Location: Reno, Nevada, United States
The Center for Adaptive Riding (CAR) is a nonprofit equine-assisted services organization founded in 2007 in Reno, Nevada, serving individuals with physical, cognitive, social, and emotional disabilities as well as veterans and active service members across northern Nevada and northern California.
CAR is a PATH International Premier Accredited Center that has provided low-cost therapeutic riding and horsemanship to the region for nearly two decades.
In May 2025, CAR officially merged with Lead with Horses, creating what the organizations describe as the only full-service equine-assisted center in Nevada offering counseling, education, and adaptive riding under one roof.
About This Program
The Center for Adaptive Riding was built on the conviction that every individual is unique, and that each lesson should reflect that. Individualized lesson plans are written for each rider, adapting riding and horsemanship instruction to their specific physical, cognitive, and emotional needs.
The majority of CAR’s riders are between the ages of 4 and 30, though the program has also served participants in their 60s and 70s, reflecting a lifespan approach to equine-assisted services.
CAR’s therapeutic riding program targets balance, coordination, core strength, flexibility, sensory integration, circulation, fine and gross motor function, confidence, independence, and communication skills.
Over its history the center developed a particularly noted veterans program — Horsemanship for Heroes — launched by Scott and K Hooper, both retired Army veterans with a combined 49 years of active duty service and seven combat tours, who wanted other veterans to experience the powerful human-horse connection they had discovered themselves.
The program also offered Interactive Vaulting as an additional modality, and incorporated equine-assisted learning alongside traditional therapeutic riding. Lessons ranged from gentle ground-based interactions and halter work to full mounted riding, depending on each participant’s readiness and goals.
The 2025 merger with Lead with Horses significantly expanded what is now available to the northern Nevada region. The merged organization encompasses mental health counseling, youth development, and adaptive riding in a single location — addressing the gap in mental and physical health services that both organizations had identified as a growing regional need.
Services Offered
- Adaptive and therapeutic riding (individualized lesson plans)
- Horsemanship instruction (grooming, tacking, leading, horse care)
- Interactive Vaulting
- Equine-assisted learning
- Horsemanship for Heroes (veterans program)
- Volunteer program
- (Post-merger with Lead with Horses: counseling, mental health, and youth development services also available)
Who They Serve
Center for Adaptive Riding may be a good fit for:
- Children and adults with diverse disabilities, ages 4 and up
- Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Individuals with PTSD
- Individuals with cerebral palsy
- Individuals with Down syndrome
- Individuals with ADD or ADHD
- Individuals with traumatic brain injury
- Individuals with spinal cord injuries
- Individuals with multiple sclerosis
- Individuals with chromosomal disorders
- Individuals with developmental delays
- Individuals with socioemotional or behavioral challenges
- Stroke survivors
- Veterans and active service members
- Families in northern Nevada and northern California
Facility and Setting
The Center for Adaptive Riding is located at 915 Maple Creek Court in Reno, Nevada, off West Huffaker Lane. The facility serves the greater Reno area and draws participants from across northern Nevada and northern California.
Following the 2025 merger with Lead with Horses, the combined organization now operates as a unified equine-assisted services center at this location.
- Reno, Nevada location (Washoe County)
- 915 Maple Creek Court, Reno, NV
- PATH International Premier Accredited Center
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
- Merged with Lead with Horses (May 2025)
What Makes Them Unique
CAR’s nearly two-decade run as Reno’s primary PATH Premier Accredited therapeutic riding center established it as a trusted community institution before its 2025 merger with Lead with Horses.
The Horsemanship for Heroes veterans program — developed by two combat veterans who found healing through horses and wanted others to experience the same — is an example of the program’s ability to build programming from authentic personal conviction rather than simply following a template.
The 2025 merger represents a meaningful evolution for equine-assisted services in northern Nevada. By combining adaptive riding with mental health counseling and youth development under one organization, the merged entity can serve the whole person rather than just one dimension of their needs — an integrated model that is rare in the region.
For families in the Reno area seeking a PATH-accredited equine program with clinical depth and a well-established community presence, the Center for Adaptive Riding’s legacy now lives on within Lead with Horses.