Meet Allie Sarnataro | Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Allie Sarnataro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
This is a direct quote from Katie, one of the other co-founders. “When we opened RAD, I don’t think Allie, Wayne or I knew exactly what to expect it to grow into. We had plans, we had ideas but none of us knew how to run a business. We mainly wanted the freedom to do things our way. Putting riders and the horses first. Which I like to believe we’ve done.”

We really had no reason to succeed but our love for therapeutic riding, horses and the students are what kept us driving forward.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our program provides therapeutic riding lessons for individuals with disabilities, including physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges. Our mission is to empower our participants through the unique bond between horse and rider. Our horses are trained to provide a calming and nurturing environment, which encourages our riders to develop a sense of self-confidence and independence. Our program serves individuals of all ages, from children to seniors, and we are committed to providing affordable and accessible services to our community. We have a team of experienced instructors and volunteers who work closely with our riders to ensure that they receive the best possible care and attention.

This year we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary, which we are super excited about! I think what sets us apart is we have a universal and dynamic team who come to us with many great ideas and we have the capacity to implement them if it works for the program. We are also on a great ranch, Rolling Hills Boarding Stables, who is very supportive of us and allows the program to blossom and flourish. We are not limited in what we can achieve.

It hasnt always been easy. Running a nonprofit is no easy feat and you are always constantly working at raising funds, planning events, working the horses, getting volunteers, having students riding in monthly lessons. Plus we had to learn to manage a business and a staff which none of us knew how to do. We had to push ourselves and we went to training classes and seminars to better our staff development and training skills.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would have to say all the therapeutic riding centers where we worked that helped shaped who we are today. Many taught us what we would like to continue doing and things we did not. Also all the people who believed in our skills and mission from the beginning to help us and kept pushing us forward.

Website: radtrc.org

Instagram: @rad_therapeutic_riding

Facebook: facebook.com/radtrc

Youtube: @RideAboveDisabilityTherapeutic