WHITE OAKS THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN CENTER

Winston Churchill once said "There's something about the outside of a horse that's good for the inside of a man," and this is the spirit of horsemanship the WHOA strives to exemplify by providing equestrian therapy to children and adults with disabilities. The WHOA therapeutic riding program works to improve partcipants' physical capabilities and functional skills, as well as furnish them with the opportunity of recreational physical activity and social interaction. WHOA is a non-profit organization founded to serve disabled individuals to not only enhance their individual lives, but to strengthen families and communities.

At the individual level, therapeutic riding lessons are progressive for each student and focus on mastery of basic safety and horsemanship skills before advancement to additional horsemanship opportunities. All lesson plan outlines work to successively master smaller task and knowledge goals through skill repetition to complete a final horsemanship skill. The final goal for all students is a degree of independent, mounted riding proficiency.

At the organizational level, in order to best provide for as many participants as possible, WHOA must maintain a reliable herd of program horses and increase fundraising initiatives, community collaboration, and marketing tactics. The WHOA staff and Board of Directors is developing a three-year business and strategic plan to increase and diversify programming opportunities while increasing financial stability.

WHOA has a sound herd of program horses, a safe and reliable facility with room for growth at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds, and over 20 years of program existence and strong community support as a platform for providing quality equestrian therapy services. WHOA has identified and hired key personnel to meet the growing demands of a larger and more diversified equestrian therapy program. The Program Director is responsible for all aspects of program maintenance, development, and compliance with PATH standards. The Head Instructor is PATH certified and determines individual goals, develops lesson plans, equine-assisted activities, and additional programming for all participants. WHOA also has an instructor-in-training. The Program Director is also in charge of fundraising and marketing initiatives in addition to volunteer recruitment, scheduling, and training. The Program Director is responsible for procuring, continuously training, and maintaining the health and wellness of WHOA's program horses, in addition to facilities management and upkeep.

WHOA has provided continuous, reliable, and safe therapeutic riding and equine assisted activities programming for over 20 years. It is a founding WHOA policy that no eligible participant will be turned away or removed from the program due to inability to pay and no participant ever has been. WHOA has grown to include 25 participants, 1 certified PATH instructor, and over 40 volunteers. WHOA is known and supported throughout the Whiteside county community as a worthy and valuable non-profit organization.

WHOA has primarily focused on therapeutic riding programming for individuals with physical, mental, and/or emotional disabilities. This aspect of WHOA programming hopes to expand to include field trips, day camps, and competition in the Special Olympics. In addition, WHOA seeks to diversify its programming to include equine-assisted psychotherapy, equine-facilitated wellness programs, veteran's programming, and equine-assisted activities for at-risk youth.