High Hopes, Therapeutic Riding, Old Lyme, Connecticut

“As NARHA embraces the goal of becoming a leading world authority on equine assisted therapies, we are truly fortunate to be able to rely on programs such as High Hopes, which has been a leader and has set the standard in our industry for many years.
…… High Hopes is the model for what is meant by the term Premier in "Premier Accredited Center".
--Dr. Paul Spiers, Former NARHA Board President

Image of an empty wheelchair at the outdoor riding rink

Welcome Image of a rider at a horse show to High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc. We are a premier therapeutic riding center and international instructor training site, Image of Instructor and Rider accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) since 1979. We have served people with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities for more than a quarter of a century.

We offer year round programs in equine assisted activities, including therapeutic riding, carriage driving and vocational training. We also offer experiential learning through outreach programs, an equine learning program and a variety of volunteer opportunities.

We offer the NARHA approved instructor training course, attracting students from all over the world as well as continuing professional education for anyone seeking increased education and lifelong learning. Our training is conducted by highly qualified professionals, widely recognized in the field of therapeutic riding.

High Hopes is a place where people come to heal, to learn and to make friends that last a lifetime. We strive to provide support and growth opportunities for all of our participants, families and caregivers.

Scholarships

The program fees collected cover approximately 30% of our costs, and our fundraising efforts enable us to subsidize the remaining 70%. With our commitment to accepting participants into our programs based on therapeutic need, regardless of financial means, we offer further scholarship assistance to those unable to pay the established fees. Scholarships (in the form of adjusted fees) are awarded through a simple application process. Fifty-five percent of our Equine Assisted Activities program participants receive some level of scholarship assistance toward their program fees. Scholarships are also available for Instructor Training Course students. Click here to download scholarship application forms.