WHO WE ARE
At North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association, a non-profit charitable organization, we are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our riders. Our Mission is to enrich the lives of children and adults who experience physical, mental, emotional or social challenges by providing safe and professional therapeutic equine programming. With your help, we can provide an environment where every rider feels respected, supported and celebrated.
Each therapeutic program is designed to meet our riders’ individual needs. Over time they develop meaningful relationships with our horses, volunteers and each other.
We encourage the growth of our riders to focus on their abilities, allowing them to gain confidence, improve mental focus and improve physical coordination.
We strive to provide the safest, most rewarding experience for our riders on our program horses supervised by our certified CanTRA instructors.
To empower riders with diverse abilities through connection and movement of the horse, creating a community where every rider can grow in confidence and ability.
WE LOVE OUR RIDERS!
Help Us Keep Riders In The Saddle
- Join us as a volunteer
- Make a donation to support our herd and riders
- Spread the word and help more families find hope and healing
Together, we can make sure everyone has a chance to ride!
OVER 20 YEARS OF IMPACT
At North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association, a non-profit charitable organization, we are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our riders. Our mission is to enrich the lives of children and adults who experience physical, mental, emotional or social challenges by providing safe and professional therapeutic equine programming
To empower riders with diverse abilities through connection and movement of the horse creating a community where every rider can grow in confidence and ability.
What People Say
“Alyssa is my daughter who has been riding since she was 4, and she’s 28 now. She comes once a week. When she first started riding it was just to build some confidence – she wouldn’t even go in the barn or put a helmet on. When she did start riding she became verbal, toilet trained, stopped major drooling problem – it was like a miracle. She’s built her core and her confidence and she has something to talk to her classmates about. She feels totally more empowered. At times she was riding independently then she’d have some setbacks but then she keeps going. For Elisa this is her social scene – she likes to get to know all the volunteers – when she’s comfortable she gets engaged.”
“Joanna has Down syndrome and mental illness, and has received so many benefits it’s almost hard to enumerate. Probably the most important thing is confidence, more empowered – to know she can do this, she loves animals and she feels very independent and happy when she’s riding. She looks forward to it – she comes once a week and it’s on the calendar and she comments on that all the time. Loves the horses, loves the people, everyone is incredible.”
“My daughter is Alexa and we’ve been coming for about a year now. She really enjoys coming here because she gets to introduce herself to the horses and connections and to be around all the amazing and helpful staff here. These things have been very helpful to her. Her favourite horse is Hazel.”
“This is a great place, I like my horse Hazel. She doesn’t really like sidewalkers but a leader is ok. But we do have sidewalkser. I wish I could give Hazel more treats, I’d really like to give more. She is the first horse I’ve ridden.”
My granddaughter has been lucky enough to be part of this wonderful program for 8 years. She has ridden a number of horses, right now she is riding Inga, a beautiful Fjord mare. Inga is just so steady and walks with a rhythmic jingle that my granddaughter loves , she loves the movement as it’s very good for her. When she’s riding she’s totally focused on riding which is a little difficult for her as her mind is always wandering and thinking of other things. She is centered and grounded when she is on the horse.
My daughter, Selina, has been riding regularly with North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association for almost 8 years. Riding has been a transformative experience for our daughter; I have seen immense growth in her motor and language skills, regulation skills, and social interaction skills.
Riding has improved her balance and core strength, helping her develop better posture and coordination. The rhythmic movement of the horse provided a soothing, low-impact way to strengthen her muscles, and over time, we noticed a significant improvement in her overall physical fitness and motor skills. Further, Selina has had the opportunity to learn to tack up and untack a horse which has been a fun and functional way to build her fine motor skills and sequencing skills.
Selina’s ability to follow directions has improved a lot; she is now able to follow 2-3 step directions when on a horse. Horse riding helps to focus and regulate her like nothing else. She tends to use stimming with her hands to help regulate herself; however, when she is on a horse she does not stim at all because her sensory needs are met simply by being on a horse-it is like magic!
Emotionally and socially, the impact has been profound. Building a bond with “her” horses has fostered a sense of trust and connection that was deeply healing for her. She developed a sense of responsibility and empathy through caring for another being which in turn boosted her self-esteem and confidence. Interacting with the horse and the supportive staff and volunteers has also helped her improve her social skills, making it easier for her to connect with others. Selina has also met friends through riding which has been such a positive outcome.
