The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING HAPPY TRAILS RIDING ACADEMY
______
HON. CONNIE CONWAY
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 7, 2022
Ms. CONWAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Happy Trails Riding Academy for decades of service in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
Happy Trails was founded in 1984 as a small, backyard program in Tulare, California, providing therapy through horseback riding. While the academy began by serving only a few riders, its operation has expanded into a beautiful facility serving thousands of rides each year.
The sole, fully accredited therapeutic riding center in the San Joaquin Valley between Modesto and Bakersfield, Happy Trails serves people of all ages, but mostly children. Through horseback riding, the academy provides an alternative to traditional therapy for people suffering from physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, ADD, ADHD, head trauma, brain injury, sight and hearing impairments, Autism, and Down Syndrome.
Aside from physical improvements, Happy Trails is proud of the psychological benefits their therapy provides, including improved self-
confidence, increased interest in the outside world, emotional control, self-discipline, and a sense of normality. The social improvements are also worth noting: riders gain new friends and a sense of joy they've often lost in life.
Happy Trails is volunteer driven--an average of seventy-five people volunteer each week, donating more than eleven-thousand hours of service yearly. The academy also partners with major community organizations including Tulare Youth Service Bureau, Tulare County Mental Health, United Way, and Kaweah Delta Rehabilitation Center of Kaweah Delta Hospital. Appreciative of the support the community provides, Happy Trails reciprocates by opening its facility for events by other nonprofits.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to join me in commending Happy Trails Riding Academy for decades of service in the San Joaquin Valley and for many more decades of growth and success to come.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 161(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 161(2)
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