Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA)

Mission: To improve the quality of life both physically and emotionally of adults and children of all ability levels through equine-assisted activities.

The program started with one participant, one horse, and three volunteers.

HETRA now serves a variety of participants including children and adults with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, brain tumors, head or spinal cord injuries, visual impairments, autism, developmental delays, and strokes.

For the last several years, HETRA volunteers have donated over 26,000 volunteer hours per year. Without our dedicated volunteers, we could not provide services to over 150 participants each week. Individuals of all ability levels have a job that is instrumental in making a session run smoothly.

HETRA looks back on a history of growth and achieving many amazing goals. We look forward to our future with great hope and excitement for what is to come.

We were the first PATH, Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) certified program in Nebraska. HETRA currently provides multiple services including: Therapeutic Riding, Hippotherapy, Veteran Services and Therapeutic Carriage Driving as well as summer programming. We currently serve approximately 150 individuals per week using our 27 horses at our location in Gretna.