BREWSTER, New York – A decades-long dream is finally going to be realized.

After more than 30 years of providing therapeutic riding and other equine-assisted activities to thousands of children and adults with physical, emotional, and developmental challenges at various farms and barns in two states, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding is set to open its own facility this autumn in Brewster, New York.

The 32-year-old chapter-based therapeutic riding organization will provide further opportunity to increase variety of activities for its participants, including development of a sensory trail system. Also, the 20-acre farm with multiple large paddocks will give Pegasus’ horses a more natural living environment.

Set on a grand hillside overlooking picturesque Peach Lake, Pegasus’ new home is the former location of Dr. Bill Bradley’s New England Equine Practice. Thanks to a very generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous, Pegasus was able to finally purchase the 20-acre, $2.1 million parcel in June 2007, fulfilling the organization’s decades-long dream of owning a therapeutic riding facility.

“Over time, our new facility will enable Pegasus to expand its chapter-based program to not only accommodate more individuals and more classes,” said Pegasus executive director Patti Coyle, “but also expand our range of activities with new program features such as our sensory trail system to be developed in the woods on the property.”

Currently, Pegasus plans to keep the majority of its existing chapter locations in Fairfield County in Connecticut and Westchester County in New York, operating to continue to serve individuals in those areas. At the new farm, the horses will greatly benefit from the expanded pasture area and time they will have to run and play – to simply be horses.

This will help them in many ways: physically, by having the ability to move freely for extended periods of time, and mentally, as they are able to disconnect from the taxing and difficult jobs they have as therapy horses. With this additional space on the farm, Pegasus will be able to provide them with a more natural living environment.

Short-term plans for the property include transformation of the existing veterinary facilities to accommodate the office and barn staff and horses, as well as the construction of an outdoor riding ring and development of a sensory trail system. Long-term plans call for the construction of an indoor riding arena to enable Pegasus to offer therapeutic riding year-round, rain, snow or shine.

“The acquisition of this beautiful and functional facility will provide, for the first time, a base of operations that we can call our own and, over time, will permit expansion of program and other activities and will lead to more efficient operations,” said the president of the Pegasus Board of Directors, Bruce Dixon. “None of this would not have been possible without the generosity of a donor who had the foresight to understand the many benefits to Pegasus of having its own permanent facility.”

Pegasus Therapeutic Riding was founded in 1975 at the Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Darien by a group of volunteers who believed in the therapeutic power of horseback riding. Today, Pegasus has become one of the largest and most highly regarded therapeutic riding programs in the United States, serving some 200 students each year in programs at seven locations.

For more information, visit www.PegasusTR.org.