On June 16th, the life skills class from Black River High School came to see our facilities and meet a curly horse. This field trip came into being because one of the students in the class attends the riding center over the summer months.

She is a young woman who is on the spectrum and riding has been wonderful for her. She has developed a connection with her horse, Sudie Bee, and is thrilled to be riding again this summer.

Last summer was her first experience with horseback riding and no one was quite sure if she would take to it. Well, she blossomed under the loving care of Sudie Bee. This young first time rider became more out spoken with each lesson, took her time to make sure she groomed and cared for Sudie at the beginning and end of her lessons and never forgot to bring 2 apples - one for her and one for Sudie -which they ate together at the end of each session.

When she returned to school in the fall, she was filled with stories about Sudie and her riding. She continued to share her excitement and experiences with her classmates throughout the year.

As the school year wound down and summer approached, anticipation mounted for this young rider, so eager was she to be coming back and riding Sudie again. Teachers and staff were thrilled that she had found a love and focus that also encouraged and aided her growth. They decided that at the end of the school year they would bring the class out to the center so that everyone could see the horses and meet Sudie Bee, the Curly mount- object of this young girl's tales.

At Dream On Curls Riding Center, we were quite impressed with the staff's motivation to take this to the next level and organize the school bus and field trip to the farm so one young girl could have her shining day, sharing her experiences with her fellow school mates in a 'real life show and tell' .

This was also a chance to encourage the growth of respect, responsibility and caring that was developed from the previous summer of riding.