Board and Advisory
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Board of Directors
Molly Sweeney, President
Octavia Brown, Ed.M., Vice President
Alan Young, Treasurer
Robert J. Crump, J.D., Secretary
Susan Harding
Michael Kaufmann
Tess Schmalbach, MD, PhD
Executive Director
KC Henry
Advisory Council
Jane Fitzpatrick, PT
Leeda Fletcher
Marjorie Kittredge
Patti Kortkamp
Judith F. Lightfoot
Marion May
Pat Mullins
Kitty Stalsburg
Harry Swimmer
Scientific Committee
Renee Casady, PT,MS,HPCS
Peter Dedon, MD, PhD
Victoria Haehl, PhD
Brad Lewis, ACSW
Laura Lubbers, PhD
Karyn Malinowski, PhD
Nancy McGibbon, MS, PT, HPCS
Tess Schmalbach, MD, PhD
Deborah Silkwood-Sherer, DHS,PT
Emily Southgate, PhD
Paul Spiers, PhD
Jose Szapocznik, PhD
Renee Taylor, PhD
Clare Thomas
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Would you like to get involved?
Co-fund a designated research project with HHRF
Make a donation to HHRF
Host an information reception
Help us identify researchers, professionals and potential funders in your area to add to our mail list
Join a board committee, advisory council or scientific committee (application available upon request)
Place a notice, ad or press release in your newsletter or affiliate publication
Contact KC Henry by email or by phone at 011.440.543.8306 to learn more. | |
| Dear Friend:
The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson is an excellent book (soon to be a movie) about the
experiences of a father who takes his young son with autism on a trip
to Mongolia to ride horses and visit shamans.
There were even references to this on the front page of the New York Times last month with the usual comments from skeptics saying "Nice story, but there is no research to prove that horseback riding is beneficial for people with autism."
We
can now tell those skeptics that HHRF is funding a research project at
Good Hope Equestrian Training Center in Miami, FL, on the effect of equine assisted activities on social functioning in children with autism. Hopefully preliminary results will be out when the movie
debuts.
Ultimately,
research will raise the interactions of horses and humans from
anecdotal stories to valid medical treatment status. Indeed,
it is "a pony ride", but it is being proven that these "pony
rides" can dramatically affect people physically, mentally, emotionally,
intellectually, and spiritually. I suggest you read The Horse Boy and see Rupert Isaacson's ideas about the power of the horse to facilitate healing.
In other news, it's like Christmas at the HHRF office this week as research grants come rolling in for the May 15 deadline!
We have also received news of upcoming journal publications related to previously funded and currently funded HHRF Research Projects (more on this below).
The validation of rigorous research through peer-reviewed publication, and the promise for the future illustrated by forward-thinking research applications are what we are all here for. Thank you for making it all possible!
-Molly Sweeney
HHRF Founder and Board President
DOLLARS IN = DOLLARS OUT:
Many people do not realize that HHRF is not an endowed foundation.
All
donations are put directly towards funding research and achieving our
mission. Many recognize that the future of EAA is intricately
tied with research - but have not yet made the commitment to become
donors.
Please call us today to discuss how you can help us further rigorous research to support the future of EAA. There are many ways to help - we need your assistance today. Please consider making a donation to HHRF today. The generous matching gift opportunity is still in place, so every dollar is doubled.
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On the Road: June HHRF Receptions Planned in California
HHRF board, staff and researchers are packing up and hitting the road to share Horses and Humans Research Foundation goals, research funding, funded projects and more, and hear your stories and ideas. Please join us!
Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship will host the first of two days of HHRF in receptions in California on June 18.
The event starts with a 12-2pm gathering at California State University
Department of Physical Therapy in Northridge (Los Angeles County), then
continues with a  6-8pm reception at Ride On in Thousand Oaks, CA
(Ventura County). Contact Sara at Ride On (805.375.9078;
sara@rideon.org) to learn more or RSVP for the event.
Then on June 19 we move on to
Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center at Riverside Equestrian Center in Petaluma, CA. This will include a demonstration on equine assited activies for people with disabilities and a visual explanation of how the movement of horses influences the rider in therapeutic settings. Contact us to learn more about this event.
Get your program scheduled to host an HHRF
reception by emailing us.
