Shining Horizons Therapeutic Riding Association

About the Program

Therapeutic riding is open to riders age 6 and up who have a mental or physical disability diagnosis, and a doctor's referral is required once a rider is accepted. Each 45-minute lesson uses an instructor, a horse handler and a side walker, and every rider starts on the center's Racewood simulator before moving to a horse. The horses carry riders up to about 150 to 160 pounds, and the simulator up to 250 pounds.

The neurodiverse program is unmounted and serves youth ages 10 to 17 in groups of up to eight, with 7 to 8 weekly sessions of up to 90 minutes guided by an occupational therapist with equine specialists. No referral or diagnosis is needed. The trauma program uses 50-minute unmounted sessions with a clinical psychologist and an equine specialist, with streams for women affected by domestic violence and for veterans and first responders (see equine-assisted psychotherapy). A grief and loss stream of 2 to 4 weekly sessions, led by occupational therapists and an equine specialist, is open to children, youth and adults.

Pony Pals is an inclusive summer program for young children with or without a diagnosis, run in small groups of up to four. Children learn to groom, lead, feed and care for the horses, and the program ends with a pony ride.

The Horses and Staff

Richard DeLange is the executive director and Paula Bernard is the program director. The center says Bernard is the only certified CanTRA examiner east of Montreal. Three full-time staff, a part-time weekend team and about 50 volunteers run the programs. The horses include Abe, Alec, Jude, Bentley and Ben.

History

A Saint John mother founded Shining Horizons in 1996 so her young child with cerebral palsy would have an activity to enjoy. It became a registered charity in 2014 and opened a new, community-funded facility in 2018. The facility has an indoor arena, a therapy room, an arena lift to help riders in wheelchairs mount, and wheelchair access throughout.

Location

Shining Horizons is at 1680 Red Head Road, Saint John, NB E2P 1K4, about 10 minutes from downtown Saint John. The 15-acre property has woodland trails leading to the Bay of Fundy. The center says the facility is not open to the general public.