Saddles of Joy

Saddles of Joy, Inc. is a therapeutic riding program dedicated to introduce Children, or any person with the desire to the joy and value of one of God’s most beautiful creations, “The Horse.” Saddles of Joy started in 1985 as an idea between a mother and a special education teacher and two horses. In the beginning, the horses were trailered to Wellton, Arizona where the horses and special needs children were brought together with wondrous results. As the program grew, more horses as well as volunteers were added to assist with the daily and weekly sessions. For first 15 years the founders had been supporting the program with personal out of pocket expenses. Saddles of Joy incorporated at the beginning of 2000 as a non-profit organization due to the cost of operation and manpower needed to keep the program going. We are now a non-profit agency and are supported by United Way.

Barbara Tomlinson
Children With Special Needs