Standing Ovation by Ovation Riding

Every Friday, Horse Nation teams up with Ovation Riding to spotlight an individual or organization doing good work in the horse industry. Today we recognize Equine Tranquility Wellness Center.

Equine Tranquility Wellness Center was nominated for today’s Standing Ovation by Beverly Shearstone:

I am emailing you concerning a wonderful place. It is Equine Tranquility Wellness Center in Andover, NJ. The work that is done there is amazing. It is a therapeutic riding facility which gives riding lessons to special needs people in particular as well as lessons to the general public.

There is a school which brings their special needs children for riding lessons twice per week. As a volunteer at ETWC I have the privilege of working with the horses and the lessons. I have been with ETWC for approximately 17 months and have seen amazing progress with these children. I would say the largest percentage are on the autistic spectrum.

The ages of the riders are from 4 to probably 65 or so. The owner is Colleen O’dea. She is wonderful with the riders and continuously goes to seminars and training. She is PATH certified. I could write pages about the wonderful things that are done at ETWC.

Equine Tranquility Wellness Center is a non-profit therapeutic riding center serving individuals of all ages with emotional, psychological or physical disabilities. The center’s offerings include riding lessons, therapeutic sessions, equine assisted learning, yoga on horseback and other programs, in private or group sessions. Director and instructor Colleen O’Dea is certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, or PATH.

ETWC’s herd of lesson and therapy animals come through rescue or through generous donation. Horses can be individually sponsored by donors to help defray the cost of care. ETWC operates with a number of volunteers, both to work with students in lesson settings and to care for horses.

To learn more about Equine Tranquility Wellness Center, please visit the organization’s website as well as Facebook page. Testimonials from volunteers like Beverly as well as students and family who posted reviews on the Facebook page attest to what a special place ETWC must be!

Many thanks thanks to Ovation Riding for their support of both Horse Nation and individuals and organizations that are doing good work in the horse world. If you know someone who deserves a Standing Ovation, we would love to recognize them in a future post. Email the name of the person or organization along with a message about the good work they do to [email protected]. Photos/videos are always welcome, and include a link to their website if applicable.