Therapeutic Riding Center
Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, 18381 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
About
Therapeutic Riding Center offers Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT), including therapeutic riding and horseback riding combined with physical therapy. Participants may groom the horses, clean tack, stalls, and the arena, and take part in side-walking and horse leading. The program also offers field trips and birthday parties with TRC horses, as well as therapeutic riding class demonstrations and equestrian center barn walk tours.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekly two-hour classes run 35 weeks from September through June (school year).
• Price: Minimum donation is $350 for bringing a horse to a school, group or organization; minimum donation of $200 for field trips to TRCHB.
The Therapeutic Riding Center was founded in 1990 by David Allen and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1992. It was certified through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH International) in 1992 and is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International. The center is certified through a voluntary, peer-reviewed accreditation process confirming that it demonstrates excellence in adaptive riding, incorporates best practices, and maintains proper safety standards, and Orange County is home to only two PATH-accredited adaptive riding centers, including this center. Volunteers are trained under the direct guidance of a PATH-certified instructor and serve in tasks such as grooming horses, cleaning tack, stalls, and the arena, and serving as side-walkers and horse leaders.
The program provides Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies for individuals with disabilities and offers low-cost adaptive riding services to children, youth, and adults with a variety of physical and developmental challenges, including autism, muscular and skeletal diseases and disorders, learning disabilities, and those with vision impairments and who are deaf or hard of hearing. It operates six days per week and incorporates physical activities, occupational activities, speech and language skills, and emotional support, and is designed to improve balance, focus, independence, motor skills, and social skills. The program reports that 22 types of physical and developmental challenges are treated, 70% of students achieved at least one identified treatment, 90% of students increased social interaction skills, and 90% of students reported increased quality of life.
The Therapeutic Riding Center serves children and adults from throughout Orange and Los Angeles County and provides services in Huntington Beach and Los Angeles/Long Beach. It is a member of the Horses4Heroes network and offers Operation Free Ride, which provides a free horseback ride for active duty personnel, reservists, veterans, first responders, critical care and hospice nurses, and special needs school teachers and their families. The center also offers Horses on the Move field trips and birthday parties with TRC horses, including bringing a horse to schools, groups, or organizations, and notes that the horses love to travel and visit schools, groups, or organizations.
Through a partnership with the Mounted Enforcement Unit of the Huntington Beach Police Department, the Therapeutic Riding Center developed and implements the Reins of Success program for at-risk students in grades 5th through 7th within the Huntington Beach Unified School District. Reins of Success includes weekly two-hour classes that run 35 weeks from September through June and focuses on horse care responsibilities and citizenship values in a positive environment designed to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in or continuing risky behavior. Students in Reins of Success are required to achieve and maintain a B academic average and must be sponsored into the program.
The center’s mission is to empower people with physical and developmental challenges to discover their greatest strengths and gain a sense of self-confidence and self-reliance through the special relationship with a horse, and its mission is self-reliance through the special relationship with a horse. In 2019, the Therapeutic Riding Center provided services to a record 80 students per week, and as of the end of 2025, the Huntington Beach location has risen to over 140 students per week. A parent testimonial reports that “TRC has helped Amy overcome physical obstacles, gain her core strength, as well as helped her with emotional and social benefits, gaining lifelong friendships.”
Last updated March 26, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekly two-hour classes run 35 weeks from September through June (school year).
• Price: Minimum donation is $350 for bringing a horse to a school, group or organization; minimum donation of $200 for field trips to TRCHB.
The Therapeutic Riding Center was founded in 1990 by David Allen and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1992. It was certified through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH International) in 1992 and is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International. The center is certified through a voluntary, peer-reviewed accreditation process confirming that it demonstrates excellence in adaptive riding, incorporates best practices, and maintains proper safety standards, and Orange County is home to only two PATH-accredited adaptive riding centers, including this center. Volunteers are trained under the direct guidance of a PATH-certified instructor and serve in tasks such as grooming horses, cleaning tack, stalls, and the arena, and serving as side-walkers and horse leaders.
The program provides Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies for individuals with disabilities and offers low-cost adaptive riding services to children, youth, and adults with a variety of physical and developmental challenges, including autism, muscular and skeletal diseases and disorders, learning disabilities, and those with vision impairments and who are deaf or hard of hearing. It operates six days per week and incorporates physical activities, occupational activities, speech and language skills, and emotional support, and is designed to improve balance, focus, independence, motor skills, and social skills. The program reports that 22 types of physical and developmental challenges are treated, 70% of students achieved at least one identified treatment, 90% of students increased social interaction skills, and 90% of students reported increased quality of life.
The Therapeutic Riding Center serves children and adults from throughout Orange and Los Angeles County and provides services in Huntington Beach and Los Angeles/Long Beach. It is a member of the Horses4Heroes network and offers Operation Free Ride, which provides a free horseback ride for active duty personnel, reservists, veterans, first responders, critical care and hospice nurses, and special needs school teachers and their families. The center also offers Horses on the Move field trips and birthday parties with TRC horses, including bringing a horse to schools, groups, or organizations, and notes that the horses love to travel and visit schools, groups, or organizations.
Through a partnership with the Mounted Enforcement Unit of the Huntington Beach Police Department, the Therapeutic Riding Center developed and implements the Reins of Success program for at-risk students in grades 5th through 7th within the Huntington Beach Unified School District. Reins of Success includes weekly two-hour classes that run 35 weeks from September through June and focuses on horse care responsibilities and citizenship values in a positive environment designed to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in or continuing risky behavior. Students in Reins of Success are required to achieve and maintain a B academic average and must be sponsored into the program.
The center’s mission is to empower people with physical and developmental challenges to discover their greatest strengths and gain a sense of self-confidence and self-reliance through the special relationship with a horse, and its mission is self-reliance through the special relationship with a horse. In 2019, the Therapeutic Riding Center provided services to a record 80 students per week, and as of the end of 2025, the Huntington Beach location has risen to over 140 students per week. A parent testimonial reports that “TRC has helped Amy overcome physical obstacles, gain her core strength, as well as helped her with emotional and social benefits, gaining lifelong friendships.”
Last updated March 26, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.