Location: Dansville, Michigan, United States
C.H.U.M. Therapeutic Riding, Inc. — Children and Horses United in Movement — is a nonprofit equine-assisted services program in Dansville, Michigan, in Ingham County in mid-Michigan. The organization was founded by Bonnie DePue, a certified therapeutic riding instructor who has been working in the field since 1982 and is also a licensed occupational therapist with specialized training in hippotherapy.
The center is a PATH International Premier Accredited Center and an American Hippotherapy Association member, and its name honors Chum, a therapy horse who served in the program since 1980 and spent nearly 30 years introducing children and adults to the world of horses.
About This Program
CHUM operates from an explicitly faith-centered foundation — describing itself as a God-driven, faith-built, grace-guided program — while delivering a full range of professionally credentialed equine-assisted services to individuals with and without disabilities of all ages.
The program’s breadth is notable: it encompasses clinical occupational therapy using hippotherapy as a treatment strategy, certified therapeutic riding, sport and recreational riding, a 4-H club, horse shows, research partnerships, job coaching, and volunteer and internship opportunities.
The therapeutic riding program uses PATH-certified instructors who design lessons based on each rider’s individual needs, adapting equipment and techniques as required. Areas addressed include self-esteem, problem-solving, attention, social skills, gross and fine motor skills, balance, postural control, motor planning, equilibrium, and endurance — abilities that carry over into daily life well beyond the arena.
The occupational therapy program, delivered by Bonnie DePue as a Hippotherapy Certified Specialist, uses the three-dimensional movement of the horse as a graded, variable moving platform for facilitating specific physical and cognitive responses toward individualized therapy goals. This is a distinctly clinical offering that goes beyond therapeutic riding, bringing licensed OT practice directly into the equine environment.
CHUM’s research program is one of its most distinctive features. The center has partnered with multiple universities in Michigan, across the United States, and in Australia to conduct research spanning occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language, osteopathic medicine, kinesiology, nursing, the human-animal bond, veterinary medicine, and resiliency in at-risk youth. That research work actively contributes to building the evidence base for equine-assisted services at a national and international level.
Services Offered
- Therapeutic riding (PATH-certified instructors)
- Occupational therapy using hippotherapy as a treatment strategy (licensed OT, Hippotherapy Certified Specialist)
- Sport and recreational riding
- Growing Together 4-H Club (non-horse-owning members welcome)
- Horse shows at multiple levels
- Holiday and summer horse camps
- Riding and training clinics
- T.T.E.A.M. training clinics
- Research partnerships (Michigan universities, U.S., Australia)
- Job coaching
- Volunteer and internship opportunities
Who They Serve
C.H.U.M. Therapeutic Riding may be a good fit for:
- Children and adults with physical, cognitive, or social-emotional disabilities
- Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Individuals with cerebral palsy
- Individuals with developmental delays
- Individuals with intellectual disabilities
- Individuals with learning disabilities
- Individuals with sensory processing challenges
- At-risk youth
- Individuals seeking OT services in an equine setting
- Able-bodied riders interested in sport or recreational riding
- Non-horse-owning youth interested in 4-H and competitive showing
- Families in mid-Michigan and the greater Lansing area
Facility and Setting
C.H.U.M. Therapeutic Riding is located at 2180 East Dexter Trail in Dansville, Michigan, in Ingham County south of Lansing. The facility supports therapeutic and recreational riding alongside research activities with university partners, and hosts camp programming, clinics, and horse shows throughout the year.
- Dansville, Michigan location (Ingham County, mid-Michigan)
- 2180 East Dexter Trail, Dansville, MI 48819
- PATH International Premier Accredited Center
- American Hippotherapy Association member
- Licensed OT with Hippotherapy Certified Specialist designation on staff
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
What Makes Them Unique
CHUM’s most distinctive characteristic is the combination of a licensed occupational therapist as founder and lead clinician with a deep, active research program spanning multiple disciplines and multiple countries. Most therapeutic riding centers cannot offer true hippotherapy delivered by a licensed therapist; CHUM has built that clinical capacity into its core from the beginning.
The research partnerships with universities across Michigan, the U.S., and Australia reflect an organization that takes seriously its responsibility to generate evidence — not just provide services — and to help educate medical, educational, and insurance communities about the efficacy of equine-assisted interventions.
For families in the Lansing and mid-Michigan area seeking an equine program with clinical depth, competitive and 4-H opportunities, and a warm, faith-centered community, CHUM is one of the most comprehensively built programs in the region.