Your Stories. Our Success. It's What We Do.

"Our son has been riding at the center since he was 2 years old, which was 12 years ago! During his years at Shea we watched the center grow and become a state of the art therapeutic riding center helping a variety of individuals with special needs. As a parent, I can tell you, this is one place my child is accepted 100% - no matter his ability, behavior or level of need. When we first came to the center, it was my only hour out of the day that I didn't have to hold my son, it was my respite. I usually sat behind a tree and relaxed. It was also a place to meet other parents of children who had special needs. It has become a place of hope for me now. I hope one day my son can give back to the center!"

The Shea Center operates under the rules and regulations of The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). In 2007 we received an almost perfect rating (99%) during our NARHA certification, reaffirming the success of staff and volunteers to provide a safe and effective environment at all times.

A variety of therapeutic riding classes are usually operating at the same time over various parts of the property. A NARHA certified instructor, assigned to each class, will lead that class through riding exercises specifically designed to address and improve client disabilities. Group classes are small, usually 4 - 6 riders, and last about 1 hour.

Hippotherapy sessions are provided by licensed therapists who have also received AHA (American Hippotherapy Association) certification and NARHA instructor certification. These sessions can be individual or in small groups. They focus on therapeutic goals and objectives derived from the therapist's evaluation; primarily physical therapy on horseback.

Clients must be at least two years of age to participate in the hippotherapy program, and four years of age to participate in therapeutic riding classes. There is no maximum age, as long as the rider has no physical or medical contraindications.

In order to ensure safety and well-being, riders must have proper release forms signed by a physician and must be evaluated by one of our licensed physical therapists, prior to enrollment. The Center will then design individual plans tailored to the client's ability and needs.

Frequent evaluations of each client's progress are made by our staff.

We assign clients to the appropriate program based on the results of the preliminary evaluations conducted by our licensed therapists.

» Tuition for a 10 week group therapeutic riding class is $400.

» Hippotherapy treatment is $105 per visit.

» Fees are set artificially low to provide access to the greatest number of clients. Program fees cover only 13% of the cost of operating the Shea Center.

» The Shea Center does not manage direct insurance billing and does not receive any reimbursements directly from insurance companies, however, some medical plans cover these fees so check with your provider.