Reinbow Riding Center makes a stop in Proctor – Rutland Herald

PROCTOR The Reinbow Riding Center in Shrewsbury had to cancel its usual operations this year because of the pandemic, but on Thursday students at Proctor Elementary School got to meet Cutie, and learn a little about life around the barn.

Its a therapeutic horse program, and weve been working with the schools for the last four years, said Janet Upton, volunteer coordinator and member of the Reinbow Riding Centers board of directors. The schools identify what kids they think would benefit from the program.

The center is able to work with schools via a grant from the United Way of Rutland County. Its latest grant lets it work with kids in Rutland City, Mount Holly, Proctor and Shrewsbury schools, said Dardy Pour, a volunteer and member of the centers board of directors.

Not all of its work is connected to schools, however, and it regularly seeks out grants and donors.

We work with kids that have challenges emotional, physical, behavioral we work with kids that have cerebral palsy, kids that are behaviorally challenged, said Upton.

The first thing children learn is how to be safe around horses.

On Thursday, three kids whove been working with Reinbow Riding Center showed off some lessons to their classmates with the help of Cutie. Jalynn Lees, Kwinlan Tardif and Frankie Eugair demonstrated the brushes to use and in what order, and how to behave around the large animal.

With the help of Reinbow volunteers, they explained that horses, like people, exhibit certain behaviors when theyre nervous. This being Cuties first time at a school, she was prone to pacing around and scraping the ground with her hoof. The kids saw how to let a horse pace when it wants, and how to keep calm around it. Eventually, Cutie was calm enough to don a ghost costume and let the kids put Halloween stickers on the sheet.

Lees said she often works with a horse named Fonda. She likes the Reinbow program because its more fun than her usual school work. Horses are also rather cuddly and soft, according to Lees.

Its as easy as math, said Tardif, talking about the care and riding of horses. He normally rides a horse named Jet. He said its important to not stand behind a horse, and to not yell when around them.

Eugair, who rides a horse named Frosty, said hes ridden horses before, and learned how to groom them through this program.

All the children were given wooden horse heads to decorate. Lees and Tardif said they wanted to paint theirs to resemble demons, while Eugair said he would take the more natural route.

They started out just brushing for a few weeks, and by the end they were riding, said Christy Coloutti, principal of the Proctor Elementary School.

Coloutti learned about the Reinbow Riding Center through Dardy Pour, a program volunteer with whom she worked previously in Rutland City.

She reached out to us and asked if Proctor Elementary School would be interested. I did a little research on therapeutic horseback riding and I thought it would benefit students, said Coloutti.

This is the schools second year with the program. The idea was to keep working with the same group of students for a few years to get a baseline of data on how well it works. Its too early to tell conclusively, said Coloutti, but right now it appears the program has at least boosted the students confidence.

Confidence and self-control are two big lessons horses teach, said Upton. Many of the students dont communicate well, but once they start talking to the horses, they soon open up to the adult humans helping them. Eventually, they learn to ride the horse and give it directions.

And when they do that, theres an immediate surge of confidence in these kids, when these big horses listen, Coloutti said.

Reinbow Riding Center was founded in 2008. According to Upton, it has outgrown its site in Shrewsbury and plans to move to Mount Holly in the spring. Visit reinbowridingcenter.org for more information about the program.

keith.whitcomb

@rutlandherald.com

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Reinbow Riding Center makes a stop in Proctor - Rutland Herald