Great news! Janie is bringing the herd up at the end of May, therapists are lining up riders, and the call for volunteers has gone out. With COVID safety procedures in place, EATA will be back in business June 14, 2021.

The first session will run from June 14 through July 9 (4 week session). The second session will run from July 12 through August 13 (5 week session).

The EATA horses have had a nice long vacation, and they are ready to get back to work.

Rider and Volunteer applications are now active, so let’s get started!

Thanks to the volunteers to turned out today to help with site clean-up! We had such a hard working crew that we were able to finish our major tasks by 5:00! Saddles and bridles were cleaned and polished, Beanie Babies and pads were set out to dry and air out, the wheelchair ramp was disassembled, moved and rebuilt near the stalls, and fencing panels were moved to the new paddock area. We even moved part of the wheelchair ramp into the equidome to provide a safe grooming platform for our riders.

It was a lot of hard work, and we couldn’t have done it without our volunteers! Thanks so much!

Check out our photo page for more pictures!

The EATA Executive Board met on Wednesday, April 29, to discuss the logistics of providing equine assisted therapy during the current COVID pandemic. After much discussion, we came to the unhappy conclusion that we cannot absolutely guarantee the safety and well-being of our clients, therapists and volunteers during riding sessions. Therefore, we made the very difficult decision to suspend our therapy sessions until Summer 2021.*

We do have plans for our horse-less summer, and we will need volunteers to make them happen. There are several items on our to-do list that have been put off for years while staff and volunteers were busy with riding sessions: facilities maintenance, grant writing, letting our donors know they are appreciated. We still need your support, and we are going to be reaching out to you for help so we can come back stronger and ready to ride when we all get through this crisis.

No one is sadder about cancelling than our board members, staff, and volunteers. We look forward to the summer riding season every year, and we will miss our horses and riders.

---

*In the event of a major breakthrough in the fight against COVID between now and June 30, we may be able to reevaluate our decision to suspend the 2020 season.

Steve has been the hard working President of EATA’s Board of Directors since 2010, and was a volunteer with the program before that. As Board President, he presided over eight Cowboy Ball Fundraisers, helped direct the funding and construction of the Mabry Equidome, and provided invaluable insight into the organization of our mostly volunteer nonprofit. Kassi Fetters will be picking up the reins and taking his work forward as EATA’s new Board President.

Steve has promised not to go far and will continue to provide guidance and direction in an informal capacity (“If you need a guy to do something, I probably know a guy who knows a guy to get it done.”)

Thanks, Steve, for your many years of dedication and hard work in moving EATA forward to serve the needs of Alaskans with disabilities.