Overall, therapeutic horse riding has been a holistic therapy that nurtured our daughter’s physical, emotional, and social development. The joy and freedom she feels while riding are unmatched and the positive changes in her life are a testament to the incredible benefits of this therapy.
I have been volunteering at NFTRA for just about a year and I come here about once a week a few hours to help out with the children. My role is as a sidewalker making sure the children are very safe in the saddle so they don’t fall, because if a horse does decide to do something unexpected they would be like a ‘rag doll’ in the saddle. I love to see their smiling faces and watch them as they interact with the games. My favourite horse is April, as she reminds me of a horse I had at 13, I just love her and would like to have her… but she belongs to the program.
I have been volunteering going on 11 years, I come every Wednesday from 10 am to 1pm. I do most positions such as sidewalking, leading, tacking, grooming pretty much whatever is needed. It’s just great working with the volunteers as everyone’s on the same page, enjoying what we do. All the horses are awesome, you get to know them very well and you become very good friends.
Having volunteered here for 7 years I now come once a week but when needed I can come two or three times a week. My activities have been leading, sidewalking and now I’m learning how to do the grooming and tacking. Most of all I enjoy the interactions between the horses and the riders – the riders are really enjoying their rides on the horses and progressing in their endeavours to try and improve themselves. My favourite horse of course is Inga, she is just a sweet little girl and she gets along with everybody and she just enjoys her treats.
I’ve been at NFTRA going on 9 years, I typically come once a week now but I come other times when needed. In the past I have played many roles – taking horses out to the pastures, bringing in, sidewalking, leading, filling water troughs, offering animal Reiki helping with events and pretty much wherever needed. Now I groom and tack to get the horses ready for the riders and instructors. That’s important to me as I have a granddaughter who rides here.
I have been volunteering for a year. One of my biggest pleasures was my first experience looking up at one of the riders as they mounted the horse – their absolute glee on their face as they were riding around the arena. It is really empowering for the riders and it’s such a joy for me to experience that.
Has been volunteering for about 19 years on and off, I have another job so I come once a week. My volunteer roles include leading and sidewalking and have done some grooming. What I love most about coming to NFTRA is, apart from the horses as that’s a big bonus, I love seeing the clients but having the same client each week recognizing the progression that they make and seeing the big smiles on their face, absolutely makes my day. I do have a favourite horse - a soft spot for Teddy but obviously I love them all they’re absolutely fabulous horses, very special as they have to deal with all kinds of stuff and they just take it in their stride!
I’ve been volunteering at NFTRA for about 2 years, I come every Friday morning on my days off. When I’m here volunteering I do whatever needs to be done. I help with the horses - tacking up, grooming, leading, mucking up when I need to do a stall and I can be ‘run around girl’ and I’m quite happy doing whatever needs to be done. What I enjoy the most is just seeing the joy on individual faces, you know they are getting the most out of their lesson. This makes my day! All the horses are my favourites but I do particularly enjoy the little horses with Inga and Rupert among my favourites.
I’m a long-time volunteer who has been coming since 2006! I now come twice a week, I volunteer doing groom and tack and then I ride once a week and groom and tack. I really enjoy seeing the younger ones – once they get off the horse they are so animated it is just wonderful! I love Nikki and she’s my favourite because I ride her.
When I was 16 years old therapeutic riding got me walking again! I’ve been here for 19 years, and I usually come twice a week depending what needs doing. I groom and tack the horses. I love the horses and the people. I love all the horses and the people but I loved Teddy (since retired March 2025) the most. Teddy was a great horse!
604 462 7786
Manager@nftra.ca
12591 209th Street
Maple Ridge, BC V2X 4N2
PO Box 31601
Meadowvale Shopping Centre
Pitt Meadows, BC, V3Y 2G7
Copyright 2025 North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association
"My son Tanner has been riding here for 2 years every Wednesday mornings. He has hypotonia (low muscle tone and strength). We started riding here to help with his core strength and coming here has made a difference as he is more agile now, and can run without falling! He definitely has become more engaged since coming to NFTRA. He started out with Joy, Buck, Rupert and Teddy."