Kentucky State University- Frankie’s Corner Little Thoroughbred Crusade Youth Equestrian Program: Down the Stretch Here they Come!

The annual impact of the horse industry to the gross domestic product of the United States is approximately $112.1 billion.  Kentucky has a $4billion economic impact. Approximately 80,000-100, 000 jobs annually are related to the horse industry. There are youth equestrian programs in KY. However, they are limited, based on one’s socio-economic level. There is a great need not only to diversify the equestrian industry, but also to develop youth equestrian programs especially for underserved communities. This would prepare underserved youth to work in the industry.

Figure 1 Student learns to lead Max

Figure 2 Students learn to clean stalls      

Figure 3 Student learns to clean Max

Kentucky State University, Family Consumer Science, Area Agent III, Carla Jordan partnered with Frankie’s Corner Little Thoroughbred Crusade to increase capacity by developing leadership, life-skills while engaging students in equestrian activities. Each Monday and Wednesday from 5-7pm youth ages 9-18 learn how to lead, manage and ride a horse. During each lesson, students are taught valuable life skills while also actively participate in barn, farm and stall maintenance. Students and parents alike commend the program and its members have been most helpful as students have been able to overcome fears, gain self-confidence and learn how to challenge themselves. Students learn skills that allow them to handle everything from interactions with others to identifying and processing their emotions. This quarter, seven (1 Asian, 5 Blacks 1 White 4 Females 3 Males) students participated. Recently, a licensed therapist of one such student commented the following about a KSU/FCLTC Youth Equestrian Participant:

To Whom It May Concern:

Before Frankie’s Corner, J did not have anything that was “his” in the activity department.  Although athletic and a sports lover, team sports are not his jam at this point in life.  Every sport he tried, he compared himself to his family members – and in his eyes, he came up short.  The pride that we all want for our kids, the innate self-confidence that it takes to be able to try new things and initiate conversations – these were qualities that had begun to slip away from J as he began to realize that he is different from others. J doesn’t always make friends easily or feel very successful with things he sees his peers participating in.  As a program participant, J learned about horses from the ground up, literally, starting with mucking stalls, learning about horse care basics, and progressing AT HIS PACE.  J started out this program with a posture that made him smaller, less visible, and protected himself from being noticed.  With each passing session, J has become more sure of himself with his horsemanship, his knowledge of what it takes to care for animals, the systematic progress of learning new skills, and quite possibly, a new way to communicate in horse language.  The excitement he feels after a session at Frankie’s Corner leads him to initiate a conversation about what he has learned and done.  He stands a little straighter, is more attuned to those around him with their nonverbal communication, and he looks forward to spending time at “his” activity, where he can grow at his pace.

For any more details about how this project has benefitted J, please feel free to contact me.”~ KL

The partnership between Kentucky State University and FCLTC has inevitably proven successful because it introduces participants to the equestrian field, which provides marketable wage-earning skills, but, most importantly, students also learn skills that help them to effectively deal with the events and challenges of everyday life!

References:

American Horse Council. 2019. Kentucky’s Horse Industry by the Numbers Retrieved from https://nationalhbpa.com/wp-content/uploads/HorseIndustryFactsandFigures.pdf