Reins of Life (ROL) was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1978.  That year, Reins provided 32 hours of therapeutic riding lessons for 16 riders. Classes were held in the backyards of friends of ROL. From 1978-1991 Reins used borrowed arenas, equipment, and tack to provide services to individuals with disabilities of St. Joseph County, Indiana.  Dedicated volunteers transported borrowed horses by trailer to the lesson sites each day.  In 1991, the organization found a permanent home when Nancy and Lloyd Taylor donated twenty acres of their land on Quince Road, near Lydick.  Reins of Life now serves over 500 riders with 3,000 hours of lesson time annually for residents of 11 counties in Indiana and Michigan.

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An unprecedented opportunity to expand the organization’s services came in June of 2007 in the form of the donation of a 46 acre property in Michigan City.  Royal Acres Equestrian Center was donated by a Chicago couple, Todd and Janice Much, and was valued at $2M. Therapeutic riding lessons began in Michigan City on September 10, 2007 with 16 riders in the first session.  The ROL Michigan City barn has since tripled in ridership with riders coming to us from mainly La Porte and Porter County.