Hope, Horses & Kids

What Hope, Horses & Kids does

Hope, Horses & Kids (HHK) is a Salinas, California-based nonprofit organization founded in 2010 that delivers equine-assisted learning, adaptive riding, horsemanship lessons, and youth-development programs to children and adolescents in the local community. Its core curriculum spans Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL), Horse Powered Reading® (HPR), Adaptive Riding for individuals with physical or developmental challenges, Teen Leadership, private/semi-private Horsemanship Lessons, and Homer's Forge — a blacksmithing program marketed as suitable for all ages. Summer camps (including a themed Superhero Camp), a single-day A Day at HHK experience, and recurring Friday Forging sessions round out the program mix. All programs operate from a single facility at 710 Old Stage Rd, Salinas, and use horses alongside barnyard animals as therapeutic and educational partners.

The organization's business model is a hybrid of program fees, event revenue, and charitable donations. Program fees are structured as unit pricing: summer camps range from $325–$425, A Day at HHK is $125, Friday Forging is $90, and adaptive riding/lessons are arranged via email inquiry. The Hootenanny, an annual fundraising event in its third iteration (September 2026), generates additional revenue through ticket sales ($100 adult) and sponsorships ($1,000 sponsor table). Donations are solicited in fixed increments ($20, $50, $100, $200), including memorial contributions. Customers are primarily individual families and youth from the Salinas area; the strategically significant partner is Rancho Cielo, a youth-services nonprofit, through which HHK reaches disengaged young people and whose Drummond Culinary Academy supports HHK's fundraiser.

HHK operates with a small team (1–10 employees) led by Founder and Executive Director Lori Tuttle, with three additional staff/facilitators and barn support personnel, governed by a board of directors chaired by Viveca Lohr. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via a Wix-hosted website booking system, email inquiries, and on-site visits; marketing channels are limited to organic social (Instagram, Facebook), a monthly newsletter, and the annual Hootenanny event. The organization is private, nonprofit, and geographically confined to a single location in Salinas, California.

Name

Hope, Horses & Kids

Legal name

Hope, Horses & Kids

Website

https://hopehorseskids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hope, Horses & Kids is a Salinas, California nonprofit that provides equine-assisted learning, adaptive riding, horsemanship lessons, summer camps, and blacksmithing programs to children and youth, partnering with Rancho Cielo to serve disengaged young people.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equine-Assisted Youth Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

Keywords

• Equine-assisted learning
• Adaptive riding programs
• Youth development services
• Horsemanship education
• Equine therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Salinas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Program Fees: Revenue from structured programs including summer camps, horsemanship lessons, adaptive riding, equine-assisted learning, teen leadership, and blacksmithing workshops.
2. Event Revenue: Annual fundraising event (The Hootenanny) generates revenue through ticket sales and silent auctions.
3. Donations: Charitable donations including memorial donations and general contributions supporting the organization's mission to provide affordable access to horses for youth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hope, Horses & Kids is a nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted learning, adaptive riding, horsemanship lessons, summer camps, teen leadership, and blacksmithing programs for children and youth in Salinas, California. Programs use horses and other barnyard animals as therapeutic and educational partners to build confidence, communication, focus, mindfulness, and coping skills, with supplementary offerings including a Horse Powered Reading literacy program and an annual fundraising event called The Hootenanny.

Product overview

Hope, Horses & Kids (HHK) operates as a unified suite of equine-assisted and educational programs designed for youth development. The core offerings center on Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL), Horse Powered Reading® (HPR), Adaptive Riding, Horsemanship Lessons, Teen Leadership, and Summer Camps. Supplementary programs include Homer's Forge (blacksmithing), Friday Forging sessions, and A Day at HHK experiences. The organization also hosts an annual event called The Hootenanny for fundraising. All programs leverage horses and barnyard animals as therapeutic and educational partners to build confidence, resilience, communication skills, and coping strategies in young people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL)

Quantifiable outcome

• Youth build confidence, resilience, and empathy through horse interactions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Rancho CielocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Rancho Cielo enables the organization to help disengaged young people gain key life skills. The Drummond Culinary Academy of Rancho Cielo prepares meals for The Hootenanny fundraising event. Rancho Cielo provides a collaborative environment for youth programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Special Equestrians: Pennsylvania-based nonprofit delivering therapeutic horseback riding and equine-related programs for individuals with special needs. Directly comparable as a small nonprofit specializing in adaptive/therapeutic riding for special-needs populations.
• BraveHearts: Illinois-based nonprofit providing equine-assisted therapy and horsemanship programs for military veterans, at-risk youth, and individuals with disabilities. Comparable mission overlap on youth development and therapeutic riding, with similar community-nonprofit structure.
• HorseAbility: New York-based nonprofit offering equine-assisted services including therapeutic riding, horsemanship, and adaptive programs for children and adults with disabilities. Similar adaptive riding and youth horsemanship instruction focus.
• Hearts & Horses: Colorado-based nonprofit providing equine-assisted activities and therapy programs to people of all ages, including youth with disabilities. Directly comparable as a community-anchored equine therapy nonprofit with similar program mix (therapeutic riding, horsemanship) and youth-development mission.
• Cheval Therapeutic Riding Academy: Oklahoma-based nonprofit offering therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities for children and adults with disabilities. Comparable adaptive riding and youth-serving nonprofit model.
• Chagrin Valley Therapeutic Riding Center: Ohio-based nonprofit offering therapeutic riding, equine-assisted learning, and horsemanship programs serving children and adults with disabilities. Closely mirrors HHK's adaptive riding, youth-development, and horsemanship instruction mix.
• Dream Catchers: Virginia-based nonprofit offering equine-assisted therapy and adaptive horsemanship programs for children with disabilities and special needs. Directly comparable as a small nonprofit delivering adaptive riding and youth equine programming.

Broad incumbents

• Green Chimneys: Larger New York-based nonprofit combining a special-education school, animal-assisted therapy, and equine programs for at-risk and special-needs youth. Comparable equine-youth-development mission, but operates at much broader institutional scale with multiple service lines.

Others

• Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH Intl.): National certifying body and membership association for equine-assisted therapy providers. Relevant as the industry accreditation HHK does not visibly hold; membership or accreditation would be a peer-relevant strategic milestone for an equine-assisted learning nonprofit.
• EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association): International professional association for equine-assisted learning and therapy. Comparable ecosystem role — providing certification, standards, and a network — that HHK could leverage to formalize EAL and HPR delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hopehorsesandkids
• Instagraminstagram.com/hopehorsesandkids?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hope, Horses & Kids