TRAIL HORSE ADVENTURES HONORED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KIDS CAMP

Sedona—Trail Horse Adventures was recently honored for their participation in four, six-week pilot programs targeting underprivileged children, held at Rawhide in Scottsdale, Arizona. Trail Horse Adventures provided the horses to facilitate the program, which is organized and operated by Horsesense, a non-profit organization. “The response has been overwhelming,” Tom Yoke, owner of Trail Horse Adventures, said. “The Horsesense committee received numerous letters from the kids thanking us for providing them with an opportunity to ride horses and attend the camp. These types of free programs are extremely beneficial for children. Kids just open up around horses. We are planning a program that will take place at Trail Horse Adventures in the fall, with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization of Cottonwood to provide the opportunity for kids to have an experience similar to the Horsesense program.

Horsesense worked with Scottsdale school districts and sponsors to provide the four, six-week camps a year for children. The Scottsdale School District liked the program so much that they provided buses to transport the kids to Rawhide each Saturday during the camp. The program teaches children life skills such as riding a horse, horse safety, first aid, desert survival, tobacco and drug prevention, social skills and desert wildlife.

“ Riding horses specifically for therapeutic purposes has helped kids with diverse disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, eating disorders and substance abuse, according the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). Riding can improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development and emotional well-being,” according to NARHA.
Other sponsors of the Horsesense Camp were Rawhide, the Scottsdale Charros, Rural Metro and Health World.

BELOW ARE TESTIMONIALS FROM KIDS WHO ATTENDED HORSESENSE CAMP

· "Every single day we learned something. Everyday was an adventure. The part I didn’t like was the trail ride because it was TOO SHORT!"

· "I am so happy I got to go to Horsesense!"

· "Thank you for paying my way to ride a horse, I really appreciate it. I had so much fun!"

·" I loved most about it was how you taught us the horses have feelings too."

· "Thank you for the opportunity to ride horses and to learn about desert survival and tobacco. I love to rope and ride horses. I was sad when it was over because I had so much fun."

· "Thank you for letting us have fun and learn at the same time. I will never forget this six - weeks, ever. I’ll never forget these weeks because I’ll have all the stuff you gave me."

· "Thank you very much. I have never ridden a horse before and I have always wanted to. I learned a lot."

· "This is an awesome camp and thank you. Do it again next year!"

For more information, call Trail Horse Adventures (928) 282-7252