HONALO — Fitted with boots, a helmet and a smile, Moani Kanehailua sat astride “Elvis,” and holding onto the reins, gave the horse a confident “Walk on” before entering the arena with the help of some volunteers to join Bronson Gomes, sitting astride “Early.”
The students were among four special education students from Kealakehe Intermediate School to come out to the Horseplay Equestrian Center on Thursday for a morning of basic horseback riding lessons with Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii — Kona.
“It’s something for them to be confident, and not to be scared when they try something new,” said special education teacher Hersey Damson as she watched her students learn the ropes. “Because for them, for kids with a disability, new things are really hard for them to cope. So trying new things will help them to be confident and to try and to enjoy it.”
Throughout the morning Kanehailua and Gomes, followed later by Ui Kalavi and Kyna Eno, practiced having their horses go, stop and turn, capped off with an activity that encouraged the kids to maneuver their horses among posters with letters on them for the kids to practice spelling.
Educational assistant Laurie Lucas said the experience was a chance for the kids to get comfortable around animals and learn some valuable lessons — not to mention a fun activity that puts a smile on their faces.
“It’ll set their day,” she said. “Since we’re starting this so early in the morning, it sets their day and they’re just learning how to work as a team.”
Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii — Kona offers group mounted sessions at Horseplay Equestrian Center for children and adults with special needs.
Founder and program director Nancy Bloomfield, who is also a pediatric physical therapist, said from a physical therapy background, the activity promotes a range of benefits, including building core strength, improving balance and learning to follow directions.
“And then that kind of moves into the self-esteem and confidence building, because the kids can learn to actually, eventually control a large horse,” she said. “They often don’t have a lot of control of anything, but if they can sit on a thousand-pound horse and control it, that’s pretty empowering for them.”
Participants, she said, might arrive at the arena with a sense of fear or apprehension, but that transforms into “really developing confidence and independence,” and it’s that confidence she said she hopes participants take home with them.
In addition to promoting the skills that horseback riding offers, Lucas and Damson also said it offers the students a sense of community and belonging. Damson emphasized that for her, it’s important that her students have access to trying the same activities as any child.
“And like everything, the opportunities that other kids have, they can also get it, they can also experience those things,” Damson said.
Bloomfield too spoke to the importance of making opportunities for children with special needs.
“I think just that any opportunity to give these kids an activity that they can do that’s good for them, that’s enriching is a good thing,” she said.
Damson and Lucas both had high praise for Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii — Kona, and their support of students.
“They have a big heart for those kids,” said Damson.
Looking forward, Damson and Lucas both see the potential for lessons they can take back to the classroom and incorporate into their lessons on life skills.
“It’s fun, but it’s also educational,” Damson said. “Like they’re having fun without noticing that they’re learning something from this.”
