Youth & Horses Program
Reach Potential, Sunnyvale Public Safety, Sunnyvale’s Fremont HS, Dreampower Horsemanship & several sponsors (see below) are partnering together to empower Sunnyvale youth to reach their highest potential through a unique platform– the back of a horse. This winter & spring 8 students with their 8 mentors and 2 program staff are going to a ranch in Gilroy for nine Tuesday afternoons to become Cowboy Poets while grooming, training and riding a horse. A couple of students had never seen a horse in person before their first week at the ranch. We’re excited to provide these students with many firsts like riding horses, getting their first A in school, their first job interview and job, their first time to see snow, etc..
The Cowboy Poetry curriculum was created after seeing a lack of resources for equine programs to partner with educational institutes to provide disengaged students reach their full potential in life. Disengaged learners are struggling to succeed because they do not respond to the traditional approaches used in most school systems. This student population can include special needs, at-risk , emotionally challenged, gifted and students that are struggling academically or socially. Students benefit from a variety of learning styles, particularly when they can learn by doing and receive instant feedback on the why and how of a lesson.
We’re also using every bus ride to teach and inspire students about community, wellness, goal-setting, respect and other life skills as our goal is to see our first group of students to become positive influencers in their schools and neighborhoods to steer youth away from gangs and drugs. Time will tell but we’re optimistic that we’ll not only see great outcomes as a result of our Youth & Horses program but that our community will have a few more poets, knights and youth with a growing self-confidence and character from their time on a back of a horse.
YOUTH & HORSES SPONSORS to date:
