Rhonda Kittredge wanted to be among horses after her mother passed away. Volunteering at a barn was an option, but purchasing one was not.
She first volunteered to feed the horses once a week since she was curious and ended up discovering Forward Stride. She claimed she enjoyed the experience and was advised to enroll in a mentorship program to work with young people who have recently been adopted or are in the foster system. This is just one of the several ways the organization has used horse therapy to support disabled individuals and at-risk adolescents.
According to Kittredge, it does have an impact. Sometimes you see these kids year after year, and you can see how much they’ve grown and how much more confident they are now than they were at the beginning.
At Beaverton-based Forward Stride, which primarily serves individuals in the Portland metropolitan region, Kittredge is one of about 190 volunteers. The nonprofit was started in 2003 as a grassroots initiative by Amber Varner, its executive director, and about nine other people who had left a prior group that had disbanded. Varner said she and others volunteered to help establish it for at least three years.
The goal of Forward Stride is to enhance lives via individualized programs based on therapies and activities involving horses. The nonprofit was chosen as a recipient of the 2024 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
> Contribute to the Season of Sharing general fund or Forward Stride. The code Season2024 can also be texted to 44-321.
Varner stated, “That’s the lens we look at.” Does this have the potential to improve the human being’s quality of life?
Its programs are divided into three primary categories: equestrian sports, which include learning to ride and horsemanship; physical and occupational treatment; mental health services, which include equine-assisted psychotherapy; and personal development, which encourages the development of life skills. With about 140 students paying for either group or private instruction, its riding program is the biggest. Both people with and without disabilities can benefit from it.
Working in Tandem is a free nine-month program that runs concurrently with the school year for adolescents aged 6 to 18 who are in foster or adoptive care. One of the numerous volunteers who serves as a mentor for Working in Tandem, Kittredge meets with her mentee once a week for an hour. They are given the same horse for the duration of the program and are overseen by a certified clinician.
According to Kittredge, the youngster or teen leads the session and has the option of brushing, braiding, or grooming the horse. Being around a horse helps them escape from anxieties or frustrations they carry, allowing them to take a moment to relax, she said.
Sometimes I ll meet with a person, and they get out of the car and they re grumpy, they re frustrated, they re anxious, they re scared, they re crying, Kittredge said. Sometimes they re just so frustrated, and just being in the presence of a horse brings an overwhelming calmness to them, and it just sort of lets them have a second to relax.
The fact that the mentees have choice in their session is crucial to Kittredge because a large portion of their lives have been outside their control. According to her, the mentorship will only offer stability for a very small percentage of their week.
Varner added that in addition to stability, it’s a place where they can be themselves without fear of criticism.
Forward Stride s annual budget was roughly $1.3 million in 2021, the latest year for which its tax filing is available. Most of the funds go into staffing and horse care and supplies. The organization has seen great growth in the last decade, more than doubling its revenue since 2015, according to tax records.
Part of that growth has led to different organizations reaching out for their services. In 2019, Forward Stride partnered withJanus Youth Programsto work with residents at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility for a six-week period in the summer. It also works with the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest.
Leaders of the organization say the extra fundraising will help them continue their life changing programs, including the programs helping at-risk youth.
Forward Stride currently has about 34 employees, a mix of full-time, part-time and seasonal. Most of its revenue in 2021 came from contributions, program fees and fundraising events.
The Oregonian/OregonLive
What your donation can do
$25:Covers one hour of certified therapeutic riding instructor time for at risk youth programming.
$50:Covers hay for one horse for one month.
$100:Covers the hauling of horses to MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility for therapeutic programming.
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