Outreach programs are helping to bring horses to underserved communities. For equestrian enthusiasts, they also offer a path to sustainability for our sports.
By Amber Heintzberger
A teenager who has struggled with mental health, now calm and confident in the saddle and comfortable with their “barn family.” A person learning what it means to be responsible for the care of another living being. A child from limited financial means who’s able to spend time around horses. A person with a physical disability who finds freedom on the back of a horse. All are examples of how equine-related programs can provide transformative experiences for people across a spectrum of physical, psychological, and financial situations.
Scenes like this are playing out across the country every day, thanks to a growing network of community-outreach programs designed to bring horses within reach of people who might otherwise never have the opportunity to engage with horses. Here’s a look at how some organizations are opening the door.
A Nationwide Community Outreach Network
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) in 2021 launched its Community Outreach Program with the goal of expanding access to horses and horse sport for underserved and underrepresented populations. Participating organizations “must meet certain standards of horse and human welfare, including USEF Safe Sport requirements and abiding by the USEF nondiscrimination policy, as well as offer their services for free or on a sliding scale of fees based on financial need,” according to the USEF website. Once accepted, organizations are featured in a directory on the USEF website and work collaboratively with USEF to make a difference in people’s lives through horses. They can also apply for USEF Opportunity Fund grants.
Some Community Outreach Program participating organizations operate out of therapeutic-riding centers, serving individuals with physical, cognitive, or emotional challenges. Others focus on youth development, introducing horses to children from urban or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Still others blend equine rescue, education, and riding into innovative models that help both humans and horses.
Promoting Diversity in Equestrian Sport
The eventing community has a couple of programs that have been successful at encouraging involvement from minority populations. Strides for Equality Equestrians (SEE) was developed to create equitable opportunities for BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) equestrians. SEE offers a summer camp, scholarships, and a professional-pathways program, as well as guidance for allies.
The Full Moon Farm Eventing Foundation (FMFEF) at Full Moon Farm in Finksburg, Maryland, strives to promote good horsemanship; to prevent marginalization; and to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sport. It offers an eventing camp for adults and a summer camp for children, with scholarships available to make the programs more accessible. Its goals are to promote acceptance of diverse races, religious affiliations, and sexual and gender orientations in equestrian sport.
In 2025, the FMFEF raised nearly $30,000 and established a United States Eventing Association (USEA) annual grant that will allow it to take its mission to a national scale.
Dressage as a Natural Outreach Vehicle
In dressage, the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) has long prioritized education as a cornerstone of its mission, supporting riders and instructors at every level through its affiliated clubs, called group-member organizations (GMOs). These organizations encourage local engagement via clinics, schooling shows, and educational programs, all of which can serve as entry points for riders introduced to horses through outreach initiatives.
The growth of para-dressage—an international equestrian discipline for athletes with physical disabilities—and adaptive riding has highlighted the inclusivity inherent in dressage. Riders of varying physical abilities can participate, reinforcing the idea that the sport is open to a wide range of participants, no matter their limitations.
Therapeutic and adaptive riding programs provide physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits and often serve as a first introduction to horses and riding. For some participants, these experiences become a gateway to para-dressage or other forms of equestrian sport. Many successful para-dressage athletes, for example, started out in such programs and developed an interest in para-dressage to feed their competitive desires. (For more, see my article “Para-Dressage: From Therapy to the Center Line” in the May/June 2026 issue of USDF Connection.)
Bringing Horses to Underserved Communities
There’s no way around it: Horses and riding are costly. Financial-accessibility initiatives address this significant barrier to entry in equestrian involvement. Sliding-scale lesson programs, scholarships, and creative models such as horse-sharing or sponsored rides can help make participation more feasible for families that might otherwise be excluded.
Education-based outreach programs emphasize horsemanship by offering clinics, demonstrations, and hands-on learning opportunities that demystify the horse world. For many newcomers, learning how to groom and work around a horse is a powerful first step. Here are some of the programs working to make horses more accessible to all.
