Causes: Developmentally Disabled Centers, Disabilities, Equestrian, Health, Human Services, Mental Health, Mental Health Disorders, Rehabilitative Care, Sports
Mission: About Riding to the TopFounded in 1993, Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center’s mission is enhancing health and wellness through equine assisted activities and therapies. Over 250 clients participate annually and are assisted by certified instructors and/or therapists, volunteers and horses, all specially trained to assist with therapeutic riding, carriage driving, equine assisted learning and hippotherapy. RTT is a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International). Just 5 miles outside of Portland in Windham, Maine, the center is located on a 50 acre farm and is the state’s only year round PATH Intl. accredited program solely dedicated to equine assisted activities and therapies. For more information about client services, volunteering, making a referral or a gift, please visit us at www. ridingtothetop. org or call 892-2813.
Results: Throughout the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020, our therapeutic riding, carriage driving, Equine Assisted Learning and hippotherapy services provided important human-animal interactions (and human to human interactions!) for children and adults with disabilities ranging in age from 3 to 90+. In early 2020, we received notification that the multi-site, 5 year research proposal to the National Institutes of Health to examine the physiological changes that occur in youth with autism during therapeutic riding had been accepted. RTT is one of two sites nationally where this research will be conducted. Scheduled to begin in June with our first cohort of clients this research has now been postponed until 2021.In the meantime we are continuing to work with the University of Colorado and Maine Medical Center’s Research Institute in preparing for and screening clients for this study. Our School Based programming was enthusiastically received by local schools during the fall 2019 through the start 2020 when programming was suspended. As we look ahead to the fall, we realize that it will be unlikely that students will be able to travel to us, but we are using Zoom to engage remotely with a number of students in the area. In March 2020, RTT, along with the rest of the country, had to quickly make changes to our operations due to COVID 19.We suspended programming and for the next 3 months focused on caring for our herd and learning how to connect with our clients and volunteers remotely. This has been a challenging time, however, we are pleased to report that in June 2020 we began to re-open the farm for services, beginning with our independent clients. We continue to monitor and comply with the guidelines from the CDC and the state of Maine.
Target demographics: Enhancing health and wellness through equine assisted activities and therapies
Direct beneficiaries per year: 250 riders benefit from our work annually
Geographic areas served: RTT serves children and adults with disabilities from Southern Maine
Programs: RTT serves riders with a wide variety of disabilities ranging from severe physical and/or cognitive disabilities, youth with learning disabilities, and youth "at risk". The majority of our clients (80%) are children. Clients come to us from local special education or guidance programs, through referrals from physicians, therapists, family and other service programs. The motions of a horse closely match that of human walking and as such they are perfect for facilitating postural control for people who have physical disabilities. Riding has been shown to reduce abnormal muscle tone (spasticity) and improve balance and coordination. For individuals with emotional, behavioral and/or learning disabilities, the structure of riding and the personal relationships that develop (people to people and people to horse), help to foster improved self-esteem, trust and self-confidence. Over 90% of our clients seek financial assistance for services through our sliding scale for services or scholarship assistance program.
Mission: About Riding to the TopFounded in 1993, Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center’s mission is enhancing health and wellness through equine assisted activities and therapies. Over 250 clients participate annually and are assisted by certified instructors and/or therapists, volunteers and horses, all specially trained to assist with therapeutic riding, carriage driving, equine assisted learning and hippotherapy. RTT is a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International). Just 5 miles outside of Portland in Windham, Maine, the center is located on a 50 acre farm and is the state’s only year round PATH Intl. accredited program solely dedicated to equine assisted activities and therapies. For more information about client services, volunteering, making a referral or a gift, please visit us at www. ridingtothetop. org or call 892-2813.
Results: Throughout the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020, our therapeutic riding, carriage driving, Equine Assisted Learning and hippotherapy services provided important human-animal interactions (and human to human interactions!) for children and adults with disabilities ranging in age from 3 to 90+. In early 2020, we received notification that the multi-site, 5 year research proposal to the National Institutes of Health to examine the physiological changes that occur in youth with autism during therapeutic riding had been accepted. RTT is one of two sites nationally where this research will be conducted. Scheduled to begin in June with our first cohort of clients this research has now been postponed until 2021.In the meantime we are continuing to work with the University of Colorado and Maine Medical Center’s Research Institute in preparing for and screening clients for this study. Our School Based programming was enthusiastically received by local schools during the fall 2019 through the start 2020 when programming was suspended. As we look ahead to the fall, we realize that it will be unlikely that students will be able to travel to us, but we are using Zoom to engage remotely with a number of students in the area. In March 2020, RTT, along with the rest of the country, had to quickly make changes to our operations due to COVID 19.We suspended programming and for the next 3 months focused on caring for our herd and learning how to connect with our clients and volunteers remotely. This has been a challenging time, however, we are pleased to report that in June 2020 we began to re-open the farm for services, beginning with our independent clients. We continue to monitor and comply with the guidelines from the CDC and the state of Maine.
Target demographics: Enhancing health and wellness through equine assisted activities and therapies
Direct beneficiaries per year: 250 riders benefit from our work annually
Geographic areas served: RTT serves children and adults with disabilities from Southern Maine
Programs: RTT serves riders with a wide variety of disabilities ranging from severe physical and/or cognitive disabilities, youth with learning disabilities, and youth "at risk". The majority of our clients (80%) are children. Clients come to us from local special education or guidance programs, through referrals from physicians, therapists, family and other service programs. The motions of a horse closely match that of human walking and as such they are perfect for facilitating postural control for people who have physical disabilities. Riding has been shown to reduce abnormal muscle tone (spasticity) and improve balance and coordination. For individuals with emotional, behavioral and/or learning disabilities, the structure of riding and the personal relationships that develop (people to people and people to horse), help to foster improved self-esteem, trust and self-confidence. Over 90% of our clients seek financial assistance for services through our sliding scale for services or scholarship assistance program.
14 Lilac Drive, Windham, ME 04062
207-892-2813
Disabilities
Windham
