Horses help kids make strides with reading

OTTAWA — Move over, Snoopy. Dogs may be the most common animal used for more read-aloud programs, but it's the horses at Challenged Champions Equestrian Center that help children who struggle with reading. "The cool thing is, especially if you are a little bit of a shy or struggling reader, that horse is not judging you," said Amanda Sizemore, program director and a certified instructor for the therapeutic riding center near Ottawa. "They're not worried about how fast they're reading, if they're messing up on any words. They're just reading to that horse," she said. Sizemore was the first instructor at the center to become certified in the program after learning there was curriculum available for a program called Horse Powered Reading (HPR). "It's great, especially in summertime when you have that gap," Sizemore said. "You want to make sure the kids are still picking up those books and reading and keeping up and then kicking off the next year." HPR is a research-based reading facilitation program developed by Michele Pickle that harnesses the unique bond between humans and horses to enhance reading and comprehension skills. Since its debut in 2012, the program has trained 1,000 facilitators in all 50 states and 23 additional countries around the world. Children interact with horses from the ground while using toys and props to identify obstacles and learn five critical reading skills including phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Session goals vary depending upon the needs of the child or group, according to Sizemore. When a child is registered, parents receive a questionnaire asking if he or she is a struggling reader and their current reading level. "And it might not even be a struggling reader that's coming in," she said. "They might just have a passion for horses." While the mission of Challenged Champions is to improve the lives of children and adults with mental, physical and emotional challenges, HPR is open to all readers. The summer session starts the week of July 6 and continues into August. Sessions are either three or six weeks in length, and group classes are limited to three participants. Three-week private sessions are also available this year with Jordan Hamilton's certification. "If they come for six weeks, they'll build on the different reading skills throughout," Sizemore explained. "But each week is a different theme so we'll have different reading passages ready and an activity to do hands-on with the horses." For one class, Sizemore had a group of girls who were all fans of unicorns and princesses. "That day, we were talking about the different parts of a story. A good story is going to have a beginning, a middle and an end," she said. "On one of the horses, they painted his mane in rainbow colors." The horse also wore a unicorn horn, and there were colorful riding cones, arrows and circles on the ground in the arena. "So I had them make a path," said Sizemore. "I didn't care what went where so it kind of looked like a Candy Land board. They had a big colored dice so they took turns and rolled the dice for a color. Then they had to walk our unicorn down the path and we had to start a story." The girls absolutely loved it, she said. "Those girls came back the next year, when's the princess party? They wanted to do it again," Sizemore said. The last 15-20 minutes of each class is reserved for reading to their horse from a favorite book. "Sometimes they do it in the barn and they sit outside the horse's stall," said Sizemore. "Sometimes we'll be out in the pasture where the horses are free and we have chairs set up. So they can sit wherever they want." Inevitably, she noted, the horse will come up and start grazing next to the child while they're reading. "And one of my favorite things is if they have a picture book, too, the kiddo will be reading and then they'll show the horse the picture," she laughed. Even when they're reading to the horse by themselves, Sizemore stays nearby. "I let them know I'm here if you need help with anything. I don't want to feel like I'm hovering so I make myself busy. There's always something to be done in the barn," she said. "But I'm right there if they want help or hey, do you want to hear my story, too? Of course, I'd love to listen to you read to your horse." And the horses do listen, she said. "They never cease to amaze me," said Sizemore. "It's different for them because it's not the arena work they're typically used to doing. They're curious and they're herd animals. They want to be involved. What is this?" She said there are a couple of families that have signed up the last two summers for the program. One parent told Sizemore she had noticed the self-confidence increasing in her child. "Even I saw for only that six-week session, from one summer to the next, she came in confident, making eye contact and not afraid to get in and get hands-on with the horses and be a part of the group," said Sizemore. In addition to the reading program, Challenged Champions also offers a summer "Healthy as a Horse" Camp that keeps kids moving, laughing and learning what it means to care for their bodies and minds in barn style; and "Self-Regulation" Camp which helps participants discover calm in the chaos. The center currently has 16 horses that range in age from 4 to the 30 or 31-year-old Willy. He's retired but still helps out with non-mounted activities. Sizemore said she often uses him in the reading program. Sizemore and Hamilton have also been talking about how to expand the reading program in the fall, even though it's not typically been offered. Challenged Champions is located at 11913 County Road 6, near Ottawa. Funding comes from the United Way in both Hancock and Putnam counties. The organization also conducts several fundraisers during the year. For more information, email Sizemore at programdirector@challengedchampions.org ; call 419-456-3449; or visit www.challengedchampions.org.