INSTRUCTOR:

Nora Britton:  I started volunteering at TEC when I was ten years old and instantly fell in love with working with both the horses and the riders.  TEC quickly became my second home.  I became the barn manager in 2001.  Shortly after that, I got my Massachusetts teaching license and NAHRA (now PATH) certification.

Therapeutic riding and animal assisted therapy have become my true passions in life. I love working with riders of all ages and abilities and feel extremely blessed to be able to witness daily the amazing ways in which animals can change the lives of children and adults with special needs as well as everyone who comes in contact with them.

In addition to my work at TEC, I am very excited to be starting the process of training Dora, one of my five rescue dogs, to be certified this year as a therapy dog.

When not at TEC, I also work as a therapeutic riding instructor at Legacy Farm in Easthampton and care for my own two horses: a Morgan mare named Taproot Black Eyed Susan – “Susie”-  and a Thoroughbred cross mare  named My Wild Irish Rose – “Rosie” whom I rescued in 2011.

INSTRUCTOR:

Nancy Karp Getchell: Nancy has always shared a calling to work with young people who have faced major challenges in their lives. She is a Vocational Instructor at Cutchins Programs New Directions School. Her main purpose is to connect students with the world of work through internships in the Northampton Community. Getting kids involved with horses through riding and volunteering is one of her favorite ways to do this.

She was first certified as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor in 1995 by North American Riding for the Handicapped (NARHA) at Cheff Center in Augusta Michigan. Cheff opened in 1970 as the first therapeutic riding center built especially for the purpose of serving those with special needs in the North America.
In 2001 she certified in Equine Assisted Growth and Learning (EAGALA) and traveled to Loa, Utah to meet with Greg Kersten and Lynn Thomas and see their flagship program working with emotionally challenged youth at Aspen ranch.

She has been teaching at TEC since 2005, after re-certification from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH, formerly NARHA) at High Hopes in old Lyme CT.
In 2011, Nancy returned to High Hopes to get a specialization in Mental Health and Learning. In the following year, she worked closely with Susanne Haseman at First Light Farm in Cornish, NH to develop a deeper understanding of that work.Since 2013 she has been working with Dick Kelso’s Haflingers, Ace and Gus, to see what it takes to develop a therapeutic riding horse from scratch. She and a student participated in last year’s Equine Affaire where Nancy and Gus rode with Julie Goodnight in the Collesium. Her student has developed Ace into an amazing horse full of heart and soul.

She looks forward to continuing to connect kids to volunteering.

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Geraldine O’Connor Page, Executive Director:  In January 2018 Gerry began the latest chapter in her horse-centric career—as Executive Director of the Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Holyoke. It’s not a new position for Page; she held the same job for nearly two decades but left in 2003 to raise her family and start her own farm, called Legacy Farm, in Easthampton.“I’ve been riding most of my life,” Page says. “(My family and) I have shown and owned Morgans. Horses have been such an integral part of my own life, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the joy and healing they bring to other people’s lives, too.”

Page, who (earned a master instructor certification  in therapeutic horseback riding in 1980 from the Cheff Center in Augusta Michigan and was a NARHA and then PATH certified instructor for over 25 years), says equestrian therapy can be particularly effective because it involves movement, interactive games, peer interaction, and mental focus. “The therapeutic value of horses goes back centuries,” she says. “A horse’s movement, for example, can have a dynamic effect on a rider’s body. It can help with balance, muscle development, and coordination. We’ve seen excellent results with children with ADHD, autism, and sensory integration issues.” One key to Therapeutic Riding’s success, Gerry says, is the relationship between a horse and its rider. “There has to be a high level of trust, understanding, and love,” she says. “The horse is not only a therapeutic tool but a living, breathing animal that requires a rider to often times be pushed out of their comfort zone and open themselves up to gain the full therapeutic value a horse has to offer.”

Gerry spends her free time with her husband Bill and looks forward to spending time with their six adult children. Dogs Larry and Blush and special kitty Rooney complete the Page family along with the 20 horses and assorted farm animals that live at Gerry’s Legacy Farm.