Location: Pemberton, New Jersey, United States
Beyond Balance, Inc. is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities to individuals with special needs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas. Founded in 2006 by Melissa Palmer, Missy Rush, and Susy Berg, the organization operates out of a privately owned farm in Pemberton, New Jersey, under the tagline “Surpassing all boundaries.” Beyond Balance is a PATH International Member Center and is currently accepting new participants.
About This Program
Beyond Balance was born from a personal connection to disability and horses. Co-Executive Director Missy Rush is a PATH-certified instructor, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and the mother of a disabled daughter. Co-Executive Director Susy Chrnelich has two disabled sisters and holds degrees in Animal Biology, Animal Assisted Therapy, and Special Education. Both founded the organization out of a conviction that horses offer something uniquely powerful to individuals with disabilities — and a desire to make that experience available to their community.
The program offers both mounted and ground-based activities, tailored to the individual needs and capabilities of each participant. Mounted lessons teach riding skills alongside horse care fundamentals, with participants learning to prepare a horse for riding before working on their own equitation. For individuals for whom riding may not yet be appropriate — whether due to behavioral considerations, certain physical disabilities, or fear — ground lessons focus on horsemanship skills and relationship-building with the horse. This tiered approach ensures that participation is available to a broad range of individuals regardless of where they are in their therapeutic journey.
Sessions run in blocks of approximately ten weeks, with a one-time evaluation fee required at the start. All participants must be re-evaluated annually. The program is run primarily by volunteers, and the organization actively seeks board members, administrative support, and sidewalkers to help sustain and grow its programming.
Services Offered
- Therapeutic horseback riding (mounted lessons)
- Ground lessons and horsemanship activities
- Equine-assisted activities
- Grooming and horse care instruction
- Community outreach and education about therapeutic riding
Who They Serve
Beyond Balance may be a good fit for:
- Children and adults with special needs or disabilities
- Individuals with cerebral palsy
- Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Individuals with ADD or other hyperactivity disorders
- Individuals with developmental delays or intellectual disabilities
- Individuals with physical disabilities
- Individuals with emotional or behavioral challenges
- Individuals with learning disabilities
- Individuals with Down syndrome
- Riders of all experience levels, including beginners
Facility and Setting
Beyond Balance operates out of a privately owned farm in Pemberton, New Jersey, in Burlington County. Because the facility is on private property, all visits must be arranged in advance with a Beyond Balance staff member. The organization does not yet have its own facility and has identified securing a permanent home as a long-term organizational goal, supported by ongoing fundraising and philanthropy.
- Pemberton, New Jersey location (Burlington County)
- 211 Arney’s Mount Road, Pemberton, NJ 08068
- Privately owned farm — advance appointment required
- PATH International Member Center
- Volunteer-based program model
- Sessions offered in approximately 10-week blocks
What Makes Them Unique
Beyond Balance was founded and continues to be led by two women whose professional credentials span behavior analysis, special education, and equine instruction — and whose personal lives are directly shaped by disability. That combination of lived experience and clinical training gives the program an authenticity and depth of understanding that is not always present in volunteer-led organizations.
The program’s commitment to meeting participants wherever they are — offering ground lessons for those not yet ready to ride, and building toward mounted work at the rider’s own pace — reflects a philosophy that values access and individual readiness over a one-size-fits-all model.
For families in the Burlington County and greater south Jersey region seeking a small, personally run therapeutic riding program with experienced leadership, Beyond Balance offers a welcoming and capable option.