Our Story
Victory Riding Academy (VRA) was founded in 2010 by Tony and JoDee Barnes with a simple but powerful purpose: to offer hope, healing, and connection through horses. VRA became an incorporated nonprofit in October 2011 and received 501(c)(3) status in June 2012.At the heart of our mission is a belief in providing a hand up, not a handout.
VRA offers affordable and complimentary equine experiences to members of our community who serve others, Active Duty Military, Veterans, Police, Firefighters, First Responders, and their families, ensuring financial barriers never stand in the way of growth, connection, and renewal.
What We Do
Equine Assisted Learning
Victory Riding Academy is an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) Center, offering experiential, ground-based and mounted activities designed to promote personal growth, emotional awareness, communication, leadership, confidence, and stress management.
Equine Assisted Learning is open to individuals of all ages and backgrounds and supports the development of life skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, self-regulation, focus, and resilience. Through intentional interaction with horses, participants gain insights that translate into everyday life, relationships, and work environments.
Mission Statement
Improving the quality of life for students with equine-facilitated activities.
Helping students persevere, overcome, and conquer any of life’s challenges.
Educating the community through horsemanship classes, providing training and instruction to develop competence and security.
Why are these 3 words so important?
Persevere: To persist in anything undertaken in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement.
Overcome: Succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty.
Conquer: To gain a victory over a problem or difficulty.
Our main objective is to partner with each student to motivate, encourage, and assist them in accomplishing their goals
Join the Cause
Join VRA and help us support our mission of serving Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Your support helps provide healing, connection, and hope to those who have given so much for others. Together, we can honor their service and strengthen the families and communities they protect.
