FESTINA Lente and the Equine Facilitated Education and Therapy Association (Ireland) are delighted to be hosting the 16th international HETI Congress of Equine Facilitated Programmes, supported by Horse Sport Ireland.

This internationally renowned congress on equine education activities, therapeutic riding and equine facilitated programmes will attract over 700 delegates to the home of the world famous Dublin Horse Show, The RDS, on 25th-29th June 2018.

The proposed theme of the 16th International HETI Congress of Equine Facilitated Programmes 2018 in Ireland is 'Striking the Balance'.

Primarily, the congress aims to explore ways to strike the balance between:

• The challenge of providing high quality EFP’s in an environment of competing resources: where demand is greater than supply

• The challenges of producing rigorously robust studies versus evaluative or anecdotal studies

• The challenge of funding EFP’s: public and private funding sources

• Segregated or mainstream settings for equine facilitated programmes: which are best and for whom

• The provision of equine facilitated programmes and horse welfare and management considerations

The Congress offers a diverse programme of international keynote speakers, interactive practical workshops, oral and poster sessions. Keynote speakers include; William Micklem, Patricia Pendry, Martine Hausberger and Ed Bracher.

In addition to an expansive day time programme of sessions there will be ample opportunity for delegates to relax and network with the evening social programme. Offering everything from welcome drinks to a traditional Irish Ceili, and a particularly special one-off evening in the beautiful surroundings of Festina Lente which will include a clicker performance and a BBQ, we are hoping HETI 2018 will be a memorable Congress for all who attend.

Speaking about the HETI Congress of EFP’s Horse Sport Ireland’s International Marketing Director, Elaine Hatton said:

“Horse Sport Ireland are delighted to support the International HETI Congress of Equine Facilitated Programmes in Dublin this June. The information surrounding therapeutic riding, equine assisted learning and welfare is critically important not only to the equine industry but to a much wider audience. There are huge benefits surrounding the material being presented at this event and there will be something for everyone to take home.”

End of Early Registration is March 19th 2018 additional information on the congress please visit the website http://heti2018.org/ or email heti2018@conferencepartners.ie