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As stated on our home page, Dream Catcher Stables is an all-volunteer public charity in its thirteenth year, and is on the path to achieving the growth and development necessary to fulfill its mission:
"To provide a place in perpetuity where people with disabilities can be equal, capable and successful, growing to their maximum potential through interaction with horses in a positive environment".
We accomplish our mission by providing educational, recreational, and sport, programming, including vocational/prevocational opportunities, to youth at risk and youth and adults with disabilities. Individuals are accepted without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, or socio-economic background. Our funding comes from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Participation in horsemanship invites family involvement and can enhance family relationships. Community awareness and volunteerism are generated. For our athletes, new possibilities and capabilities are being realized due to improved motor skills, heightened self-esteem, real accomplishment, and inclusion in the main stream of life.
Dream Catchers is the outgrowth of several pilot projects spanning 13 years. In terms of finances and assets, we have gone from a program with one horse and $5,000 of debt to a program with 8 horses, 98 acres under long-term lease, an ten horse barn, arena, and the bare bones budget in the bank each year since 2007. Serving just 4 athletes in the beginning, our 2011 competition team includes 21 riders. Our funding comes from individuals, corporations, foundations, and an annual fundraiser. Since being granted a permanent public charity ruling from the IRS in July 2003, we have made steady progress toward our ultimate goal.
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About the Therapeutic Riding Industry
Having begun over 200 years ago in Europe, with possible origins in ancient Greece, horseback riding for persons with disabilities taught horsemanship first. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s the concept came to the United States along with the stories of people with physical disabilities recovering or gaining use of their limbs as a result of riding a horse. Thus was born the Therapeutic Riding Industry in the United Sates and the Professional Association of Theraputic Horsemanship International (PATH International). While European programming progressed toward therapy from horsemanship, the United States model began with therapy.
Path International is an umbrella organization for the United States. Providing awareness and dissemination of information to the public and the industry, PATH Intl certifies instructors and accredits centers.
The next three pages show graphically, the story of our industry today and location of area facilities.
Dream Catcher Stables, Inc. is a part of the Recreation/Leisure, Education, and Sport segments of the therapeutic riding industry. Providing therapeutic horsemanship, we are unique to the Greater Houston Area. We subscribe to the principles of safety of PATH Intl, Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA), and Special Olympics. Our center is designed to serve 150 students a week, using 10 horses. Until we are able to construct a more permanent facility and have weekday lesson capability we are able to serve approximately 30 athletes each week.
In 1986, under Sanna Roling’s guidance, San Jacinto Girl Scouts began the Special Education Riding Program to provide horseback riding to their Girls Scouts with special needs. That program has since been integrated into the regular program as the council began to understand that girls with special needs are girls with abilities, sometimes needing a bit of extra help.
Special Olympics Texas Area 4 recruited Sanna Roling in 1987. Under her guidance, the Equestrian sport was introduced to the coaches and athletes. Once being declared an official sport, Sanna was named the Event Director and Trainer. In 1998 she returned her full energies to coaching. Personally she trained between five and eighteen athletes each year with the following results: 108 firsts, 113 seconds, 80 thirds, 63 fourths, 48 fifths, 23 sixths, 16 sevenths, 4 eighths, and 19 participation awards.
A place of their own in the pilot years
Using 2-4 horses and 9 volunteers, Sanna Roling provided 576 program hours to 85 equestrians grades 1-12 between October 28, 1994 and April 30, 1995. Volunteer driven, the program acquired three horses by donation, worked out of a barn and arena area, and briefly piloted vocational training for stable hands. The facilities did not work out. Facility doors were shut May 31,1995 with the end of Special Olympics competition. Undaunted by adversity a small Special Olympics Team continued by transporting horses from Pearland to a Kingwood school yard or the Humble Rodeo Arena when the weather, transportation, and people permitted.
Onward and Upward to Better Things
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Special Children’s Committee asked for Sanna’s expertise in designing their all disabilities horse show which became a reality in 1997. Because of this show, the program was able to add a few athletes with different disabilities. Our athletes competed in the inaugural and subsequent Top Hands Horse Shows.
Based on PILOT PROJECT SUCCESSES Dream Catcher Stables, Inc. set out to be a viable part of the solution to several of todays problems (i.e. juvenile crime, substance and physical abuse, illiteracy), especially in the school age populations, by
* Improving self-esteem.
* Encouraging interest and excellence in education.
* Improving attention span, behavior, speech, fine & gross motor skills.
* Reducing truancy.
* Providing training and competitive opportunities.
* Responding to increased demand for our services from parents, teachers, and adult equestrians.
* Providing the opportunity, in a positive environment, to fail in order to succeed.
