2) providing greater
value and more effective service to members and (3) building the
infrastructure to enhance capacity for organizational growth.
NARHA is proud to provide
opportunities for people with varying ability levels to
challenge themselves physically and emotionally and to set goals
to improve their quality of life via the horse. Training
professionals to support and facilitate this process, educating
the public about the positive impact of the human/animal bond
and setting national standards for safe and effective equine
facilitated therapy/activities will continue to dictate NARHA’s
growth.
Who is
Served by NARHA's Members?
Individuals with the following disabilities
commonly participate and benefit from equine facilitated therapy and activities:
Muscular Dystrophy
Cerebral Palsy
Visual Impairment
Down Syndrome
Mental Retardation
Autism
Multiple Sclerosis
Spina
Bifida
Emotional Disabilities
Brain Injuries
Spinal Cord Injuries
Amputations
Learning Disabilities
Attention Deficit Disorder
Deafness
Cardiovascular accident/Stroke
The North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association serves a membership of 5,500 individuals and over 730 NARHA programs
around the country. More than 5000 specially screened and trained horses make
safe interactions possible.
NARHA assists individuals
and centers in several ways:
CENTER ACCREDITATION/INSTRUCTOR
CERTIFICATION
These programs ensure the high quality and safe instruction offered by NARHA
therapeutic riding centers across the U.S. and Canada.
EDUCATION
Through workshops and conferences, NARHA provides information to those
interested in equine facilitated therapy and activities. NARHA’s annual national
conference brings experts from the fields of physical therapy, horse care, fund
raising, business management, and volunteer training - to name a few.
ADVOCACY
NARHA’s efforts to increase awareness of therapeutic riding and other equine
facilitated therapy and activities results in more than 31,000 phone calls every
year to our toll-free number. The popular communication mode of the email has
seen a slight reduction in telephone calls this past year, but has resulted in
an increase of NARHA communication via the World Wide Web.
NARHA'S STRIDES:
All members of NARHA receive NARHA STRIDES four times a year. This engaging
magazine is a non-technical, yet accurate journal that focuses on the work of
NARHA. Rider profiles, how-to articles, editorials and instructional columns
seek to educate a general readership of the diverse aspects of equine
facilitated therapy and activities. Each seasonal issue carries a theme.
NARHA NEWS:
Every month NARHA News reaches the membership with internal information such as
board updates, committee and region reports, accreditation issues and classified
ads. This is an electronic newsletter which helps keep our costs down.
The NARHA 990 is available
upon
request
Please email
NARHA
to obtain a copy or click on
GuideStar.org.
