Article from Dec 2009 California Horsetrader

FALLBROOK — This week — like every week — about 180 riders will mount up Scottie or Poncho or any one of the 20 lesson horses, and under the guidance of 14 instructors and 100 volunteers, they will bring to life the 10-acre hamlet along Mission Road called R.E.I.N.S.

It’s here, on horseback, where gifts are exchanged all year long. Since 1981, the special students, their families, the horses, the staff, the volunteers — all have enriched each other’s lives together at R.E.I.N.S., an acronym for Riding Emphasizing Individual Needs and Strengths.

“When people see this, they want to be part of it,” says Debbie Shinner, who arrived as a volunteer in 1992 and has been the Executive Director through 16 years of growth. “Just more and more students have been coming because they’ve heard. When parents find a therapy that works with their children or adults, they will travel to the moon and back.”