Did you know that Xenophon’s therapeutic riding instructors are certified through a professional organization called the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH International)? This certification requires a riding test, a written exam and a riding skills assessment. In addition, once certified, the instructors must complete continuing education units. One of the ways our instructors satisfy their continuing education requirements is by attending conferences. This keeps us up on the cutting edge of our industry standards. This past weekend, Mari Parino, Heidi Koch and Alex Michaels attended the PATH Region 11 conference held in Reno, Nevada. Region 11 consists of centers located in California, Nevada and Hawaii.

The quality of the presentations was tremendous. Heidi attended the pre-conference workshop designed for experienced instructors that dealt with identifying human body types, horse body types and how these impact the comfort and balance of the rider on the horse so that instructors can choose mounts that facilitate the maximum ability of the rider. Other workshops covered goal-driven curriculum development, facilitating mental health issues in therapeutic riding, and managing the older horse in therapeutic riding programs. Mari presented a workshop on long lining (driving from behind) and how to get a horse ready to be part of a hippotherapy program. With the help of Alex, they put on a fun and interactive clinic.

Mari is a state chair for PATH, representing Northern California. As such, she was part of the planning committee for the Region 11 conference. The dedicated group of state chairs and regional reps put on a fabulous conference that was educational and enjoyable.