Arizona
The Benefits of the Equestrian Classroom
By Sherri Mell 2X Hall of Fame Cowgirl
Mar 26, 2008, 17:12

I am lucky to have a variety of classrooms. I am the Certified Adapted Physical Education Teacher for the Edgewood School District in San Antonio, TX. I am certified in 11 sports in Special Olympics and have about 70 athletes involved in 5 sports currently. Several of my athletes ride horseback at Special Olympics/Inclusive Riding Camps with ROPER (Riding Opportunities Promoting Exceptional Riders). We just finished Spring Break Camp on Horseback. The Special Olympics Area 20 event is coming up April 19, 2008. Volunteers are needed for this event so the riders can be successful. Here is an example of that success!

In my classroom (when I am in the arena and not the gym), the students learn the meaning of team work from horseback and from the ground while working with their equine partner. They play games from ring over pole to bean bag and egg and spoon while on horseback. They maneuver their horse through obstacle courses and patterns that they have never even attempted on foot! Some of my athletes are wheelchair bound and the horse is their mobility tool.


Here you see Bianca Zapata, a new Special Olympics Athlete getting
to know her new Equine partner, Genuine Lil Judi (ApHC).
Judi and Bianca hit it off really great. I had told Bianca that she may not
ride the first time she comes out but we would see. It depended on a
lot of situations. Things had to be just right, there would have to be enough
man power to get her and her wheelchair through the sand in the arena to
the ramp (there was), there had to be enough volunteers to walk with her,
beside her, carry her necessary equipment, lead the horse, ride with her,
etc. (there was). How could I keep this little girl from her dream of “riding
a horse” any longer. You see, she had told me about 2 months ago, in the
classroom that she had always dreamt about riding a horse. At this time,
Bianca did not even know that I had horses. I produced a Special Olympics
Athlete Enrollment and Medical Release to her nurse at school and they
took it from there. I was so overwhelmed when they really showed up to
ride! The smile on her face never faded. Her mother was constantly wiping
the tears from her eyes. My mind was working on full stress mode from the
time Bianca arrived at CAMP ROPER that evening until I got her dismounted.
I did not have time to really look at the joy that everyone else did. As you can
see, I was highly concentrating. It isn’t fun and games and this is not for
everyone, let me tell you. In order to do these high level skills with a horse
and a highly involved medically fragile child/individual is not for the faint at heart. I was trying to figure out just how we would do all of this with Bianca for the
first time. There is no book that tells you step by step with Special Needs. Sure, I was scared at first to do all of this but It is not “rocket science” (taken from my late friend and Adapted PE teacher, Marion Brown), but each case takes individual care and needs.

Many people ask me what the benefits of Equestrian Therapy are. Here are a few of the benefits that a student learns. The students learn balance, directionality, spatial awareness, directionality, control, social skills, responsibility, safety, and so much more while riding a horse; it is an article in itself! Each student has an Individual Riding Program, much like the Individual Educational Program utilized in the Special Education Field with them. They have goals and objectives that can be obtained and skills that can emerge through riding. There is an endless reward from the back of a horse, even from the ground, just being beside the horse. While I let Bianca get acquainted with Judi, some things happened that I was not aware of. I was busy with other athletes and horses. After Bianca was done, her mom told me this; “Oh, you didn’t see, Coach Mell. Judi just leaned down and was breathing on Bianca. At one point, she put her whole nostril over the top of Bianca’s nose and just breathed all over her!”
Athletes learn how to trust others, through trusting their horse and volunteers! They gain muscular and cardiovascular endurance while riding as well as posture. Their self esteem often improves as well.

Coming up is Equestrian Competition April 19, 2008 at the Bexar County Mounted Sheriff Posse Arena.

I have a variety of classrooms. I work in Life Skills classrooms, gymnasiums, tracks and fields, basketball and volleyball courts and arenas. When people ask me what my classroom looks like, what does my bulletin board look like, I say something like this; “It is usually about 100’ X 300’ and is either grassy or sandy. Sometime, it is open land.” Don’t let this fool you though, I am known in my Special Education Dept. for putting up the bulletin board each month with new photos of my athletes that are dressed sometime in team uniforms for basketball and other times, cowboy boots and jeans.

God gave me the horses; he put these reins in my hand. I am so blessed to be able to put them in the hands of others. Whatever it takes, I will do God’s work with my horses. What a team this ROPER Team is!




Sherri Mell, PE Teacher
2X Hall of Fame Cowgirl
ATPE Member
AAPHERD & TAHPERD Member
Tom Landry Coach Of The Year (SOTX)
Special Olympics Coach (11 Sports)
AAPHERD Southern Dist. Adapted PE Tea. Of the Year
VFW Post 837 Teacher of the Year (Multiple times)
WPRA Life Time Member
PWBR Life Time Member
APHC Life Time Member
Oh, yea almost forgot, Multiple World and National ApHC/WPRA Champion



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