Please see the Daily Record article below regarding Professor Octavia Brown
being honored by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.
Enjoy!





Co-founders of Centenary College program for therapeutic riding honored for activities
Leadership, service recognized at meeting of national group
December 1, 2008


WASHINGTON TWP. -- Octavia J. Brown and Karen T. Bocksel, who co-founded the Therapeutic Riding at
Centenary College program in 2003, were honored with the 2008 North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association President's Award. The president's award is given in recognition of contributions through outstanding
leadership, dedication and service to NARHA and the field of equine-assisted activities. The award was made in
October at the association's national conference in Hartford. The Centenary College equestrian center is in Washington
Township and the main campus is in Hackettstown. Brown has been in the equine-assisted activities and therapies
field for more than 30 years. She was a founder of NARHA in 1969 and served four terms on the board of trustees.
In 1972, she founded the Somerset Hills Handicapped Riders in New Jersey, and was a founding member of the
Horseback Riding for the Handicapped of New Jersey - the first therapeutic riding agency in the United States.
Active in therapeutic riding nationally and internationally, she is a past president of the Federation of Riding for the
Disabled International.Bocksel has been involved in the field of therapeutic riding for more than 15 years. She is
a president of the New York State Therapeutic Riding Organization. She is a NARHA-certified advanced-level
instructor, served as the NARHA Region Two representative for four years and, in 1994, she received the NARHA
Region Two Volunteer of the Year Award. She is also the NARHA lead site visitor, instructor, mentor and apprentice
instructor evaluator. She is program director of CTREE, a therapeutic riding program on Long Island, N.Y.
In 2003-2004, Bocksel served as program director of TRAC. She has been the executive director, program director
and an officer of the board of directors of Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center in Tewksbury and was the president
of Horseback Riding for the Handicapped of New Jersey for three years.


Annamaria Lalevee
Public Relations Director
Centenary College
908-852-1400, ext. 2238
laleveea@centenarycollege.edu