Ride On St. Louis has found a permanent home after flooding forced the equine-assisted service program from its home at the Anheuser Estate in Kimmswick five years ago.

The nonprofit organization, which offers equine therapy to children and adults with disabilities, will move its operation to a 27-acre property at 9000 Grab Lane off Sandy Valley Acres Drive northeast of Hillsboro it purchased for about $745,000, said Stephanie Stark, Ride On’s campaign committee adviser.

On March 15, the organization, which was formed in 1998, held a ribbon-cutting and blessing ceremony at its “forever home” with about 35 supporters in attendance.

However, it will be months before staff members and the horses can move there, Stark said.

Marita Wassman, Ride On’s CEO and co-founder, said more fundraising and renovations are needed before the organization may transition to its new home.

She hopes that will happen later this year but until then, services will remain at the group’s leased interim site at 8499 Byrnesville Road in Cedar Hill.

According to the group’s website, approximately $800,000 of the $1.3 million needed for the relocation project has been secured so far.

In addition to acquiring and renovating the property for the organization’s new home, the $1.3 million would provide funds to add staff and expand services, as well as for an endowment.

Stark said the renovations are needed to make it safe for children and adults with disabilities to ride horses at the new property.

She said the property will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities) compliant and PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) compliant.

The fields need to be sectioned off and enclosed with about 5,915 feet of fencing. An old barn will be demolished and another will be renovated for six stalls and work areas. Plans also call for a classroom, restroom facilities and parking, Wassman said.

“Additionally, immediate plans include replacing many of the existing wood beams and foundation posts in the barn,” according to the group’s website. “To date, a small structure has already been demolished and removed from the property, and the future barn/stable existing structure has been gutted and prepared for utility updates and grading.”

After the group lost the property in Kimmswick in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, so most of the therapy staff was furloughed, Stark said.

“So what’s included in that $1.3 million is restaffing the entire organization to be able to provide services, not only for existing participants but also for the (116 people) who are currently on the waiting list for services,” she said.

“We anticipate transitioning our herd in (the third or fourth quarter) of 2024, with program offerings continuing in a limited capacity based upon our herd’s acclimation,” Wassman said. “We will have additional buildout phases and capital improvement projects beyond 2024.”

Wassman said the organization has volunteer opportunities for skilled laborers, and anyone interested in helping with the cause may visit rideonstl.org or call 636-464-3408.

The next fundraiser will be Denim & Diamonds, a private dinner on April 25 at the Fox Run Golf Course Carriage House in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka. For information, email info@rideonstl.org or call 636-464-3408.

Flooding and COVID

Ride On previously was located on the Anheuser Estate along the Mississippi River in Kimmswick, and the property was first affected by flooding in 2013 and then again in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, said BriAnn Session, Wassman’s daughter, who serves as the group’s grant manager.

“It cost Ride on St. Louis approximately $200,000 after every flood to rebuild all their infrastructure,” Stark said.

Session said after each flood, the organization had to close for about eight months while it rebuilt and sanitized affected areas.

When it first moved from Kimmswick in 2019, a friend with a breeding farm in Illinois allowed Wassman to run the organization’s Barn Buddies program from his property for that year.

In 2020, Ride On St. Louis leased the stable in Cedar Hill.

“Before moving there, we had a lot of work to do,” Session said. “We had to clean the pastures out; they were very overgrown. It was vacant for years. We had to build out stalls and temporary fencing that we can bring with us.”

When COVID shut everything down in March 2020, Session said the group was one of the first to offer a virtual equine services program.

Then, after COVID, the organization provided what services it could in Cedar Hill, but the temporary property was not appropriate for anyone in a wheelchair, which makes up a large percentage of the population the organization serves, Stark said.

Session said the organization put a lot of planning into exactly how the new property needs to flow.

At its peak and before the group moved out of Kimmswick, it was serving 50 clients a week from counties in Missouri and Illinois. Since 1998, it has provided equine-assisted services to more than 2,600 people, and it helped about 270 people last year.

According to its website, Ride On St. Louis relies on private donations, fundraising, volunteer efforts, in-kind gifts and grants.