Tyler can hardly contain his glee as he again passes his father's ringside seat. Beth Jennings, an experienced horseback rider, was hired by the Athletics Department to teach three sections of the new class to a total of six children and their parents, who learn the basics of riding and horse handling and care over the course of 10 weeks. For some of her students, the class offers their first real opportunity to ride a horse themselves. So 'Pony Tales' is designed to be an introduction for both of them. One of the main goals of the class is to help children and their parents feel as comfortable as possible about how to handle horses, while also impressing upon them the importance of safety and the kind of commitment having a horse takes, she says.
Kids can just spend hours in a barn with horses.
Class size is purposely kept small so that children get individual attention and for reasons of safety. For Ms. Rosenblatt, safety is the number-one issue when it comes to having Danielle ride. But Danielle really loves horses and she persevered. I'm beginning to feel a lot more comfortable about the whole thing. Of course, I probably won't ever be as fearless as Danielle, but we'll see.