Located in the New York City metro area, the Metropolitan Equestrian Team (MET) Equine Opportunity Program is a wraparound education and equine program that provides youth nationwide with access to equestrian sports, collegiate advisement, academic advancement, online classrooms, and fund-raising opportunities.
Many youth-development programs, particularly those in urban areas, focus on life skills as much as riding. The Philadelphia-based Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, for instance, is designed to preserve the tradition of urban Black cowboys while transforming the lives of predominantly Black urban youth through horsemanship in the inner city. Similarly, near Los Angeles, the Compton Cowboys (tagline: “Streets Raised Us. Horses Saved Us”) and its youth offshoot, the Compton Junior Equestrians, use horseback riding and equestrian culture to provide a positive influence on inner-city youth and to combat negative stereotypes. Participants learn responsibility, empathy, and perseverance through horse care and ground work, with riding as one component of a broader educational experience.
A second Philadelphia initiative, Work to Ride, is a nonprofit stable that offers opportunities to inner-city kids. With his brothers, Kareem Rosser became involved in the program during their youth. His memoir, Crossing the Line, recounts his journey from poverty in West Philadelphia to becoming captain of the first all-Black national interscholastic polo championship team, detailing how the sport of polo and the Work to Ride program transformed his own life and his brothers’. Rosser now serves in leadership roles with the organization and contributes financially to their success.
Outreach Challenges
Finding funding is a constant concern for outreach programs, with many organizations relying on grants, donations, and volunteer support to sustain their efforts. Staffing can be equally difficult: Many programs run on a limited budget, and instructors and program leaders are tasked with teaching, horse care, administrative responsibilities, and even fund-raising work, all while striving to maintain high standards of barn safety and animal welfare. Access to suitable horses and facilities presents another hurdle. Outreach programs typically require horses that are not only sound and well-trained, but also adaptable to a wide range of riders and situations.
How Can I Help?
There are several reasons for dressage enthusiasts and equestrian-sport supporters to consider giving these and other equestrian-outreach programs a leg up.
First, horses make us better people. They ground us; they give our lives purpose and meaning; they teach us important skills and life lessons. Community-outreach programs connect people with horses in ways that are educational, meaningful, and even life-changing. If we can bring the power of horses to underserved communities, we may help in offering the prospect of a brighter future to some who are struggling.
Second, outreach plays a role in shaping public perception of equine activities. Programs that emphasize horse welfare, education for the general public, and positive human-horse interactions help to counter misconceptions about how horses are treated and to build broader support for equestrian sport.
Third, in order for our sport to continue to thrive, it must attract new participants. As access to lesson programs and stables continues to dwindle, and as the costs of riding and horsekeeping continue to rise, equestrian sports face real challenges in this realm. Expanding access could potentially expand the range of participants and introduce dressage to individuals who bring new perspectives and life experiences to the sport. Diversification is not only socially important, but essential for sustainability.
Finally, outreach creates a pipeline. Today’s first-time rider in a public or community program may become tomorrow’s regular riding-lesson student, dressage-show competitor, volunteer, or advocate. Even those who do not pursue riding long-term carry forward an understanding and appreciation of horses that benefits the entire equine industry.
Ready to step up? You don’t need to have deep pockets—although programs welcome financial or in-kind donations. Volunteering your time at a local program can make an immediate impact, whether it’s assisting with lessons, horse care, or events. Your USDF GMO could form a partnership with an area outreach program, offering educational opportunities or experiences and provide critical support.
If you’re a dressage professional, know that mentorship is a powerful tool. Instructor/trainers can welcome new riders, answer questions, and strive to create inclusive barn environments that help to bridge the gap between outreach participation and continued involvement in the sport.
The question is not whether outreach belongs within the dressage community, but how fully it will be embraced, and how many horse enthusiasts will be invited in.
