Catholic Charities Eagleson Equestrian Center

Catholic Charities Eagleson Equestrian Center

Who We Are

Catholic Charities Eagleson Equestrian Center is a non-profit therapeutic equestrian center dedicated to helping people of all ages connect with horses, nature, and themselves. The center is home to 15 horses, chickens, goats, guinea pigs, and two barn cats and offers clients the opportunity to learn horsemanship skills by emphasizing relationships and pro social skill building. Therapeutic equestrian activities are supervised by Natural Lifemanship level 2 trained equestrian professionals with a vast array of horse experience and training in trauma-informed care.

Who We Help

The Eagleson Equestrian Center has worked with foster youths, neurodivergent children, and women in recovery. The center is also expanding its services to include anyone who is interested in the mental health benefits of being in the presence of horses. 

Community Partnerships

The Eagleson Equestrian Center regularly partners with Winston Prep, a school in Marin that serves students with various learning differences, and Carmelita Women’s Home, a program centered around the treatment of trauma through holistic healing experiences. The center is looking to expand its partnerships. If your group or organization is interested in our services, please reach out via email.  

Staff Info

Danielle Lim, Program Manager of Eagleson Equestrian Center, is currently pursuing their master’s in counseling psychology and has a variety of horse experience including leading trail rides in Montana to working with as an equestrian camp counselor at sleepover camps on the East Coast. Danielle manages the daily care of all animals, facility care and needs, donor and community engagement, client contact and scheduling. The Center’s Program Assistant, Sappho Finnegan, has worked in K-12 education as a substitute teacher for special education classes. She has over eight years of experience in animal husbandry, working with sheep and horses. Sappho is integral to caring for the animals, making sure their needs are met, and co-facilitating sessions with clients.  

How to Contact Us

DLim@CatholicCharitiesSF.org
Call: (415) 578-3607

History

The equestrian facility was named the Eagleson Equestrian Center after Kent Eagleson, Director Emeritus of Catholic Charities St. Vincent’s School for Boys, which continues to serve young people since its founding in 1853. Kent spent a lifetime helping boys heal and grow to their potential. In recognition of his retirement from over 53 years of service, Catholic Charities honored Kent by unveiling the Catholic Charities Eagleson Equestrian Center at St. Vincent’s School for Boys in 2018. Kent remains an unwavering supporter of the equestrian program. 

equine

What Services We Provide

The opportunity to learn basic horsemanship skills and interact with gentle horses under the guidance of equine professionals. We invite clients to connect with our horses by spending time with them their pasture, grooming, or participating in unmounted exercises. Clients also enjoy meeting and spending time with our other animals. Much of the work clients do with our horses is unmounted, but children in our after-school hangout and those in custom programs will sometimes ride our horses. Our goal is to facilitate an experience that encourages people to observe and contemplate their relationships with animals, nature, and fellow humans.  

Services Open to the Public

  • After school hangout:
    Wednesdays, 2:30-4pm starting Nov 12, 2025
     
    Recommended for ages 11-14,max five kiddos  
    Cost: $110/person
     
    This hangout offers young people the opportunity to socialize with their peers while engaging in horsemanship skills (unmounted and mounted), nature walks, and animal care.  
  • Farm Experience:
    Tuesdays 11-12pm, Fridays 3-4pm 
    Open to all ages, max 8 people per time slot  
    Cost: $80/person
     
    During farm experiences guests connect with our horses through a variety of unmounted activities such as grooming, bathing and lunging. They are also invited to engage with our other farm animals and learn about their care.
  • Custom Experiences:
    Our staff can create tailored experiences for community partners. Programming will include unmounted horsemanship activities and may include riding and learning about animal care.  
    If you are an individual interested in participating in any of our services, please fill out a client inquiry form and our program manager will be in touch with you shortly. If you are an organization interested in custom experiences for a group, please reach out directly via email. 

Meet Javier

Meet Javier

Javier is an 11-year-old boy who is outgoing, smart and funny. He struggles with provoking others, has difficulty maintaining positive and safe relationships, following directions and taking responsibility for his actions. On Javier’s first day at the barn, he did not listen, often interrupted and made many negative comments. The one, largely, positive interaction he had on his first day of group was with ‘Tony the Pony’. Javier calmly walked up to him, gently gave him pets on his neck and his hard exterior seemed to melt away in Tony’s presence. For the next group, Javier had written an apology letter to our staff, saying sorry for his negative comments and promising to try his best to have a better attitude. As the weeks went on, Javier displayed improvement in his peer interactions as well as his interactions with staff. He was more communicative of his needs and demonstrated the ability to make compromises with his peers. He showed his ability to be a leader amongst his peers and would even go out of his way to offer support to someone he saw having a difficult time. By the end of their 8-week session, Javier showed up as a respectful and accountable young man, who still loved to spend time with ‘Tony the Pony’.

Horse Story: Cowboy
Cowboy has lived at The Eagleson Equestrian Center for almost 2 decades and retired a little over 10 years ago due to a degenerative bone disease called Navicular. Although Cowboy is retired from riding, he contributes to the program with his desire to be close to people and his love for being pampered. He is often the horse we bring out when a client is feeling nervous about riding and they can groom, bathe, feed or spend quality time with him. Cowboy is also a wonderful companion to our older horses; he has always been drawn to protect them and keep them company. When his best friend Bo passed away, Cowboy was devastated but he has now become the loyal companion of our oldest horse Savannah. He can often be seen grazing near her and will put himself in between her and any perceived danger.