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We currently ride two days a week, Wednesday and Saturday, with four horses on site. Our goal <br />by year-end is to be serving 45 riders and have 8 horses on-site. Ride On currently has six <br />NARHA certified instructors on staff between our two facilities. Our start-up efforts were <br />deliberately kept small to ensure a safe, professional beginning. Over 30 local volunteers have <br />been trained to help our disabled riders. Program expansion is constrained by 1) identifying and <br />training new volunteers; 2) identifying and training additional horses; 3) developing funding to <br />pay for professional instruction and program oversight. Disabled riders wanting to participate are <br />more than we can handle for the foreseeable future. <br />I anticipate Ride On will meet its goal of serving 45 riders by year-end. If we do, we will have <br />accomplished in seven months what took five years in Chatsworth. <br />Financial Summary <br />Ride On underestimated the difficulty of starting a new program from scratch 30 miles distant <br />from its existing base of operations and support. It took six months to secure and receive an initial <br />$75,000 in funding, hence the delayed startup. As of June 30, 2001 Ride On has received grants <br />and support totaling over $215,000 to the Thousand Oak program. initial repairs, equipment and <br />operations required approximately $103,000 as detailed in the attached schedule. <br />A recent $100,000 donation from the David H. Murdock Institute for Business and Culture will <br />allow Ride On to continue operating through the end of the year and to purchase some needed <br />equipment. Long-term, Ride On's ability to expand its program to serve 150 students per week <br />depends on our ability to develop a self-sustaining fundraising program generating approximately <br />$250,000 per year. Even at this early date -- only eight weeks after we gave our first lesson — Ride <br />On has made remarkable progress towards this goal. For example, Mr. Murdock is donating the <br />cost of a major fundraiser to be held September 8m at Ventura Farms. <br />Future Plans <br />Ride On's goal remains to have nothing less than first-rate, multi -disciplinary therapeutic riding <br />program serving thousands of disabled residents for generations to come. That a small non-profit <br />from a distant community can come into the Conejo Valley and enjoy the success that we have in <br />the last year is testament to the need for our program and Ride On's ability to work with the <br />community. <br />The Board of Directors and the staff ofthe Park District have the thanks of Ride On's riders. <br />Without your vision and your dedication to improving the duality of life of your constituents, this <br />project would never have happened. <br />Sincerely, <br />5 <br />Bryan McQueeney <br />Executive Director <br />