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Research Q & A:
By Tess Schmalbach, HHRF Board of Directors and Scientific Committee member
Q: Who is the Sponsor of a research study?
A: The Sponsor is the person or group that initiates the investigation. That is, the Sponsor is the person, or group, responsible for organizing and implementing the experiment involving human subjects and the therapy or intervention under study. If this person is the individual who also immediately directs the intervention or therapy, then this person is a Sponsor-investigator. If another person is working with the subject(s) and immediately conducting the therapy or intervention, then that person is an Investigator, and the person or group who conceived and designed the experiment is the Sponsor.
For example, Drs. Equus and Caballio have decided to investigate whether stressed teens receiving weekly hippotherapy argue less with their parents than do stressed teens receiving no hippotherapy. They have recruited Ms Masoch and Lacey to administer the hippotherapy to the teens and collect the tallies of number of arguments per week. Drs. Equus and Caballio are the Sponsors of the research and Ms Masoch and Lacey are Investigators. Midway through the project, Dr. Equus also provides hippotherapy to some teens, as well. She is now a Sponsor-investigator.
Note that these definitions do not refer to the funding of the investigation nor do they reference the relative contributions, scientific or financial, provided by the Investigators, supporters or Sponsors. |
Board Transitions
Tess Schmalbach, M.D., Ph.D., of Newton, MA, joined the board in 2009. This will be in addition to her service on the Scientific Committee. She is an independent physician
consultant to biopharma companies. She has over 15 years of medical
drug/biologic/device clinical development experience in the
biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry and participated in the design, implementation, data collection and
analysis of new chemical entities (drugs), biologics and devices
resulting in one approved New Drug Application and one Biologic License
Application, as well as >10 Investigative New Drug Applications. She
has participated in meetings with FDA, expert clinicians and
investigators, scientists, and investors, supervised and directed
clinical, biostatistical, data management, project management and
medical writing departments, and been responsible for data
interpretation and reports including peer-reviewed publications. She
also has extensive data presentation experience, as well as experience
presenting to a variety of levels of audiences.
"My son is a young man with special needs who has participated in hippotherapy at Ironstone Farm in Andover,
MA and at the Mass Hospital School in Canton, MA for several years. I
saw and learned the benefits a well-run program can offer. My daughter
is an avid equestrian who has ridden for over 10 years. I also took
riding lessons as an adult and know the thrill and challenge of riding
at any level."
Judy Lightfoot was warmly thanked at the annual meeting as she retired from her service to HHRF as a founding board member. The board asked for her commitment to keep HHRF in her priority volunteer activities, as they intend to invite her back onto the board as soon as she has spent a year off the board, as required by HHRF's bylaws. Judy remains Chair of the HHRF Fundraising Committee.
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New Scientific Committee Members
Laura S. Lubbers, Perkasie PA
Laura
S. Lubbers, PhD, is a neuroscientist currently working on psychiatric
disorders at a large pharmaceutical company. She  received her Doctoral
degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1996.
Subsequently, while working at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she was awarded grants from the USDA and served as a grant
reviewer for the same funding agency. She has served on governmental
advisory panels, and as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and
was recently was appointed to the Editorial Board of the journal
Endocrinology. Dr. Lubbers advocates at the Federal level for support
of persons with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a disorder that can cause
profound physical and cognitive challenges. As a neuroscientist, she is
intrigued by the ability of the brain to adapt to challenges and she
marvels in the ability of those who are differently-abled to strive to succeed, despite the struggles they may face.
"I
have always loved horses and became aware of therapeutic riding through
volunteering at Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center in Oldwick,
NJ. There, I saw first-hand the tremendous benefits of equine-assisted
therapy for all involved, from riders to caregivers and
even the volunteers! My hope is that validation of the physical,
emotional and cognitive benefits of riding, through scientific study,
will allow for expanded access of this form of therapy to individuals
who could benefit from it."
Emily Southgate, Middleburg VA
Emily
Southgate, PhD, has been a research scientist for many years,
publishing her research in national and international peer-reviewed
scientific journals. She is co-editor of one university press book and
 sole author of another. Her field is Historical Ecology, a research
field that involves designing studies that lead to valid conclusions
about very diverse populations, using both scientific and historical
techniques. She has taught at many levels, including high school,
college and university. In addition, she has been riding most of her life, and volunteered for many years with a therapeutic riding program.
