[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 161 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1031-E1032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING HAPPY TRAILS RIDING ACADEMY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CONNIE CONWAY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 2022

  Ms. CONWAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Happy Trails 
Riding Academy for decades of service in the San Joaquin Valley of 
California.
  Happy Trails was founded in 1984 as a small, backyard program in 
Tulare, California, providing therapy through horseback riding. While 
the academy began by serving only a few riders, its operation has 
expanded into a beautiful facility serving thousands of rides each 
year.
  The sole, fully accredited therapeutic riding center in the San 
Joaquin Valley between Modesto and Bakersfield, Happy Trails serves 
people of all ages, but mostly children. Through horseback riding, the 
academy provides an alternative to traditional therapy for people 
suffering from physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities 
including Cerebral Palsy, ADD, ADHD, head trauma, brain injury, sight 
and hearing impairments, Autism, and Down Syndrome.
  Aside from physical improvements, Happy Trails is proud of the 
psychological benefits their therapy provides, including improved self-
confidence, increased interest in the outside world, emotional control, 
self-discipline, and a sense of normality. The social improvements are 
also worth noting: riders gain new friends and a sense of joy they've 
often lost in life.
  Happy Trails is volunteer driven--an average of seventy-five people 
volunteer each week, donating more than eleven-thousand hours of 
service yearly. The academy also partners with major community 
organizations including Tulare Youth Service Bureau, Tulare County 
Mental Health, United Way, and Kaweah Delta Rehabilitation Center of 
Kaweah Delta Hospital. Appreciative of the support the community 
provides, Happy Trails reciprocates by opening its facility for events 
by other nonprofits.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the United States House of 
Representatives to

[[Page E1032]]

join me in commending Happy Trails Riding Academy for decades of 
service in the San Joaquin Valley and for many more decades of growth 
and success to come.

                          ____________________