About the Nonprofit
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Albany Therapeutic Riding Center (ATRC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in 1985 as the first therapeutic riding center in the Capital District region of upstate New York. Since then, ATRC has continuously assisted participants to work towards and meet their respective physical, cognitive, social, and emotional goals, through adaptive horsemanship lessons at a level that is safe and most beneficial for each individual. As a PATH certified program, ATRC serves individuals with physical, mental and emotional disorders while also promoting the advancement of equine assisted services for life-long impact.
Our programs serve individuals including youth, adults and senior citizens with the following qualifying disabilities: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, OCD, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Rett Syndrome, Visual Impairments, Hearing Impairments, Anxiety, Depression, Grief, PTSD, Learning Disabilities, ODD, Paraplegia, ADD, trauma. Participants are assessed and work with ATRC’s instructors to achieve their respective physical, cognitive, social, and emotional goals, as described in their individual plans and in coordination with their care team. Therapies include adaptive horsemanship lessons at a level that is safe and most beneficial for each individual and may include mounted horseback riding, or unmounted lessons in grooming, horse care and groundwork. The majority of our ridership resides in Albany County, however we also serve riders from across the Capital Region and surrounding areas. ATRC is currently in the planning stages of standing up two additional programs; one serving veterans and one serving children in the foster care system and their foster or adoptive families.
In addition to providing services, ATRC is dedicated to promoting the benefits of therapeutic riding and is certified to mentor and provide supervised experience to individuals seeking PATH certification and entry into the field of therapeutic riding. In 2023, ATRC was designated as the Capital Region's training center for the New York State Special Olympics Equestrian team.
Currently ATRC has a staff of five employees including the executive director, three full time instructors and two part time stable hands. In addition we leverage a network of over 80 volunteers who help with participant lessons, equine care and facility maintenance. In addition, ATRC has a volunteer Board of Directors, several of whom share responsibility for organizational operations and business continuity, including building and administering the annual budget and finances, planning and running vital in-person and virtual fundraising events, managing individual donations, communicating with donors, maintaining and implementing payroll operations, developing and maintaining organizational guidelines and procedures, and developing and submitting grant applications.
