Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center

Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center offers adaptive riding, mounted riding classes, and unmounted activities with horses. The program also includes unmounted lessons and unmounted horsemanship lessons. Giant Steps provides tailored experiences ranging from half to full-day trips for community partners.

• Ages: 0–18 years old
• Schedule: Tailored experiences ranging from half to full-day trips for community partners

Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center states that its mission is dedicated to enriching lives through the power of horses, team, and community. The organization provides equine-assisted services that include therapeutic riding and activities, with programs ranging from mounted riding classes to unmounted horsemanship lessons. Programs now accommodate over 130 clients per week, and clients have represented more than 60 distinct disabilities and challenges as well as members of the military. Programs now include options for veterans and community partners, and tailored experiences are offered for community partners. Giant Steps describes striving to create a culture of belonging by fostering an inclusive, safe, and affirming community, and notes that joining Giant Steps is described as joining an inclusive community.

Giant Steps has harnessed the therapeutic power of horses since 1998. In 1996, founders Robert Pope and Lee Justice sold their ranch and brought their 12 horses to the Bay Area, and they spent the next two years creating what would be the first home of Giant Steps on I Street in Petaluma. The name Giant Steps was inspired by John Coltrane. The geometric horse in the logo is called “Hero” and is described as representing the multi-faceted nature of the program.

Giant Steps is a Premier Accredited Center by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.). The center received the Jefferson Award for Public Service from the Institute of Nonprofit Leadership in Washington D.C. in 2006 and the “Real Heroes” award from the American Red Cross in 2007. All PATH, Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors at Giant Steps are certified in CPR, First Aid, and AED, and instructors must complete education hours each year to maintain accreditation. Each horse must be evaluated and adequately trained for the work to be performed, and clients are properly evaluated at intake and periodically re-assessed. Facilities are maintained in good repair and are ADA compliant.

The leadership team includes Julie Larson, Program Director, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor, Equine Specialist in Mental Health & Learning; Libby Porzig, Executive Director; Jen McWherter, Head Instructor, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor, Equine Specialist in Mental Health & Learning; Sean Willer, Facility Manager & Riding Instructor; Audrey Draper, Barn Manager; Beth Raetz, Volunteer Coordinator and PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor; Sara Silberschatz, Assistant Barn Manager and Special Programming Coordinator; Amy Barboro, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor; Nicole DeVito, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor; Debbie Gardner, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor; Sue Rickard, PATH, Intl. Certified Instructor; Krissy Tukman, Riding Instructor; and Tess Casey, Riding Instructor. Founders are listed as Robert Pope and Lee Justice.

Giant Steps notes that programs now offer options for veterans and community partners and that it relies on generous donors and dedicated volunteers. The Farm to Stable Dinner is described as a distinctive fundraiser celebrating community, inclusion, and possibility. One testimonial from founder Robert Pope states, “One day, someone — I’ll never know who — put a blurb in a cerebral palsy support group newsletter, and the phone started ringing off the hook.”

Last updated June 26, 2026.