NOTRA (North Okanagan Therapeutic Riding Association) is a non-profit, charitable organization, that has been improving the quality of life for disabled children and adults in the community of North Okanagan, BC, since 1984.
Our program is run by volunteers
and funded by donations.
We have been at our present location, the Historic O'Keefe Ranch, since 1993.
Quick Facts About NOTRA
NOTRA was incorporated as a society in 1984 and made operated out of several different facilities in the greater Vernon area until settling into our present home at the Historic O’Keefe Ranch in 1993.
NOTRA operates two sessions per year: 8 weeks in the spring (mid-April to the beginning of June) and
7 weeks in the fall (mid-September to the end of October).
NOTRA has an average of 70 riders per week and has had as many as 95 per week!
In 2008 NOTRA provided lessons for a total of 149 riders between our two sessions.
Spring Session 2008 we had 84 riders, 30 adults & 54 youth (18 & under).
Fall Session 2008 we had 65 riders, 29 adults & 36 youth (18 & under).
The majority of riders come from Vernon & surrounding areas, however we have riders that attend from Sorrento, Salmon Arm, Canoe, Enderby & Armstrong, Lake Country & Kelowna. Some of the disabilities represented are autism, cerebral palsy, post-stroke, brain injuries, vision or hearing impairment, Down's Syndrome, ADD & ADHD as well as several more rare conditions.
Our current hours of operation are 8:30am – 5:30pm on Mondays and 11:30am – 5:30pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
It can take anywhere from 4 to 12 volunteers to run a single class of four riders, depending on the rider’s ability levels.
Calculating the cost of feeding the horses, transportation, farrier, veterinarian, administration, wages, tack & facility maintenance, etc. It costs approximately $57.50 per hour per rider for NOTRA to run a session.
NOTRA only charges our riders $16.50 per lesson ($2.50 of which is put toward the rider’s annual memberships with NOTRA and O’Keefe Ranch) This means the NOTRA board of directors must fundraise to cover the additional $43.50 per lesson per rider. This translates into an amount of $304.50 per rider for the fall session and $348 per rider for the spring session.
Only a handful of NOTRA riders pay the whole cost of $60 per lesson (usually those who receive autism funding or have trust funds, etc.)
NOTRA runs our program with 13 horses, 7 that we own and maintain year round and 6 that are free-leased to the program just for the sessions.
NOTRA offers what is referred to as “Recreational Horseback Riding Therapy”- the combination of traditional horsemanship skills with stretching & balance exercises, games on horseback that encourage cognitive & physical development and trail riding. Our riders enjoy benefits such as:
- increased mobility
- greater concentration
- increased attention span
- greater self–esteem
- improved balance
- improved posture
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Current News
(click image to view full size)
Ride-A-Thon 2009
was a success!
NOTRA’s 18th Annual Ride-A-Thon took place on Sunday, June 28th at Coldstream Ranch Chalet, 8604 Hwy 6, Vernon, BC. To read more, check out our Ride-A-Thon page!
Links
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