Basic Info:
Heavenly Gaits Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc.
2059 Ninevah Road Knox, PA 16232
Activities include meaningful instruction in horsemanship. This ranges from fields trips, summer camps, parades, therapeutic riding lessons, Special Olympics Training Program, community service hours, Silver Saddles & veterans program.
Founded by Monique Nellis, 501 (c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization. The nonprofit organization is not “owned” by the person or persons that started it. It is a public organization that belongs to the public at-large
Review of 2019
Last year we were fortunate to have one instructor-in-training that has successfully completed Phase I of PATH Intl instructor certification and whom could take over part of teaching our lessons. That same individual, Miss Erin Neely, also worked as barn manager and supervisor throughout the year. We also had one work study position from Clarion University. Each extra hand was truly appreciated and vital to continued growth and strengthening of our programs. We hope to train an additional instructor this season so that we have more to offer our riders. Of our new volunteers, we looked forward to the arrival of Bobby Jo Prusakowski, Rachel Youngdahl, and Andrea Deible each week. 1 Peter 4:10-11 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: Each volunteer has so much to offer, they are a true gift!
Although it took much of the season, we were able to complete construction of our outdoor riding area, “The Life” Riding Arena. The footing makes a huge difference during the rainy season! The beautiful white vinyl rail adorned with our sponsors offers a sturdy boundary that provides for effective instruction while offering a sense of unity. We completed a porch which provides us with much needed shade and an area for families to congregate during lessons. With the help of the Grace EC Church congregation, we were able to add a sign to the roof of the porch stating that “The Greatest of These is Love,” visible to all those passing by and unifying our pastures named after the qualities of perfect love. Thoughtfully designed by volunteer couple Paul and LaVerne Muehlbauer, we started our veterans trail with a red, white, and blue, boundary fence as well as signs illustrating our branches of service. We look forward to all of the additions that are yet to come such as flags, signs depicting our fifty states, and bricks wall partitions engraved with the names of local veterans.
Both our Silver Saddle and our veteran program grew in number last season. We do hope that with the addition of an indoor riding arena these programs can be utilized year round. One of our veterans, Josiah Fink, led Triton through the Wreaths Across America procession, to represent the riderless horse. We are honored to be asked back and hope that we can add this to our goals for our veterans.
Our 4H program, The Gait Keepers thrived with three participants showing at the Clarion County Fair, two competing at Districts, and one at the State level. We will continue to develop the program to include more skills and opportunities for community involvement. We have secured funding for digital times, as well as bleachers. However we can empower these children to become leaders in the community, we will.
The weather is still a continuous struggle for us, but we try to make the best of each situation while still putting safety first. While we offer various financial scholarships on an individual basis, we continue to seek out and search for methods to secure such funding. While we have found a handful of generous organizations, as our clientele grow, so does the number of individuals needing assistance. While we have a hardy group of farm friends, acquiring and scheduling consistent volunteers continues to present an obstacle as it seems everyone comes at once or not at all. ……
One area that we are addressing this upcoming season is our handicapped parking. Much stone and drain work has been completed for our driveway and parking area. We want to make it more handiicap accessible. This season we will also offer a lift to assist us in mounting riders with decreased mobility. In an attempt to provide services to those over our current weight limit, or those with varying paralysis, we will start development of our driving program. After acquiring driving equipment and following the necessary conditioning and training, we will introduce driving horses in a meaningful manner to our list of programs. For more information, http://usdfd.org/, United States driving for the Disabled
Heavenly Gaits Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc.
2059 Ninevah Road Knox, PA 16232
Activities include meaningful instruction in horsemanship. This ranges from fields trips, summer camps, parades, therapeutic riding lessons, Special Olympics Training Program, community service hours, Silver Saddles & veterans program.
Founded by Monique Nellis, 501 (c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization. The nonprofit organization is not “owned” by the person or persons that started it. It is a public organization that belongs to the public at-large
Review of 2019
Last year we were fortunate to have one instructor-in-training that has successfully completed Phase I of PATH Intl instructor certification and whom could take over part of teaching our lessons. That same individual, Miss Erin Neely, also worked as barn manager and supervisor throughout the year. We also had one work study position from Clarion University. Each extra hand was truly appreciated and vital to continued growth and strengthening of our programs. We hope to train an additional instructor this season so that we have more to offer our riders. Of our new volunteers, we looked forward to the arrival of Bobby Jo Prusakowski, Rachel Youngdahl, and Andrea Deible each week. 1 Peter 4:10-11 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: Each volunteer has so much to offer, they are a true gift!
Although it took much of the season, we were able to complete construction of our outdoor riding area, “The Life” Riding Arena. The footing makes a huge difference during the rainy season! The beautiful white vinyl rail adorned with our sponsors offers a sturdy boundary that provides for effective instruction while offering a sense of unity. We completed a porch which provides us with much needed shade and an area for families to congregate during lessons. With the help of the Grace EC Church congregation, we were able to add a sign to the roof of the porch stating that “The Greatest of These is Love,” visible to all those passing by and unifying our pastures named after the qualities of perfect love. Thoughtfully designed by volunteer couple Paul and LaVerne Muehlbauer, we started our veterans trail with a red, white, and blue, boundary fence as well as signs illustrating our branches of service. We look forward to all of the additions that are yet to come such as flags, signs depicting our fifty states, and bricks wall partitions engraved with the names of local veterans.
Both our Silver Saddle and our veteran program grew in number last season. We do hope that with the addition of an indoor riding arena these programs can be utilized year round. One of our veterans, Josiah Fink, led Triton through the Wreaths Across America procession, to represent the riderless horse. We are honored to be asked back and hope that we can add this to our goals for our veterans.
Our 4H program, The Gait Keepers thrived with three participants showing at the Clarion County Fair, two competing at Districts, and one at the State level. We will continue to develop the program to include more skills and opportunities for community involvement. We have secured funding for digital times, as well as bleachers. However we can empower these children to become leaders in the community, we will.
The weather is still a continuous struggle for us, but we try to make the best of each situation while still putting safety first. While we offer various financial scholarships on an individual basis, we continue to seek out and search for methods to secure such funding. While we have found a handful of generous organizations, as our clientele grow, so does the number of individuals needing assistance. While we have a hardy group of farm friends, acquiring and scheduling consistent volunteers continues to present an obstacle as it seems everyone comes at once or not at all. ……
One area that we are addressing this upcoming season is our handicapped parking. Much stone and drain work has been completed for our driveway and parking area. We want to make it more handiicap accessible. This season we will also offer a lift to assist us in mounting riders with decreased mobility. In an attempt to provide services to those over our current weight limit, or those with varying paralysis, we will start development of our driving program. After acquiring driving equipment and following the necessary conditioning and training, we will introduce driving horses in a meaningful manner to our list of programs. For more information, http://usdfd.org/, United States driving for the Disabled