The U.S. Equestrian Federation announced Molly O’Neill Sweeney as the recipient of the USEF/EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award on Dec. 19. Sweeney received the award based on her work with many equine charities over the course of the last 20 years.
Sweeney’s dedication to equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAA/T) began when she started volunteering at the SIRE Therapeutic Equestrian Center, a non-profit center for therapeutic riding in Houston, Texas, in 1989. She was president of SIRE from 1997-2009. As a board member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International from 1996-2002, Sweeney was key in aiding the development and growth of PATH’s accreditation and certification programs.
In 2004 Sweeney, Hockley, Texas, founded the Horses and Human Research Foundation to research and help prove the healing powers of horses through therapeutic riding. For her work with the Foundation, Sweeney also received the PATH International James Brady Professional Achievement Award in 2010.
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“We are most pleased that Molly Sweeney has been selected to receive the Humanitarian Award for 2011 for her dedication and tireless work with equine assisted activities and therapies, and her leadership in establishing the Horses and Humans Research Foundation,” said Jenny Belknap Kees, chairman of the board of the EQUUS Foundation. “Their work on validating the influence of horses on human health will transform the value and purpose of equines in our culture.”
Sweeney will be honored at the USEF Pegasus Awards Dinner during the USEF Annual Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 14, 2012.
