Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding, WWFD among Wildhorse Foundation grant recipients
The Wildhorse Foundation, a fund managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, awarded $495,000 to several Washington and Oregon organizations.
Some Walla Walla-area organizations were among the grant recipients.
Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding, which uses horses in therapy treatments, received $3,000 to care for its animals.
Mary Murphy, Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding's executive director, said the money will help the nonprofit organization cover its costs.
"The Wildhorse Foundation (grant is) for our Healing with Horses program," she said. "The money that we need to care for the horses all year long, not just while we're operating, we write grants and do fundraising for."
She said the Wildhorse Foundation gave instructions on what the money can be used for.
"This $3,000 that we received from Wildhorse Foundation is restricted," she said. "They asked us to use it specifically to purchase feed for the horses. And so here in July when we restock our hay barn, we will be using that money to purchase hay for the horses."
The Walla Walla Fire Department received $21,156 for the purchase of a new technical response utility terrain vehicle.
"This grant award from the Wildhorse Foundation will provide our department with a resource that will significantly improve our responsiveness and capability during emergency operations," said WWFD Chief Eric Wood in a release. "This equipment will help our team reach patients more quickly and safely in challenging environments, ultimately strengthening our mission to protect the lives and well-being of our community."
The vehicle will allow crews to rescue people in hard-to-reach areas.
The grants are part of Wildhorse Foundation's first-quarter grant awards in 2026. Each year, the foundation makes four rounds of grants throughout the year. According to a release from the foundation, it has donated more than $20 million since 2001.
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