A therapeutic horse riding program in Frankstown Township has received a $1 million state grant that will enable it to expand services for its emotionally and physically troubled clients.

The Local Share Account-Statewide funding will allow Dreams Go On to build a barn on Turkey Valley Road in the township, so that it can move out of a nearby rented barn, where operations are restricted by the needs of other tenants, according to Dreams Go On Program Director Debbie Kelly.

“It’s very challenging,” said Kelly, citing the existing limitations on riding times and program capacity. “For years, we have been trying to be on our own.”

The nonprofit hopes to build a 12-stall barn with an indoor ring, observation seating, hayloft, office and restroom on 14.5 acres along Turkey Valley Road that the group purchased several years ago.

There will also be outdoor rings and two small pastures.

Everything will be accessible.

The program has been working to obtain permits and has hired an architect to draw up plans.

Work could begin and even potentially be completed this year.

The grant is unlikely to cover the entire cost, so the 501(c)(3) group has begun fundraising, Kelly said.

The organization currently serves 50 to 60 riders during the season that runs from March to October, with private lessons that go on all year, but there’s a waiting list of 25 to 30, according to Kelly.

The freedom provided by ownership of a facility will enable the program to serve more riders more often — although the extent of that expansion is uncertain, according to Kelly.

The program currently operates four days a week — Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays evenings and Saturdays mornings.

Individual riders generally participate for two six-week sessions per year.

The proposed expansion will require adding staff, recruiting more volunteers and increasing the number of horses. There are six horses now.

Unfilled stalls can become a source of rental revenue, Kelly said.

The program has a board and five paid employees — Kelly, a lead instructor and four assistants. There are also two interns and 20 to 25 volunteers.

Among duties that volunteers handle is “sidewalking” to ensure riders don’t fall.

Riding “stretches both mind and body” for participants, Kelly said.

It builds self-esteem, because riders learn they can control the animals, she said.

Participants who are physically disabled can feel the horses doing the work they can’t do themselves with their legs, she said.

“The rapport (with the horses) is amazing,” she said.

The bearing and demeanor of clients grow noticeably with participation.

Neighbors especially notice, because they don’t see the participants as often as parents, who can miss incremental changes, according to Kelly.

The program is open to those 5 and up.

The organization tries to keep down the cost, Kelly said.

She has been working with the program for 35 years.

Kelly thanked State Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg, for helping to secure the grant and Lehman Engineers for helping guide the program through the grant application.

Kelly was “shocked” when the money came through.

“A dream come true,” she said.

Local Share Account money is authorized by the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004 for projects in the public interest or that improve quality of life in communities according to a Department of Community and Economic Development web page.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.