Butte Special Riders

In 1988, Jim and Joani Kissock’s daughter, Britt, spent time helping children with special needs through equine interactions (or hippotherapy) with the horse branch of her 4-H club. Hippotherapy is the technique used at the Kissock Horse Center (KHC) to aid the progress of children with various ailments, including Down’s Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and other learning disabilities.

The BSR team gets support from many different sources. The program is led entirely by volunteers who step up to help children and youth participating in the program. Three volunteers pair up with a single student during each session to ensure they have the guidance and direction they need.

The program is supported by our wonderful equine volunteers too. The BSR program uses special horses (Minnie, Romeo, Dutch, Ladybug, Cookie, and Jetson) to take care of their riders during each class. In addition to the devoted volunteers and amazing horses, Butte Special Riders also receives help from the North American Riding Association for the Handicapped (NARAH) providing that they meet at least 90 percent of the standards. (Source)