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California Riding Magazine • May, 2010 The Gallop: by Kim F. Miller |
It was a pretty normal barn day at Mill Creek Equestrian Center in beautiful, funky Topanga Canyon. Advanced riders at the eventing and dressage oriented facility leapt up and down a sizable bank in one arena, while breeches-clad young girls brought their lunch bags to the rail to watch the big girls after their own lessons. Rocky canyon walls guarded the secluded enclave while every shade of bright green burst from dense trees surrounding the arenas and stables. Another perfect day in equestrian paradise. In the stable’s well-organized school horse prep area, the next group of riders got their horse assignments from Mill Creek’s Mario Trejo. They did not have breeches or any of their own riding gear and a Saturday at the stable was anything but normal for them. Thanks to Horses In The Hood, however, they did have a horse to learn from and “love on” for the week. Formed in 1999 by show jumping Hall of Fame member Kathy Kusner, the program gives inner city kids a week of horsemanship and riding lessons, plus a pizza party and “horse show” their family is invited to at the end of camp. Horses In The Hood (HHLA) has traditionally focused on kids from Compton and Watts, but Kusner was characteristically open minded when she got a call from the Maryvale Group Home in Rosemead. She heard some of the reasons Maryvale residents, all girls aged 6-18, had been taken in as wards of the State, and said yes to the group immediately. After writing and reading about HHLA for many years, it was a treat to see the program and Kusner in action. Kusner says the program’s mission is not to make riders of its charges but to expose them to life’s possibilities. That often starts on the drive to Mill Creek, which includes parts of Coast Highway. For many participants, it’s their first glimpse of the ocean even though they’ve lived close by all their lives. The eight girls I met during my visit ranged from never having seen or touched a horse to Erica, who seemed at ease around horses and in the saddle and said she had owned them when she lived with her mother. By her final lesson, Erica’s horse Lego had graduated from “my boyfriend” to “my totally hot boyfriend!” I was told this group’s overall ability and/or willingness to focus was not as keen as more typical HHLA riders because of their past circumstances and their generally older age. But I was impressed. Equipped with helmets and boots and riding nose to tail, the girls worked on steerage, spacing and their body position. At the walk, they navigated a twisty course of ground poles, then went back to the rail to prepare for the trot. Some kicked their mounts into the new gait without reservation, while others overcame obvious trepidation to do so. It was their fifth day of morning and afternoon riding lessons at camp and several girls had mastered posting.
Kathy Kusner, center, helps a Horses In The Hood
student from Working one-on-one with an HHLA volunteer, 16-year-old street smart Liz let her horse drift to the center of the ring, then pulled him to a stop with a big smile. “I can’t steer and trot at the same time!” she laughed before bending over to throw her arms around her horse’s neck. “But my horse is so great. He’s the best.” Liz aspires to be a professional dancer and was articulate in expressing her appreciation for the chance to interact with horses. She clearly enjoyed grooming her horse, a quiet, shaggy bay named Dave, as much as she did riding him. Caylon was quiet. Seeming to stretch her nerve every step of the way, she led the group for much of the morning session, but had a fall during a game of sharks and minnows that went slightly awry. Understandably shaken up, Caylon was later swarmed in the tack room by young Mill Creekers anxious to tell her how many times they’d fallen off and offer their encouragement. After lunch, she embraced one of riding’s greatest life lessons: She got back on after a fall and finished the session on an empowering note. All the girls had been encouraged to make the most of the opportunity in a pre-ride pep talk. “I am happy,” responded Dionne. “I’m having a good time and I’m excited on the inside, I just don’t show it on the outside.” “It’s okay to show it on the outside,” encouraged a long time HHLA volunteer named Glory. “You know what might happen? You might inspire somebody.” And she did. Later during lunch, Dionne told me that horses care deeply about people. “They act like they have really big hearts.” Dionne wants to work in an animal shelter when she grows up and her affinity for horses was obvious. All About The Kids Founder Kusner is adamant that Horses In The Hood is about the kids and not about her. She usually takes a back seat during the riding portion of camp, sometimes showing up only on the last day. During that final day’s lunch, she quizzed the kids about their lives, opinions and ambitions, but did not say she was the program’s founder, let alone a pioneering three-time Olympic show jumper. (And that’s not to mention her accomplishments as a flat racing and steeple chase jockey, a pilot and marathon and ultramarathon runner.) She was intensely curious about the girls’ views of Maryvale and life beyond its doors. Explaining the facility’s many life-skills building programs, Liz summed it up for Kusner. “They don’t give us what we want: they give us what we need.” Kusner typically does not teach the lessons herself, but on this afternoon she singled out several riders, adjusting their leg and hand positions and encouraging them to feel why a deep heel and seat are important to steering and a secure position.
Students master the trot on their final day of camp. Laughter and teenage girl talk dominated non-riding time. Maryvale staffer Lenore Barrera described the Horses In The Hood adventure as terrific for several reasons. “First of all, it’s so different from our other outings,” she began. With the Maryvale supervisors on the sidelines during riding lessons, the girls experience a social independence in which their personalities often blossom. As for the horses’ contribution, Berrera said their need to be cared for gave the girls an important sense of responsibility. HHLA has given close to 900 kids a hands-on week with horses and an exposure to new life possibilities. Funded by donations, the non-profit HHLA aspires to never let costs prevent a suitable organization from sending its kids to the camp. So far, Kusner and company have pulled that off. “Horses In The Hood is about saying that these people should have the best life possible,” Kusner explains. “When anybody is exposed to something new, it makes them ask, ‘What else is possible?’ My hope is that this opens a huge window to the world for these kids.” For more information on Horses In The Hood, visit www.horsesinthehood.org.
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