Interview With Maureen Foster, Development Director, Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center

Organization’s history: “Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center is a nonprofit organization that has been providing quality education and therapy-based equine programs for people with disabilities for 30 years. Originating with a handful of volunteers teaching lessons to just eight students in 1978, Fieldstone Farm TRC has evolved into a full-time, nationally accredited program that currently serves 800 students annually with the help of more than 500 volunteers! Therapeutic equine programming involves horse-related activities uniquely designed for people with cognitive, physical, emotional and social disabilities. Students of all ages learn horseback riding skills and basic horse care while receiving many benefits such as: improved balance, mobility, muscle tone, coordination and posture, enhanced independence, and increased concentration and self-esteem. The use of the horse has proven to be a highly motivational and enriching therapeutic and educational tool for students to set aside their crutches, wheelchairs and disabilities as they settle into the saddle.”