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Research journal — equine therapy nonprofit site

Last updated: 2026-05-24

Goal

Explore existing therapeutic riding / equine therapy nonprofit websites to inform a future site for horse therapy serving children with disabilities (likely San Diego / Orange County area).

Session summary (2026-05-24)

  • Researched national and local (SD/OC) reference sites via web fetch
  • Identified strong local design references: Ride Above Disability, Shea Center, Tara's Chance, SD Therapeutic Horsemanship
  • Captured common homepage patterns: hero + mission, Donate / Volunteer / Enroll CTAs, parent testimonials, PATH accreditation, impact stats
  • Decided not to mix this research into the core design KB — archived here as a sub-project
  • Kicked off general-purpose design-knowledge/ in ai-assisted-work for all future web/design work

Design takeaways (for when we build)

Pattern Why it matters
Emotional hero + one mission line Families and donors understand purpose in 5 seconds
Three CTAs: Donate, Volunteer, Get started Matches how nonprofits actually convert
Parent/rider quotes with names Trust beats generic “we help kids” copy
PATH Intl (or equivalent) badge Industry trust signal for therapeutic riding
“What is equine therapy?” explainer Many visitors are new to the concept (see Tara's Chance)
Meet the horses + sponsorship Emotional connection and recurring donation hook
Impact numbers Hours, riders served, volunteer value

Open questions (before build)

  • Organization name, legal status, and service area
  • Primary programs (adaptive riding only vs hippotherapy, camps, veterans)
  • Donation platform (Stripe, Givebutter, etc.)
  • Tech stack preference (static site, WordPress, Next.js)