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North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association, Inc. - Establishes Horses for
Heroes
Executive Director Robert Bambury of the South
Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center has
conferred with Mary Jo Beckman retired Navy
Commander and a NARHA Advanced Instructor, who
ran the Caisson Platoon pilot, and NARHA Region
Representative, Ross Braun, who, with Beckman,
imagined and helped create the program. The
North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association, Inc. (NARHA) today announced that
it plans to develop a nationwide program for
America’s wounded service personnel and
veterans. More than 700 NARHA centers work with
NARHA Certified instructors and various
professionals, including physical therapists,
occupational therapists, speech language
pathologists, psychiatrists and social workers
to physically improve, emotionally empower and
socially enhance the lives of individuals with
disabilities.
“Appreciating the power of the horse to change
lives is our goal,” said NARHA President Dr.
Paul Spiers, “and NARHA wants to provide
positive change for these very special lives.
Our service personnel have fought to preserve
our freedom, and, for many, at a very dear cost.
We must be certain that if our wounded service
personnel and veterans need and want this kind
of help, they will get the best NARHA has to
offer.
"Over the March 31 - April 1st weekend, at a
meeting of the organization’s board of trustees,
committees and membership representatives, NARHA
established Horses For Heroes. A task force was
formed to develop the program, pilot the methods
to be used, educate member instructors, and
monitor any services provided through NARHA’s
nationwide centers.
Based on the success of recent pilot programs at
Ft. Hood in Texas, and Ft. Myer in Virginia
where the United State Army’s 3rd Infantry
Regiment Caisson Platoon is headquartered, NARHA
wants to use the lessons learned to prepare
local centers for these service personnel as
they return to their home communities. The
Horses For Heroes task force will oversee and
facilitate the orderly development of
appropriate equine assisted activities, such as
therapeutic riding and driving, as well as
equine facilitated psychotherapy, tailored
specifically to the needs of service personnel
and veterans.
NARHA’s Chief Executive Officer, Sheila Kemper
Dietrich, noted that, “This is a population that
only a few of our centers have tried to serve in
the past, but it is clear how helpful Equine
Assisted Activities can be for our wounded
service personnel and veterans, and we need to
provide these opportunities, and approach this
in a systematic fashion.” Kemper Dietrich met
recently with many program heads at the
Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington,
DC, after Secretary R. James Nicholson
personally visited with the program conducted
with the Caisson Platoon.
NARHA’s national leadership in Horses For Heroes
will create a primary point of contact for
therapeutic riding centers, potential veteran or
service personnel clients, interested health
service providers, and for developing the
financial resources to support the program.
Kemper Dietrich is already negotiating with the
DVA to create a Memorandum of Understanding
between the two organizations. Despite the
overwhelming desire of many NARHA centers to
help, Horses For Heroes will need to be properly
funded, and it is hoped that it will ultimately
be furnished with a DVA reimbursement code, just
as for other forms of treatment.
The six-member Task Force will be led by Spiers
personally, and includes NARHA board member
Nelson Cole, whose son is a West Point graduate,
currently serving his third tour of duty in
Iraq. Joining them will be retired Navy
Commander Mary Jo Beckman, a NARHA Advanced
Instructor, who ran the Caisson Platoon pilot,
and NARHA Region Representative, Ross Braun,
who, with Beckman, imagined and helped create
the program. A fifth NARHA task force member is
Amanda Carey Hogan, a NARHA Advanced Instructor
and the director of Windrush Farm Therapeutic
Equitation Inc. in Boxford, MA. Another
important member of the task force will be
Command Sergeant Major Larry Pence, US Army
retired, the former senior NCO of the Army
National Guard. Once he was introduced to
therapeutic riding by Beckman, Pence briefed key
Pentagon and Military District of Washington
personnel about a pilot program at the Caisson
Platoon. With the success of the pilot and
continuation of that program, Pence has briefed
senior leaders of the Office of The Secretary of
Defense, the Army, and Army National Guard, as
well as assisting Beckman with a presentation at
the NARHA Region 3 conference about the benefits
of therapeutic riding, in hopes of offering
equine assisted activities to our wounded
personnel and veterans.
The North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association, located in Denver, Colorado, was
formed in 1969 to promote equine assisted
activities for individuals with special needs.
At over 700 member centers, a total of 36,000
children and adults find a sense of independence
through involvement with horses.
For information on the South Florida Veterans
Multi-Purpose Center’s Horse Assisted Therapy
Program for Veterans Contact Robert Bambury at
954-476-8381 |
