If you have ever been on the back of a horse, you know just how special it is. For those of us who have been fortunate enough to experience it, it’s no surprise that hippotherapy—the use of horseback riding for therapeutic treatment—is so successful. As a horsewoman herself, Cassandra Sanders-Holly PT, DPT, PCS, knew she wanted hippotherapy as part of her practice, so in 2010 she started Leaps & Bounds Pediatric Therapy in Norco. Two years later, Friends of Leaps & Bounds was created to help families offset the cost of hippotherapy, which is often not covered by many insurance companies.
From Backyards to a Campus, Hippotherapy in Norco Built a Community
“She saw the need in community,” shares Katie Stout, Friends of Leaps & Bounds executive director, about Cassandra. “So as a professor of USC, a mom, also doing all of these other things in her life, she took this on after her day job. She and her husband did this in their backyard, or at community parks with their own horses, where they could find a need to be able to help the community. And then it just grew into something just absolutely spectacular.”
The Leaps & Bounds Pediatric Therapy campus is something special, alright. “The moment you walk on it, you automatically feel a sense of relief, you feel a sanctuary environment,” says Katie. The campus houses both the in-clinic and hippotherapy programs. The nonprofit supports the hippotherapy side due to its costs and lack of insurance support. One hippotherapy session costs $400 and with most patients attending weekly or even bi-weekly, the cost can add up quickly for families.
“No family should be turned away from it, if their child is in need of it, we want to help support them and make sure we are helping them get that service,” adds Katie.
Friends of Leaps & Bounds does not just support the patient, but the entire family. They have parent and sibling support groups and work to create an environment where all are welcome and at ease. This includes hands-on activities for kids waiting with their parents while siblings are in their therapy session. They also have sibling support animals, which include two donkeys, sheep and a pig named Twix that children can visit with instead of sitting in a waiting room.
Hippotherapy at their Norco campus includes occupational, physical and even speech therapy. Katie explains that the horse’s gaits mirror our own, so their movement can be a powerful tool to help kids with disabilities, even speech. “When it comes to speech, they’re reading books on the back of the horses,” explains Katie. “They may be having a kiddo turned around backwards with a book in their hand, reading that book to them while they’re walking on that horse. And really, it’s getting them out of the elements of a clinic setting, getting them outdoors, getting them fresh air, getting them into connection with the horse and matching the rhythm. But truly, it’s that movement. It’s that necessary movement that the horse is giving that we typically can’t get in an in-clinic session.”
Children With Disabilities Gain Valuable Skills with Leaps & Bounds Fjona & Friends
The Leaps & Bounds hippotherapy program lost one of its valued staff members in May 2025, a fjord mare named Fjona. “Fjona was amazing,” shares Katie, “She would just stand there and let kids paint her. We actually used her for a session where we taught about Native American history and what the symbols meant when they would draw them in the caves and all those things, and she was the horse that we used to draw symbols on, and the kids loved it.”
Like most fjord horses, Fjona seemed born for therapy work, being a “lap horse” as Katie describes. Before she passed, Leaps & Bounds had started a program called Fiona & Friends, as a legacy for her. The program meets once a month and teaches kids social skills, with a focus on supporting their mental health. Ages 4 to 16 can attend, and then they are broken into age groups. The sessions last three hours and are a safe space for kids to speak candidly to peers about things that are bothering them or that they do not understand. Sessions are led by a child life specialist and a development assistant and center around a certain topic each month.
Friends of Leaps & Bounds also has an adaptive riding program for those who have graduated from therapy, or for others who are looking for “horse time” and have specific needs. These sessions focus on horsemanship, and sometimes do not even involve riding—the student may instead work with them from the ground, learning about grooming, hoof care, etc.
Donate to Hippotherapy Program Through Friends of Leaps & Bounds
It costs roughly $6,000 a year to support each of the 15 horses in the Leaps & Bounds therapy program, Katie shares, not including vet care or emergencies. Each session has a ranch aid therapist and side walker as well as the therapist and of course, the horse! In order to save funds raised at events and through other donations to help patients pay for their sessions, one of their greatest needs is their Gallop Giving, where donors sponsor horse care, freeing up other funds to cover therapy.
In-kind donations, including horse items or items from their Amazon Wish list are also greatly appreciated. Volunteers are needed too! They now have Jr. Volunteers, for kids 14-18 in addition to adults.
Want to learn more about Leaps & Bounds Pediatric Therapy in Norco and Friends of Leaps & Bounds? Join them at their Leap Fest Open House, June 14, 2025. There will be a pancake breakfast, vendors, community partners and a chance for you to watch hippotherapy sessions.
Leaps & Bounds Pediatric Therapy
4211 Valley View Avenue, Norco
951.340.0431
