Opportunities for Equine Therapy with Difference Maker of the Year, Emma Stafford
Since she was a kid, Emma Stafford has been involved in the North Peace Ride for the Disabled Association. Introduced by her aunt, Emma’s whole family has been involved in the organization for a decade.
The North Peace Ride for the Disabled Association is a non-profit organization in Fort St. John, British Columbia that provides opportunities for anyone with a disability or limitation to enjoy safe, healthy, energizing, reviving and revitalizing horse-related activities
This last year, Emma worked as the Ride Coordinator for the organization, working to oversee Disabled Riders, families, volunteers and working with a board of directors to provide programming for all participants. Her work in this role earned her the Difference Maker of the Year Award from the Rick Hansen Foundation in 2024.
Each year, RHFSP accepts nominations to celebrate the wonderful work youth are doing across the country to improve access and inclusion. In 2024, five inspiring youth were awarded the Difference Maker of the Year Award for their work to positively impact the lives of people with disabilities in their school or community.
Taking on the Coordinator Responsibility
After years of being immersed in the organization and having firsthand experience working with the horses and riders, Emma took up the challenge of working as the Ride Coordinator – an impressive commitment for a full-time high school student.
“My mom has been the coordinator before,” Emma explained. “She supported me when I decided to do it.”
In this role, Emma trained horses and volunteers to comfortably move the rider onto the horse and ensure that everything ran smoothly. Further, Emma recommended a wagon ride activity for participants that were uncomfortable on the horses, allowing them to still participate and feel included and enjoy the activities.
“The ride is the happiest place on a Wednesday night,” Emma said. “It’s my favorite part about the organization."
Creating Accessible Activities
Emma is always learning and seeking to make the programming as strong as possible for all and seeking input from individuals with lived experience.
Equine therapy provides many health and well-being benefits for all. Emma is seeking to capitalize on this and create new and accessible opportunities for participants to interact with the horses.
The North Peace Ride for the Disabled has a position called the self-advocate director. This individual has lived experience with Cerebral Palsy. To make programming as accessible as possible, Emma meets with the director regularly and takes in feedback from participants to learn how to make the activities inclusive.
Emma works to come up with games, sensory friendly horse grooming sessions, and other activities to include everyone with diverse abilities and preferences.
In an effort to share all this knowledge, Emma also created a manual for how to assist the riders. This helps ensure volunteers are all on the same page and can effectively run the program, creating a legacy that can be sustained.
“I feel like accessibility is the idea everyone can access everything,” Emma said. “Nobody struggles to access anything.”
