Shea Center intern, Ainsley Berringer, is an occupational therapy student from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the same university and is currently working toward her Master of Occupational Therapy...
In order to become an instructor in a therapeutic/adaptive riding program, there are a number of requirements that must be met to ensure safe and effective teaching for riders with disabilities. At The Shea Center, all instructors are credentialed as Certified...
Our turn-out team is a new volunteering position our Volunteer Services Manager, Christina Lee, has arranged, to be sure our herd receives their well-deserved “time off” from their busy work schedules. These volunteers have excellent horsemanship skills and feel...
Come One, Come All, to The Shea Center’s Annual BBQ and Family Faire! We are inviting you to attend the 43rd annual BBQ at The Shea Center on Saturday, September 19. This is the Center’s largest fundraising event of the year, bringing in over 1600 community members,...
by Matt Mitchell, PT, DPT The J. F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center is focused on high-quality, client-centered care. We constantly seek to improve the lives of people with disabilities through therapeutic, horse-related programs. We so strongly believe in this ideal...
At 12.2 hands, Boog is the perfect size for The Shea Center’s smallest riders, and he enjoys his job helping little ones improve their core strength, balance and confidence. While short in stature, he has a wide base of support which creates a stable platform for...
On Saturday mornings, Lesson Treatment Assistants (LTAs) arrive at The Shea Center at 7:30 a.m., to get horses ready for the long day’s work. Working horses before their lessons is an important responsibility of the LTA position and a crucial part of the Shea horses'...
The program horses at The Shea Center are well cared for in the following manner: Each horse has its own diet consisting of one of two hay options for lunch and dinner, Timothy hay or Teff hay. We also feed our horses lunch, consisting of hay cubes containing a blend...
Emerson is a Labrador/Golden Retriever mix who has been “on staff” as The Shea Center’s facility dog for 10 years this November! Trained by professional instructors at Canine Companions for Independence to work in a health care, visitation, or educational setting,...
Joy Kirby is our volunteer of the month! She learned of The Shea Center through her son’s girlfriend, Taylor Jepsen, who has been a Shea Center volunteer for a year. After hearing about Taylor’s positive experiences at the Center, Joy signed on as a volunteer this...