Executive Summary

Executive

SUMMARY

Nestled in downtown Atlanta, Chastain Horse Park is both a beautiful event space and a full-service horse stable. Along with boarding horses and offering riding lessons, Chastain is specially known for its hippotherapy and therapeutic riding lessons. Hippotherapy has been used as a physical, occupational, and speech therapy treatment strategy, using the horse’s movement to help improve sensory processing. It has been proven beneficial for many who suffer from a wide range of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, developmental delay, autism, and traumatic brain injury. Therapeutic riding focuses on creating a relationship between the rider and the horse. Ultimately benefiting the rider, this form of treatment heals through physical activity, increased responsibility, and emotional stimulation.

Each hippotherapy and therapeutic riding lesson is guided by a therapist and two volunteers, one to guide the horse and one at the side of the rider. Because of Chastain’s pristine facilities and gentle horses, therapeutic riding and hippotherapy lessons have been in high demand, providing over 100 lessons a week to those in need. However, volunteer levels for the therapy programs were low. It was our job to increase awareness about Chastain Horse Park’s amazing volunteer program and in turn increase volunteer participation.