The National Snaffle Bit Association Foundation held its sixth annual Coaches Summit February 19-21, 2024. Presented as a special project of the NSBA Foundation, the workshop has a theme of building competition opportunities as “A Model of Inclusion.”
The Coaches Summit included classroom instruction, arena demonstrations, and discussion panels and was hosted at the Colorado State University Spur Center in Denver, CO. This state-of-the-art facility provided an incredible learning atmosphere and experience for attendees. The 2024 Coaches Summit included 17 participants from 8 states at the three- day event.
Participants included professional horsemen, therapeutic riding center coaches, staff, and volunteers, United States military veterans, and other industry stakeholders. Also in attendance were leadership representatives from the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA), the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH), and the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA). The NSBA Foundation is proud to offer the Coaches Summit to all of these parties to explore opportunities for engagement and expansion of current or new riding programs.
Instruction revolved around the inclusion of competition for Equestrians with Disabilities or Veterans using horses as a form of therapeutic riding. Content for the workshop also comprised of grant writing tactics, fundraising, strategies for expanding networks, information on current industry research and open discussion panels. Certified Professionals received continuing education credits for attending the Coaches Summit as outlined in their certification requirements. The lead facilitators for the event were Diane Helgeland, executive director of Partners for Progress NFP and NSBA Professional Horseman Kelly McDowall.
The work shop was funded through the generous support of Curt and Beth Hartman.
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