We also expect to have a positive impact on the workforce by
* helping students understand the importance of getting an education
* providing vocational training in areas of horse management and care.
* providing job opportunities to persons with disabilities within our own organization.
* encouraging our members to achieve and exceed their personal goals.
Dream Catcher Stables, Inc. is Born
Ownership
Dream Catcher Stables, Inc., was incorporated in the State of Texas on August 23, 1999 and received Public Charity Status in a Permanent Ruling from the IRS on July 17, 2003, retroactive to August 23, 1999. Dream Catcher Stables, Inc. is a membership organization [under 501(c)(3), 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code] designed to promote the capabilities of people with disabilities in the education and business communities by providing life-long opportunity for equestrians to grow in self-esteem and capability through horsemanship education.
Concept
Designed to be
* Affordable to all.
* Most accessible to the people of Northern Harris County.
* A positive environment for persons with intellectual, emotional, and/or physical challenges or youth-at-risk.
* Available to it’s members for their lifetime.
The Educational/Sport approach provides opportunity for all equestrians, volunteers, and staff to grow and learn together. Discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, or socio-economic background simply IS NOT tolerated. Because there are medical contraindications for horseback riding for persons with certain physical disabilities, Dream Catcher Stables, Inc. reserves the right to require a Physician’s statement before allowing those persons having the medically contraindicated disabilities to participate in our program. Where riding is not an option, every effort is made to provide a safe, alternative horsemanship program for each individual. We hope to add carriage driving in the future.
Equestrians come from:
* Special Education Classrooms
* Institutions and group homes
* Individual recommendations from the medical community, educators, families, and friends.
Results
Working under less than ideal conditions, our athletes and volunteers have met the competition head on and competed very successfully. We moved onto our 98 leased acres in 2004 and have been conducting program continuously since October 31 of that year. Hurricanes, winter storms, and floods all impact our ability to teach as our property is recognized wetlands.
Assets
2 owned cargo containers
10 horse stalls
100’x156’ arena
Original lease extended through 2021
One truck
Two horse trailers
Disc, post hole digger, and box blade for our tractor
Leased portable toilet
Electricity
City water
People
Horsemanship Instructors
(1 PATH Intl, 2CHA, 1 Special Olympics, 5 Apprentices)
1 Nurse
1 Psychological therapist
A nucleus of 24 committed volunteers
26 active Athletes
A Board of Directors
Horses and equipment
8 Horses of our own
12 Western and 9 English saddles and an assortment of bridles and accessories
Objectives Met
We met
80% of our 1999 goals while operating solely on in-kind donations.
2000 by adding logo screened polo shirts for identity, an assortment of tack, and major financial assistance of grants from three foundations meeting 79% of our non-deferred goals.
2001 brought a very successful fundraiser, a home for the horses under long-term lease, two donated horses, new volunteers, and grants from two of last year’s donors.
2002 one step at a time, placing well in competition, garnering two additional grants from past donors, and being recognized in the press nationwide.
2003 excelling in competition, adding volunteers, athletes, fundraisers, grants from two sustaining donors, fence on our property, and recognition in the press at home, nationally, and internationally.
2004 preparing to bring our program back to Houston onto our leased land. Program opened for good October 31, 2004
2005 we organized our first annual fundraiser raising $5,242.10 and gained help from Kimball Hill Homes.
2006 head on and had our bare bones 2007 budget in the bank by December 31 for the first time.
2007 Television told our facility story as we spoke before Houston City Council. The annual fundraiser completed our
2008 bare bones budget. Only 21 lesson days were cancelled because of rain. Our Adjudicated Community Service program repaired our driveway, maintained our arena, and refurbished our stall floors. Several of our athletes became volunteers as well. Panalpina donated a cargo container to store our hay.
2008 revisiting our sliding fee scale with the base line now being $10 per month per family or donation of substantial time to the organization and reviewed long range plans. Smokey was named CHA School Horse of the Year. Sanna was one of five finalists for CHA Instructor of the year. Cindy LaGarce was nominated for L’Oreal’s Women of Worth award.
2009 updating our By Laws and a great deal of gratitude to The Houston Association of General Contractors who named us beneficiary of their golf tournament. We won the Top Club Award at the Top Hands Horse Show and purchased our 3-horse trailer. With the golf tournament proceeds we were able to purchase a truck to pull the trailer.
2010 with enthusiasm. A benefactor came forward and donated a travel trailer to be used as our office and temporary classroom.
Theft of our tractor on Halloween left us undaunted and resolved. Rob Clift was honored by his company as volunteer of the year which netted Dream Catcher $7,500.
2011 looking forward. Challenged with an ice storm and then a fire, two competitions were postponed or cancelled. We added a program to help with facility maintenance and teach high school students the consequences of bad choices. |
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