Organizations Filed Purposes:
TURNING POINT PARTNERS THE MAGIC OF HORSES WITH TOOLS TO BUILD PRODUCTIVE FUTURES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL OR SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
USING THE MAGIC OF HORSES, TURNING POINT PROVIDES TOOLS TO INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TO BUILD PRODUCTIVE FUTURES .
1. THERAPEUTIC RIDING THE STILLWATER PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE CONTRACTED WITH TURNING POINT FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS TO OFFER THERAPEUTIC RIDING TO SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL. NOW THEY ARE WORKING TO ADD ELEMENTARY STUDENTS TO THE PROGRAM AFTER DEMONSTRATED RESULTS. RIDERS LEARN SKILLS IN HANDLING HORSES- MOUNTED AND UNMOUNTED, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THEY LEARN LIFE SKILLS THAT SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE IN LIVING AND WORKING SUCCESSFULLY IN THE COMMUNITY. AND THOSE SAME SKILLS CONTRIBUTE TO CLASSROOM SUCCESS. ONE STUDENT HIGHLY INVOLVED ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM HAD NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BE TESTED ON IEP GOALS, BUT ON HORSEBACK, HE WAS ABLE TO SOLVE A LINEAR EQUATION, IDENTIFY GEOMETRIC SHAPES AND CATEGORIZE LIFE SCIENCE ELEMENTS USING PROPS FROM RIDING LESSONS. ANOTHER STUDENT WITH SEVERE BEHAVIORAL ISSUES THAT WERE DISTUPTING THE ENTIRE CLASSROOM, BECAME AN A STUDENT AFTER MENTORING BY AN OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER DURING RIDING SESSIONS. A STUDENT WHO WAS KNOWN FOR LACK OF FOCUS AND EVEN RUNNING AWAY, WON A GOLD MEDAL FOR RIDING A WESTERN TRAIL COURSE INDEPENDENTLY AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS. NEARLY 70% OF TURNING POINT RIDERS NOW RIDE INDEPENDENTLY. BUT ALL BENEFIT FROM VERBAL SKILLS, FOCUS, SELF-CONTROL,EMPATHY AND IMPROVED FITNESS THROUGH RIDING AND INTERACTING WITH HORSES.
2. HORSE TALES LITERACY TURNING POINT HAS OFFERED HORSE TALES LITERACY PROGRAMS TO HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY, A TITLE 1 SCHOOL IN STILLWATER FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS. EVERY FEBRUARY, TURNING POINT RAISES FUNDS TO BUY TWO BOOKS BY WALTER FARLEY FOR EACH FIRST GRADER AT THE SCHOOL. (100 PER YEAR). AT AN EVENT CALLED FIRST TOUCH, HORSES BRING BOOKS TO SCHOOL AND EACH CHILD GETS A PHOTO TAKEN WITH A HORSE AND THEIR TEACHER.THEN THEY PRACTICE READING AND THE TEACHERS USE SUPPLEMENTAL HORSE TALES CIRCULUM TO GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT A BIG FIELD TRIP IN APRIL. THEY COME TO THE RANCH AND TAKE PART IN 16 HORSE RELATED LEARNING ACTIVITIES INCLUDING READING TO HORSES. TEACHERS SAY NEARLY EVERY CHILD IS READING AT OR ABOVE GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN. GETTING FIRST GRADERS EXCITED ABOUT READING AND LEARNING LITERALLY CHANGES THE LIVES OF STUDENTS WHO MAY NOT HAVE BOOKS AT HOME OR EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH AT HOME. A SIDE BENEFIT OF THE PROGRAM IS AN INCREASE IN PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AT THE SCHOOL WHERE PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS SERVE AS GROUP LEADERS FOR THE FIELD DAY AND OFTEN ASK TO SIGN UP ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. HORSE TALES HAS PROVIDED NEARLY 1600 BOOKS TO CHILDREN SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN.
3. MOBILE MINI PROGRAMING TURNING POINT TAKES MINI-HORSES TO SERVE CLIENTS WHO CANNOT COME TO THE BARN. IN 2019, WITH A GRANT FROM THE MASONIC FOUNDATION, MINI HORSES DID PILOT PROGRAMS WITH TRAUMA CLIENTS AT WINGS OF HOPE AND WITH DEMENTIA PATIENTS AT PRIMROSE SENIOR CENTER. AT WINGS OF HOPE, A CHILD AFRAID OF HORSES AND AGITATED TO THE POINT OF RUNNING IN CIRCLES, GAINED CONFIDENCE AND SELF CONTROL AND AFTER SEVERAL SESSIONS THAT HE WAS ABLE TO SHOW A NEWER RESIDENT HOW TO CORRECTLY GROOM AND LEAD A MINI HORSE. AT PRIMROSE, SENIORS LOSING COMMUNICATION AND MOBILITY SKILLS DUE TO DEMENTIA, GOT UP AND LED THE MINI HORSE IN THE COURTYARD AND TOLD STORIES ABOUT HORSES THEY HAD OWNED. ONE DAUGHTER CALLED TO SAY HAVING THE MINI HORSE THERE MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO HER FATHER WHO WAS VERY DEPRESSED ABOUT MOVING TO THE CENTER BUT WAS LAUGHING WHEN SHE CALLED TO CHECK AN HIM SAYING: YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT I AM DOING: LEADING A LITTLE HORSE. THE NINIS ALSO DID PROGRAMS AT SCHOOLS, CHURCH PROGRAMS, MEDICAL FAIRS SERVING MORE THAN800 PEOPLE.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Rachel Royston | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $34,700 |
| Joe Vielma | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Tara Depperschmidt | BOARD MEMBER | 2 | $0 |
| Tom Duggar | ASSISTANT TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Thresa Green | BOARD MEMBER | 2 | $0 |
| Larry Sanchez | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Natalea Watkins | TREASURER | 10 | $0 |
| Vickie Logan | SECRETARY | 2 | $0 |
| Jodi Weiberg | VICE PRESIDENT | 2 | $0 |
| John Dorman | PRESIDENT | 2 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202002569349300110_public.xml