Students Get Equine Education

Fourth-Graders Experience Live Horses, Literature

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

BENTONVILLE — Children were encouraged to horse around at Barker Middle School on Tuesday.

The school hosted the Horse Tales Literacy Project, a program designed to stimulate students’ interest in reading through a combination of live horses and classic horse literature.

About 260 fourth-graders from six Bentonville schools were invited to Barker for the morning portion of the program. All were students who are expected to attend Barker this fall. Barker fifth-graders participated in the afternoon portion.

The students rotated among 10 stations set up outdoors for horse-related lessons. Volunteers brought several horses for the students to see and touch, and gave brief talks and demonstrations on such things as horse grooming, nutrition and farriery. Robert Kelsheimer of Neosho, Mo., brought his horse Frosty and pony Tommy Hawk to perform tricks for the students.

At A Glance

Horse Tales Literacy Project

Tim Farley and Mark Miller started the project in 1999. Farley is a son of the late Walter Farley, author of “The Black Stallion” books. Miller is owner of the Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction in Kissimmee, Fla. The project is both a school-based and community programs where activities are developed around Walter Farley’s books and other classic horse literature.

Source: HorseTalesLiteracy.org

As part of the program, each fourth-grader received a copy of “The Black Stallion.” The students are expected to read the book this summer. Jerri Foster, a fifth-grade literacy teacher at Barker, said she will set up a blog to communicate with students about the book.

Each book costs $10. The books were paid for through a $1,900 donation from J.B. Hunt employees and through additional donations from teachers, Foster said.

McKenna Bagley, 10, a fourth-grader from Mary Mae Jones Elementary School, said Tuesday’s event was her first chance to see a horse up close.

“I got to groom a horse, which was really fun,” McKenna said.

She also enjoyed the stick horse relay race, another part of the program.

Jacci Perry, Northwest Arkansas coordinator for Horse Tales Literacy Project, said the program is intended to promote a love of reading through a love of horses.

“They’re so big and they can be so gentle and approachable,” Perry said about horses. “It’s incorporating education with animals, instead of just sitting in a classroom and reading about something.”

Perry was one of about two dozen volunteers who worked at Tuesday’s event. Gene Gaither, another volunteer, drove about four hours from central Arkansas for it.

Gaither ran the nutrition station, teaching students what a horse eats and what it takes to care for one. This is the eighth year he’s worked for Horse Tales.

“It’s all volunteer,” Gaither said. “No one draws a penny.”

Kelsheimer, 73, said he enjoys showing his trick horse and pony, especially to children.

“It’s something to do,” he said. “Kids always appreciate it.”

Kelsheimer led Frosty the horse through a series of tricks, such as sitting down, balancing on a tire-sized turntable and hula dancing.