«Return to News ListingNMCTR Receives $30k Grant from MS Doss Foundation Inc

September 7, 2023 – 

The New Mexico Center for Therapeuc Riding (NMCTR) recently received another grant to support the School Outreach Program. The MS Doss Foundation Inc. granted NMCTR a $30,000 grant to be used for classroom scholarships for the School Outeach Program.

The School Outreach Program is an effective and data-driven program that provides a no-cost, equine-assisted activities program for under-served, low-income children and youth with disabilities (autism, developmental delay, learning delays, traumatic brain injury, hearing/sight impaired, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, ADHD, etc.) that attend with their elementary/middle school special education classrooms from participating Santa Fe schools.

The School Outreach Program is an empowering and fun, goal-based, and individual-specific lessons related to caring for and riding horses, with proven results in helping students to improve cognitive brain functioning, muscle strengtehning, fine & gross motor skills, communication, coordination, concentration, and self-esteem, all while experiencing joy. 

Through attaining the above benefits, students experience increases in comprehensive wellness, quality of life, and overall independence in living activities. The School Outreach Program offers no-cost services to Santa Fe special education classrooms. The program helps to close the gap that exists for vulnerable populations in our community who live in poverty and have high disparities (i.e., children/youth with disabilities also often exhibit risk factors associated with increased depression, poor impulse control, lack of behavioral self-control/regulation, aggressiveness, hyperactivity/ADHD, and antisocial behavior). The program currently serves children/youth with disabilities through one or a combination of two equine-assisted activities: 1) In-Classroom Learning (with the use of
NMCTR’s mini horse, Sherman) which includes activities to build on the classroom’s curriculum goals (counting, colors, personal safety, etc), and 2) a therapeutic horseback riding program where students learn horseback riding skills that integrate physical activity and social/emotional learning skill development. By increasing physical fitness, self-confidence, and overall mental and physical well-being in underserved youth/children with special needs, NMCTR “Changes Lives One Stride at a Time.”

NMCTR’s School Outreach Program is beloved by the Santa Fe community’s special education teachers and administrators, as it has helped to show marked improvement in students’ capabilities in a myriad of areas. The program has a three-year-long waiting list with increased funding needed beyond the current budget to serve more deserving children in special education classrooms in Northern New Mexico.