Always having a love and respect for horses, Dr. Alice Root began volunteering with Upstate Cerebral Palsy’s horseback riding program and discovered a passion for equine-assisted therapy. Realizing her dream of sharing the benefits of equine therapy, she established the Mud Creek Farm in Vernon Center, New York in 1997. Creating an idyllic setting that allowed children with disabilities and at-risk youth to interact with animals and participate in therapeutic riding and hippotherapy sessions, Mud Creek Farm provided programs for seven years while the waiting list continued to grow. Having no choice but to move to a bigger, more accessible location, Mud Creek Farm moved to Verona, New York in 2004.
With the change of location, Alice decided to honor her family’s legacy by establishing our facility’s current namesake, The Root Farm. With moving to a larger location, The Root Farm then offered expanded services and opportunities, including adaptive vaulting, an integrated competitive vaulting team, and adaptive carriage driving.
In a full circle move, in 2014, Alice joined forces with Upstate Cerebral Palsy to combine efforts and create an expanded service offering. Moving to a 100 acre location in Sauquoit, New York in 2015, services have expanded to provide not only equine opportunities, but agriculture and recreational programs as well. Our equine center is open year-round and features an 8,000-square-foot heated indoor riding arena, outdoor riding arena, barn space for up to nine horses, paddock areas, and pasture that sprawls across our property. Our facility also features therapy rooms, a chicken coop and beehive, traditional and hydroponic farming activities, and most recently, an all-accessible challenge course that is the first of its kind in New York State.
