Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program, Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What does the Program do?
A. NVTRP provides therapeutic horseback riding instruction to children and adults with physical, emotional and mental disabilities.  The mission of the Program is to enrich the quality of life of its students through these activities.

© Joan Brady Photography

Q. What are the benefits of therapeutic riding?
A. Individuals gain both physical and emotional rewards through challenging and stimulating activities. Riders improve balance, strength, coordination, confidence, concentration and self-discipline while having fun.  Individual results may vary.

Q. What qualifies this program to provide this service?
A. The Program is accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) which inspects each Program location and sets stringent safety and educational standards. All of our instructors are NARHA certified.

Q. Who can participate?
A. We accept applications for children and adults with many different types of disabilities. Children must be 4 years or older for therapeutic riding and 2 years or older for hippotherapy.  We recommend that you apply early so that you reserve a slot on the waiting list.

Q. Where do we operate?
A. We conduct lessons in Clifton, VA.

© Joan Brady Photography

Q. How often does a student ride?
A. Most students ride in groups of 2-4 for 45 minutes, once a week. The 45 minute lesson includes mounting and dismounting, the riding session and sometimes grooming and tacking the horse. We conduct several riding sessions each year, beginning in March and ending in December.

Q. What do students wear?
A. We require students to wear long pants, boots or shoes with a heel, and an ASTM-SEI approved safety helmet.

Q. What happens to lessons in inclement weather?
A. Lessons continue as planned and we instruct students in the barn. Students learn to groom the horses, learn about the tack (bridles and saddles), and help with feeding the horses. We make every effort to hold all scheduled lessons. If NVTRP must cancel a lesson, we update our voicemail message 2 hours before the lesson time. Parents can call 703-764-0269 so they will know if the lesson has been cancelled due to extreme weather.

Q. How is the Program funded?
A. Lesson fees cover only 50% of our budget so to supplement funds from lesson fees, NVTRP provides several fundraising opportunities, including the Driving for Riding Golf Tournament in May and the Ride to Thrive Polo Classic in September. We also have a corporate sponsorship program, receive individual tax-deductible donations and participate in the United Way/CFC campaigns (participant #8400 for UW and #60139 for CFC).

Q. How are the funds used?
A. The funds are used for tuition assistance (all riders are charged only half the real cost of lessons), staff salaries, insurance, care and feeding of the horses, equipment and general business operating expenses.

Q. How can I help?
A. Visit our Volunteer page to find out how you can help.