Location: Saint-Robert, Québec, Canada
Centre Équestre Thérapeutique Élixir is a therapeutic riding and zootherapy centre located at 226 Rang Bellevue in Saint-Robert, Québec, in the MRC de Pierre-De Saurel in the Montérégie region.
The centre is led by Élie Péloquin, a certified zootherapist who took over the program from its founder Éliane Trempe — creator of the original therapeutic riding program Les Amis de Joey, which had been nationally recognized in the field for approximately two decades.
Élixir is a certified member of both the Fédération québécoise d’équitation thérapeutique (FQET) and CanTRA, and also serves as a training centre for professionals seeking certification in therapeutic riding through the Association Canadienne d’Équitation Thérapeutique (ACET).
About This Program
Centre Élixir’s story reflects a deliberate and meaningful passing of the torch. Éliane Trempe had always hoped Élie Péloquin — who was completing her zootherapy certification while managing a separate career path — would one day take over her program. When Péloquin chose to pursue that path, she moved the program to her own property in Saint-Robert, which she had owned for three years, and began building appropriate infrastructure to serve the existing and growing clientele.
The centre offers therapeutic riding as its flagship service, delivered under FQET and ACET certification standards in sessions of eight to ten lessons. For clients for whom equine riding is not appropriate — including older individuals who use wheelchairs or walkers — zootherapy with smaller animals provides a complementary path to the same emotional, social, and cognitive benefits. The centre’s farm includes goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, cats, dogs, and birds in addition to its therapy horses.
Péloquin’s approach is explicitly adaptive: she describes the therapeutic riding environment as one that demands constant flexibility, attentive care for clients with complex medical and daily care realities, and the ability to coordinate with other professionals involved in a client’s care. The centre also has an educational and outreach dimension, with plans to work with schools and hospitals, and a professional training role as an ACET-recognized formation centre.
The centre’s open house events have welcomed the Association de la Paralysie Cérébrale du Québec and its members from Montréal, Estrie, and Centre-du-Québec, reflecting strong connections with the provincial disability community.
Services Offered
- Therapeutic riding (sessions of 8–10 lessons)
- Zootherapy with small farm and domestic animals
- Professional training for ACET certification in therapeutic riding
- Educational and outreach programming (schools, hospitals)
Who They Serve
Centre Équestre Thérapeutique Élixir may be a good fit for:
- Children, adults, and older individuals with special needs
- Individuals with cerebral palsy
- Individuals with physical disabilities including wheelchair and walker users
- Individuals with cognitive, emotional, or behavioral challenges
- Families in the MRC de Pierre-De Saurel and surrounding Montérégie communities
- Therapeutic riding professionals seeking ACET certification (professional training)
Facility and Setting
Centre Élixir is located at 226 Rang Bellevue in Saint-Robert, Québec, in the Pierre-De Saurel regional county municipality southeast of Sorel-Tracy. The property includes horses, a variety of farm and domestic animals for zootherapy programming, and facilities under ongoing development to better serve clients with mobility needs.
The rural Montérégie setting, described locally as a hidden gem of the region, provides a calm, nature-integrated environment for therapeutic work.
- Saint-Robert, Québec location (MRC de Pierre-De Saurel, Montérégie)
- 226 Rang Bellevue, Saint-Robert, QC J0G 1S0
- FQET (Fédération québécoise d’équitation thérapeutique) member
- CanTRA member
- ACET-recognized professional training centre
- Multi-species farm (horses, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, birds)
What Makes Them Unique
Centre Élixir carries more than twenty years of institutional knowledge in its region through its lineage from the Les Amis de Joey program, giving it deep roots in a community where therapeutic riding services have been trusted for generations. The transition from Éliane Trempe to Élie Péloquin was not an accident — it was a deliberate, values-driven succession designed to preserve and extend the program’s impact.
The combination of therapeutic riding and zootherapy with multiple animal species is also meaningfully inclusive. By offering a non-equine therapeutic pathway for clients who cannot ride, the centre ensures that individuals whose physical condition would otherwise exclude them from an equine program can still benefit from structured, guided animal-assisted interaction.
The centre’s role as an ACET professional training site further extends its influence beyond direct service delivery, helping to build the regional capacity for certified therapeutic riding practice.