# Any Fundraising Ideas for a Therapeutic Riding Program In Need?



## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

What we do out at my barn is we do trail rides or you could even do a car wash or maybe find a couple local stores that would pitch in to help out?


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Horse Show? Tack Sale?


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Poker ride?

Maybe a weekend trail ride/camping outing. Maybe even do campfire meals buffet style & charge per plate.


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

poker runs are great!!!, how about garage sale or bake sale!!


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## Shasta1981 (Nov 12, 2010)

How many people have attended the fundraisers in the past? You could throw a party/ cocktail hour at the barn and charge addmittance fees. If you think you can organize it, a jailbreak is always a good time and raises good money! I've seen a few variations of this, with the most popular being a lengthy trek from one location to another without using any money. My favorite though is a bail out, where people get locked up and can't leave until their friends and family (or whoever else) comes up with "bail money" to get them out of the pokie. Usually there are a few people in one night who get locked away. Always a good time and people like the excitement while donating to a good cause!


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## AxJust (Sep 6, 2011)

Shasta1981 said:


> How many people have attended the fundraisers in the past? You could throw a party/ cocktail hour at the barn and charge addmittance fees. If you think you can organize it, a jailbreak is always a good time and raises good money! I've seen a few variations of this, with the most popular being a lengthy trek from one location to another without using any money. My favorite though is a bail out, where people get locked up and can't leave until their friends and family (or whoever else) comes up with "bail money" to get them out of the pokie. Usually there are a few people in one night who get locked away. Always a good time and people like the excitement while donating to a good cause!


Shasta, could you explain to me what exactly what you mean by a jailbreak? What type of things did they do? 

Also, 


MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Poker ride?


What do you mean about a poker ride?

I'm new to the whole fundraising thing, and even though I need some funds myself, I'm more concerned about the program shutting down.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

I have a friend with a large farm, and we have hosted trail trials in the past. They were a huge success, and we made about 15k, but we stopped because the landowner was burned out and frankly, the management at the local therapeutic center was less than helpful or grateful. It is not quck project, but you could start organizing one for next season.

Maybe you could get a clinician to donate a clinic?


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

AxJust said:


> What do you mean about a poker ride?
> 
> .


It's basically a trail ride & poker game all in one. You charge per hand. There will be 5 stops along the ride where the riders will pick up the cards to compile their hands. 

The last one I went on was for charity, it was $25/hand and they gave out prizes to the winners. Grand prize was a gift certificate to a tack shop, smaller prizes like lead ropes, halters, etc that they had gotten through donations. That particular ride they also let riders roll dice at each station & tallied points, most points won. They also gave prizes for the worst hand & lowest dice points.


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## Shasta1981 (Nov 12, 2010)

MHF that sounds like a lot of fun! I would love to do that sometime!

Ax - a jail break is when you have a set destination in mind, like say from the barn to the nearest city or something like that, and the participants (ive seen teams) have to get there without spending any money on transportation and figuring out a way to get there. Could totally tweak it so that people could ride horses some of the way but the idea is problem solving as though you have just broken out of jail an have nothing. It's a lot of fun if you get the right people involved and can raise a lot of cash. I Would treat it like a marathon and encourage participants to raise money for their participation. Is the riding center tax exempt under 501 (c)(3)?


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## Carleen (Jun 19, 2009)

If you could get a kind-hearted judge involved, you could run a show or series of shows where the entry fees went towards the program.

Also, you could do an open house to encourage visitors and hopefully donors? Could include a fundraiser BBQ, pony rides, lesson demos, tours, etc. You could even combine this with the horse show/s.

A therapeutic center near me does a show yearly, not so much to raise money, but more to show off how fantastically their students are doing. Many people show up and are often amazed at what the program provides.


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