Our Work

With your help, the Foundation can launch an exciting, new Therapeutic Riding Program in 2010. Our goal is to reach $100,000, so we can fund a major endowment that creates perpetual awards to help children and adults to rehabilitate through therapeutic riding. Can you help us reach that goal?

Please select one of the programs below, then click continue.

The American Paint Horse Foundation is a recognized IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your contributions may be tax-deductible.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND SCHOLARSHIPS
The Foundation has a long history of establishing scholarship funds for deserving children to continue their education and develop strong leadership skills. Over the past quarter century, the Foundation has awarded more than $530,000 in scholarships to students. A youth development program also helps fund American Junior Paint Horse Association leadership symposiums every year.

THERAPEUTIC RIDING
The medical community is quickly discovering what you’ve known all along – horseback riding is good for body, mind and spirit. Children and adults facing physical and mental challenges are making major strides forward in recovery, thanks to the healing power of horses. It has been proven at therapeutic riding centers around the world that interaction with horses helps improve circulation, balance, muscles control and coordination. For those who cannot walk, horses provide an exhilarating feeling of movement. And, finally, the bond that is established with horses contributes to emotional well-being and opens up the lines of communications. Help us fund grants to children and adults who need our help. Every $35 you contribute helps a child or adult to ride tall in the saddle for a horseback riding lesson that will be a life-changing experience. Every $280 helps fund two months of riding lessons. Read their stories on this Web site and know that you made a difference.

HEROES ON HORSEBACK
This therapeutic Riding Program is tailored specifically for veterans who have returned from war physically disabled. Welcome them back home with boost into the saddle. Help them feel appreciated and proud to be back in America. For example, soldiers who have lost limbs learn to be mobile again and maintain balance, all while enjoying horses. The equine experience has also proven to help soliders deal with depression following the traumatic experiences of war. Only $35 can help put a wounded warrior back in the saddle toward recovery. Only $280 helps to fund a full two months of riding lessons, as well as a sense of physical and mental well-being. Help us give back to our fine servicemen and –women through our Heroes on Horseback grant program.

BACK IN THE SADDLE PROGRAM
Help an injured rider to mount up once again and enjoy the world on horseback. Support our “Back in the Saddle” program so we can provide an injured rider with a new saddle and other tack needed to get back in the saddle and back on with life.

PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE
The American Paint Horse breed, as we know it today, can trace its survival to Rebecca Lockhart of Ryan, Oklahoma. This steadfast woman, with true grit and determination, stood up to the prevailing horse establishment in the middle half of the last century. Did you know that many people considered the Paint Horse to be inferior, simply because of its colorful pattern, and some even destroyed foals? Lockhart put an end to that by proving that Paints could excel in multiple fields and events. She registered the first Paint at her kitchen table. Today, APHA, the association she formed, is close to reaching 1 million registrations. The story of the Paint Horse is one of triumph over adversity, victory over discrimination, and proof that hard work can lead to success. Help us preserve the legacy of the American Paint Horse.

HERITAGE TREE RECOGNITION
The American Paint Horse Foundation Heritage Tree is located in the reception area of the American Paint Horse Association Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, offers recognition. The tree commemorates people with vision and horses with heart and talent who have made APHA a world-class breed organization. Each leaf on the tree is available with a $500 donation for the Foundation. It can be inscribed with the name of a person, horse, farm or ranch.

BRONZE SCULPTURE RECOGNITION PLAQUES
The Legacy of Color bronze masterpiece that now graces the front of APHA’s headquarters is a fitting tribute to an association that has given rise to one of the largest and fastest-growing horse breed registries in the world. That tribute was supported by the efforts of the American Paint Horse Foundation, which spearheaded the drive to commission, design and erect the bronze. Through a cooperative effort with APHA, the bronze became a reality in 2002. APHA supported its construction with a major financial contribution and the Foundation continues to raise additional funds through special offerings. An ambitious project three years in the making, Legacy of Color was unveiled May 30, 2002, to commemorate the association’s 40th anniversary. The bronze horses stand 20 hands (nearly seven feet) at the withers. Each horse in the display weighs about 1,500 pounds and is cast in bronze. The entire collection of four horses spans 36 feet. They stand on a concrete base nearly three feet high. Earn recognition on the bronze with a plaque and own a scaled replica.
Please call us about how to obtain a Legacy of Color bronze sculpture at (817) 834-2742.

PAINT HORSE WELLNESS AND GENETICS RESEARCH
The Foundation is committed to ensuring that the American Paint Horse, which inspires so much goodness in our world today, remains a healthy, vibrant part of our culture. Your donation will help fund research related to health and wellness issues, as well as genetic research to preserve the attributes of the remarkable American Paint Horse breed.
Please call us with your donation at (817) 834-2742.