Sunday is the date for the 15th Annual Centaur Stride Therapeutic Horseback Riding Facility Walk-a-thon. It is again sponsored by the Lakewood Kiwanis and will be at the Chautauqua Mall.

Registration is in front of the Old Navy at 1:30 p.m. with the walk beginning at 2. Centaur Stride celebrated its 30th anniversary in July.

More than 600 people with disabilities have benefitted from our programs over the years. Some still ride regularly, others have taken breaks and then returned, some 20 years later! The benefits of therapeutic riding have been well documented but have also been witnessed through our programs.

All the horses have gone through extensive training, and each is chosen specifically for a rider depending on each individual need. Centaur Stride has had support from both the Northern Chautauqua and Chautauqua Region Community Foundations and Endowment Funds through the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. Individuals can donate directly to the CRCF to build the endowments.

The majority of Centaur Stride’s budget is through fundraisers and donations, and a modest $35 per lesson rider fee, well below cost. The organization has no government support or subsidy. Lessons are provided both for people with and without disabilities, so that programs are integrated.

It is Centaur Stride’s mission for people without disabilities to experience the joy and fulfillment of helping and engaging in activities with people who have challenges but otherwise have the same needs of acceptance and friendships.

Centaur Stride has no paid administrative staff. While that makes the responsibilities of the Board of Directors greater than if there was an executive director, it also allows the group to operate on a much smaller budget. This smaller budget is still very difficult to reach.

Centaur Stride is a not-for-profit corporation, and every penny is accounted for and squeezed to the max! We have a website www.centaurstride.org, but also a Facebook page “Centaur Stride Therapeutic Horseback Riding Facility.” Please “like” us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter. Therapeutic horseback riding and Equine Assisted Therapy is very labor intensive but also a labor of love.

“We are always in need of volunteers and community support. If you can’t join us for our Walk-a-thon, please consider sponsoring one of our teams by giving a donation through our online event at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/72db1719-1578-4637-9370-2a346da20747. Zeffy.com is a new and safe platform for not-for-profits that does not charge a fee to donate online through them. A donor has to be careful though because it is preset at a 17% fee. The donor has to change that fee to 0% if they do not wish to pay it. So 100% of money raised online goes directly to Centaur Stride. You can contact our facility at 716 326-4318 if you have any questions, or would like to register to ride or volunteer. Please join us at the Mall on Sunday,” organizers said in a news release. “Thank you to everyone who has donated time, money or support to keep our programs going for the benefit of our community. It takes a whole community to keep the good things here and to subsidize our fees to make them affordable for all. Costs have increased and many not-for-profits are experiencing hard times. Centaur Stride is among them. Hay will be over $8,000 this year and funds will need to be raised by July.”