News & Media

Eagala Essentials: Member Highlights

Association News & Rescources Newsletter - February 2019
Gateway Horseworks in Pennsylvania has been getting some wonderful media attention. Check out this wonderful article on Eagala with traumatized women. And then check out this recent news coverage video on the success of Eagala with addictions, how clients stay in treatment over 50% longer, and their new partnership with Recovery Centers of America! ​

​Equine Therapy for Recovering Drug Users

NBC10 Philadelphia - February 4th, 2019
Gateway Horseworks and The Recover Center of American in Devon, Pennsylvania, have teamed up to give people recovering from drug usage a new outlook on recovery. 

​'It’s What The World Needs': Gateway Horseworks Gives Traumatized Women Purpose, Empowerment, And Healing

Noellefloyd.com - January 23rd, 2019
Inmate Tammy James* was completing her jail sentence at the Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania. She was chosen to participate in the Chester County Women’s Reentry Assessment & Programming Initiative (WRAP) – a program developed specifically for female survivors of trauma who are transitioning back into the community following their sentence. She was also selected to participate in a new equine-assisted psychotherapy program (EAP)...

New Year’s Resolutions: 21 Ways to Volunteer in and Around Philly

PhillyMag.com - January 5th, 2019
Want to start your year off on the right foot? Start here.

Watch the Kentucky Derby At West Laurel Hill Cemetery to benefit Gateway HorseWorks

NBC10 Philadelphia - May 2nd, 2018

Horseplay: Eagala Organization Shows How Horses Help Lead Struggling Humans to Higher Ground

BOROPOST.COM - March 1st, 2018
Since almost the dawn of time, humans and horses have had a fluid relationship that has changed over the centuries, from carrying us into the battlefield to plowing our fields.
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Recently this relationship has developed into equine-assisted psychotherapy, in which horses are being used in treatments for various mental health issues. 

Women Inmates Helped by Horses

The Daily Local News - November 25th, 2017
On a recent fall morning, four women inmates from Chester County Prison entered an indoor arena at the Thorncroft Equestrian Center and began to meet the duo who have been helping them navigate their way toward success outside of the prison walls.

But Jubilee and Mia are not your traditional counselors or social workers. Rather, they are the horses the quartet have come to know while engaging in equine therapy at the center outside Malvern, a developing part of the county’s acclaimed Women’s Reentry Assessment and Programming (WRAP) initiative.

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy:
​An Emerging Trauma-Informed Intervention

Wednesday, September 27th, 2017
Written by Dr. Page Walker Buck. Dr. Nadine Bean, and Kristen de Marco

We are excited to share this recently published article from the peer-reviewed journal, Advances in Social Work! Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is emerging as a promising trauma-informed intervention recognized in mainstream academic literature.

Marilyn Russell's Remarkable Women Radio Interview

Monday, June 5th, 2017
Marilyn Russell's Remarkable Women is an award-winning program hosted by Marilyn Russell of the Breakfast Club. Marilyn talks with two of the finalists of the 2017 Women's Achievement Awards on Wednesday June 28th at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. First Marilyn talks with Nicole Allen White, Director of Government Affairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She manages city, state and federal initiatives and external relations in the local and regional community. Then Kristen de Marco joins Marilyn. Kristen is a Certified Equine Learning Specialist and Executive Director - Gateway HorseWorks, educating the mental health community about Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with a focus on underserved and marginalized populations. Listen to the interview below.

Women's Achievement Awards Rising Star Honoree: Kristen de Marco

KYW News Radio 0160 - May 8th, 2017
Kristen de Marco has shown in a few years what can be accomplished by one woman with vision, commitment, and an understanding of critical unmet needs in her community.
Believing in the teaching and healing powers of horses, and wanting them to be accessible to everyone rather than an elite experience, she is leading the way in developing, promoting and providing Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) services throughout the area.

Perspectives on Parenting Radio Interview

1520 WCHE Radio - April 3rd, 2017
On this radio show, Julia hosts Kristen de Marco with Gateway HorseWorks, whose mission is to provide transformative Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Services to children, adults, and families in a healing, farm-based environment. Julia hosts a variety of guest experts on her weekly radio show on WCHE 1520 a.m., “Perspectives on Parenting with Julia Sherwin.” You can listen via the Tune In app or at WCHE1520.com.

Gateway HorseWorks Saddles Troubled Youth with Useful Tools​

Main Line Today - Fall/Winter 2016
A horse nipping at someone’s jacket sleeve isn’t normally a big deal. Kristen de Marco, however, saw it as an opportunity for a therapeutic exercise. “How do you get him to stop?” she asked the patient standing with her in the enclosed arena at Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern. 
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The patient didn’t know, so de Marco demonstrated. She held up her hand, turning it into a stop sign, then said, “No,” in a firm but calm voice. Hand raised, de Marco slowly but assertively walked toward the horse, who retreated as she approached. Not offended in the least, the horse wandered off and found something else to occupy its attention.