The Meadows Equine Competitors

Equest's mission is to enhance the quality of life for children and adults with diverse needs by partnering with horses to bring hope and healing through equine assisted activities and therapies. Equest is a 501 (c) (3) public charity, IRS Tax ID 75-1823701. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Our organization is not a United Way Agency. We are dependent upon charitable gifts and grants to support our programs.

HOPE - Horses Helping People, Inc. is a not for profit organization that provides therapeutic and recreational equine-assisted activities to individuals with special needs. HOPE's services include occupational therapy, therapeutic horseback riding, and a residential equine visitation program called Pony Pals. Horses for Heroes is a new initiative to provide occupational therapy services to veterans and service men and women completely free.

At Reins of Life, we help people discover what they can do. Through equine-assisted services, we enhance quality of life for children and adults, ages 2 to 102, experiencing physical, cognitive, communication, sensory, social, emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. We recognize that no two people experience a diagnosis or life challenge in exactly the same way. That's why our services are designed around each participant's unique abilities, needs, and goals - not diagnosis alone. At the heart of our work is the unique connection between horse and human. Horses provide immediate, nonjudgmental feedback and powerful motivation to engage, communicate, move, learn, connect, and try something new. Together with our trained team, they create opportunities for participants to work toward greater confidence, independence, self-regulation, communication, physical ability, and social connection. Our interdisciplinary approach further strengthens that work. Reins of Life instructors collaborate with licensed professionals in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and social work, expanding our ability to understand interconnected challenges and support the whole person. And the environment itself matters. Reins of Life offers something distinctly different from a traditional medical office or classroom. It is welcoming, inclusive, experiential, and centered on what each individual can do. The horse becomes both a partner and a motivator, helping shift attention away from limitations and toward possibility. Sometimes that shift begins with something small: a movement, a connection, a word, a decision to try. And sometimes it leads to an important discovery: “I can do more than I thought I could.” That's the possibility we work toward every day.