Naples Therapeutic Riding Center

Naples Therapeutic Riding Center will provide the most innovative, professional, effective and measurable equine activities and therapies to an expanding group of children and adults with special needs. As a leading regional provider, NTRC will become a model of best practices providing the highest quality equine therapy programs and will be recognized as a leading PATH Int'l. training and research center.

As identified in our Board approved 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, NTRC is committed to ensuring our continued success and program efficiency throught the implementation of the following Key Initiatives:

ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP TALENT
Invest in building stability and consistency throughout our staff leadership, employees and volunteer team. To be successful in this effort, we must address the challenging realities of staff compensation, advancement and retention issues experienced in the extremely competitive Naples and overall Collier County employment market.

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Create and implement a sustainable financial model to support continued program growth and innovation into the future, including building our endowment and exploring campus expansion opportunities.

EXPAND ACCESS TO SERVICES
Build program capacity by increasing access to our equine-assisted therapeutic programming throughout Collier and Lee County by continuing to focus on the reduction of our Therapeutic Riding Waiting List annually and maximizing growth opportunities for our EFL/EFP group programs.

MAXIMIZE PROGRAM IMPACT
Continuously deliver sustainable and impactful programming that helps each participant achieve their individual potential. Maintain PATH Int’l. “Premier” accreditation and certification standards; increase number of training and education offerings; become an industry leader in impact measurement by formalizing our existing PEPP evaluation practices and creating new methods to better validate equine-assisted group therapeutic program outcomes; and expand our outreach to create collaborations with non-profit partners in new service areas.

GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Create a governance structure which supports a strong and diversified board to provide the leadership necessary to fulfill our mission. Examine current structure, diversity, policies and practices of the Board and committees to ensure that the composition and activities of the Board are focused on accountability and aligned with the needs and values of the organization, including increasing community involvement and supporting a culture of innovation.

With the supportive leadership of our Board of Directors, NTRC successfully completed a three-year $4 Million capital campaign, and celebrated the opening of our Clark Family Equine-Assisted Therapy Center in late 2017, significantly expanding our campus and service capacity. Prior to the challenges presented by COVID-19, during our last full year of services, NTRC delivered safe and highly effective equine assisted therapeutic programs, providing 12,480 hours of service with the help of our 17-member professional team and over 350 dedicated and highly trained volunteers. With their help, we typically achieve measurable results for nearly 800 participants annually (ages 4-82) with special needs including residents from throughout Collier County (including Immokalee and Naples) and Lee County (Estero).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Our 17-member Board offers a diverse range of experience, including legal, finance and therapeutic/clinical expertise. Additionally, NTRC receives 100% financial support individually from the Board, as well as 100% of the members participate in our fundraising efforts.

PROFESSIONAL TEAM: NTRC currently operates with a total of 17 employees, with a full-time staff of nine, including the Executive Director, Finance Officer, Program Director, Barn and Property Director, Lead Barn and Property Assistant, Barn Assistant, Volunteer Manager, Volunteer Coordinator and Office Manager. Our part-time staff of eight includes (6) Instructors (all of whom hold the PATH Int’l. Therapeutic Riding Instructor certification and two of whom hold the additional Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning certification), a Volunteer Coordinator and a Mental Health Specialist.

VOLUNTEER TEAM: None of the valuable therapeutic services NTRC provides would be possible without our committed corps of 350+ active volunteers. Last year alone, our dedicated team contributed a total of 16,323 hours of donated in-kind services that provided an estimated market value of $326,460 annually for services rendered. Managing the intensive level of training, scheduling and retention activities required to effectively maintain the commitment of this valuable resource is a critical component of our successful operation.

COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS: NTRC has worked with dozens of Collier County not-for-profit organizations since its inception, including ABLE Academy, PACE Center for Girls, David Lawrence Center Children’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), Trailblazer Academy participants from the STARability Foundation, New Beginnings, Youth Haven, Valerie’s House, Crossroads, Mental Health Resource Center/FACT, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Avow Hospice and The Shelter for Abused Women and Children. These longstanding community collaborations have greatly strengthened the impact of our overall services, specifically in the growth of our EFL/EFP Group programs.

For the three years prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, NTRC typically served nearly 800 unduplicated special needs participants annually. Despite a decrease to 497 unduplicated participants in 2020 resulting from a mandated lockdown from March to September 2020, we have fully resumed our equine assisted therapeutic services and introduced innovative new programming that we anticipate will return us to our historical service levels in calendar year 2021. Historically, 69% of the total participants served by our programming were children/youth under the age of 21, with 45% females and 55% male and 25% Hispanic ethnicity.

Special needs often place severe financial, physical and emotional demands on the families we serve. Too often, they have exhausted available medical insurance benefits but still require effective therapeutic options. Although NTRC has maintained our affordable $10 weekly lesson fee since we were founded in 1997, last year alone nearly 60 rider families still needed scholarships to cover the entire 45-week program season. Currently, NTRC’s actual cost per session is $46, including the instructor, barn and arena personnel costs plus the care and maintenance costs for our 14-horse highly trained therapy herd, including hay, feed /supplements, farrier costs, dental and veterinarian visits to ensure our “essential workers” remain healthy and physically fit. NTRC relies on generous private individuals and foundation supporters to ensure our ability to keep our life changing services affordable for all those we serve.