CHAPS receives $6,000 from Powder River Energy Foundation

Powder River Energy Foundation recently presented a $6,000 donation to CHAPS Equine Assisted Services to assist with its mission of providing a resource for empowerment and healing as well as physical and mental well-being through equine assisted services. CHAPS, a Sheridan-based organization,  serves the community through four programs: adaptive (therapeutic) riding; adaptive (therapeutic) carriage driving; equine assisted learning; and equine facilitated psychotherapy.

CHAPS serves a multitude of diagnoses including ADD/ADHD, autism, anxiety, cerebral palsy, depression, Down’s syndrome, genetic disorders, intellectual developmental delay, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and suicidal ideation. CHAPS Executive Director Kristen Marcus said that they served more than 340 people in 2025, which was an all-time record.

Marcus added that clients pay for a portion of the services, but donations such as these ensure that the program can be offered regardless of financial hardship and that rising costs of care and feeding of the horses in the program make the Foundation’s support even more important for 2026.