Location
CHAMP is located on Good Hope Farm in idyllic South Hero, Vermont.
Key Contacts
Jean Desranleau, CHAMP Executive Director / Instructor
Pauline Gervais, CHAMP Volunteer Coordinator
Andrea Poirier, Barn Manager
Our Credentials
The Champlain Adaptive Mounted Program (CHAMP) is a Premier Accredited Center of Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, PATH International. To achieve and maintain this certification CHAMP is required to follow stringent regulations to ensure that “basic standards for health and safety to promote the well-being of all participants and horses” are followed. Accreditation status is reviewed every five years by PATH International and an Annual Statement of Compliance must be submitted. CHAMP also adheres to the PATH International Code of Ethics for Centers. Confidentiality is of paramount importance.
All instructors are certified by PATH International. In order to maintain certification, instructors are required to take a CPR and First Aid course every two years, and to spend twenty hours each year upgrading knowledge and skills. Our volunteers are trained on-site with hands-on demonstrations. Training addresses rider safety and includes; horse leading, side-walking, mounting, dismounting, horse grooming and tacking.
Board of Directors
Pauline Gervais
President
Volunteer Coordinator
Michael Duany
Treasurer
Neal Blanchard
Vice President
Mary Tefft
Secretary
Instructors
Jean Desranleau
Jean Desranleau is a PATH Intl. Certified Instructor – Registered, CHAMP Executive Director and Program Director. She grew up at Contentment Farm which is now known as CHAMP at Good Hope Farm. She has been riding, working with horses and teaching riding for most of her life. She has helped develop the CHAMP program since its inception and is delighted to be back living in South Hero and working full time with CHAMP.
Sue Birmingham
Sue Birmingham successfully completed all of the Path-Intl. requirements for Instructor Certification, including written exams and two days of onsite evaluations in 2013. Sue has worked with horses most of her life. She attended Centenary College in NJ and received a B.S. in Equine Studies. She traveled abroad to England for her junior year in college and received the British Horse Society’s certification as well. Sue has volunteered for CHAMP since 2005, and lives in South Hero with her Husband Dave and dog Bentley. Sue owns Mr “T”, a thoroughbred adopted from a Florida racetrack and boards him at Good Hope Farm.