"As
a life-long rider, I have learned first-hand the great value of horses
for exercise, mental discipline and just plain enjoyment. As a
scientist, I value the efforts of HHRF to to move beyond anecdotal
evidence in testing and documenting the values of horses for people."
Meet the rest of our Scientific Committee here.
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HHRF Reception at SIRE, Texas
SIRE hosted a reception for HHRF on March 28 at their new Spring, Texas site. All present enjoyed refreshments, a demonstration, and a fascinating
presentation by Tim Shurtleff about his team's most recently published research efforts.
HHRF representatives present at the reception included board members Molly Sweeney and Susan Harding and Executive Director HC Henry. Molly Sweeney, a Texas resident and HHRF's founder and President, was surprised at the reception with a special honor from SIRE's Board of Directors, who presented her with flowers and announced the naming of the road that goes by the Spring site "Molly Sweeney Way". Congratulations, Molly! And special thanks to SIRE for hosting this information reception at your beautiful site.
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 HHRF at the EAGALA, CanTRA and AHA Meetings
Executive Director KC Henry attended the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) conference in March 2009 in Asheville TN. This was a wonderful opportunity to share research materials, present HHRF guidelines through a research forum and network with EAP/L professionals interested in research. We even received three new applications for boards and committees from dedicated associates!
HHRF
representatives Judy Lightfoot and Molly Sweeney, attended the 2009
CanTRA Conference in Montreal, Canada, on May 1-3, to spread the word
about the Horses and Humans Research Foundation. They were warmly and enthusiastically received by the Canadians, especially Ann Caine, Wendy Roberts and Gillian Lawrence, who worked with Judy during the founding years of NARHA and CanTRA. Incoming CanTRA President, Eliane Trempe, considers Research to be one of her primary goals for the coming year.
Jeannette Holden, PhD, FCCMG,
a researcher in the autism spectrum disorder, gave an outstanding
keynote speech and even brought along her mobile lab for us all to
visit.
2008
HHRF award winner, Danielle Champagne gave a presentation on her pilot
program, Improving Postural Control with Hippotherapy for Children with
Down Syndrome and Hypotonia. She then hurried off to Atlanta for her presentation at the AHA Conference.
There
was lots of networking with internationally prominent speakers, Anita
Shkedi from Israel and Mary Longden from Australia as HHRF seeks to
expand it's collaborative initiatives globally.
HHRF was also well represented at American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) Conference, also May 1-3, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Events included presentations from two HHRF research award recipients, Danielle Champagne (2008 Hippotherapy to Improve Postural Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy) and Tim Shirtleff (2006 Improvement in Trunk/Head Stability and Upper Extremity Control after HPOT)!
HHRF Scientific Committee member Renee Cassidy (also a conference
research presenter) volunteered to set up the HHRF information booth
and address any related questions and needs as well. AHA clearly
recognizes the need for research related to all equine-assisted activities and has
been not only a consistent advocate for research, but also an important
support for HHRF. Our sincere gratitude is extended to Renee Cassidy, to AHA, and to all of AHA's visionary members.
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Two HHRF-Related Projects to Be Published in Peer Reviewed Journals
Principal Investigator Dr. Margaret Bass announced recently that the HHRF-funded project entitled 'The Effect of Equine Assisted Activities on the Social Functioning in Children with Autism', taking place now at the Good  Hope Equestrian Training Center in Miami, FL, will have its pilot study results published in the Journal for Autism & Developmental Disorders.
Principal Investigators Tim Shurtleff, Dr. Jack Engsberg and Dr. John Standeven also sent word that their study, also funded by HHRF, "Changes
in Dynamic Trunk/Head Stability and Functional Reach after
Hippotherapy" has been accepted for publication in the Archives of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
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The primary goal is to support, promote and fund scientific research that explores the claimed, yet unsubstantiated benefits of equine assisted activities and therapies, leading to the discovery of the most effective methods and techniques for conducting thousands of existing and future programs.
The secondary goal is to educate the public (including parents, donors, insurance companies and physicians) on research findings so that equine assisted activities become more accessible to those in need.
We need your support to continue funding the highest quality research possible. Please consider making a donation to HHRF today. The generous matching gift opportunity is still in place, so every dollar donated is worth double that amount! | |
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