TULSA, Okla. — Kimberly Whayne, owner ofOvercross Counseling and Equine Services, is introducing dozens of students to horses and social emotional development.
“For our kiddos it really develops those social skills,” said Kimberly Whayne.
As Jayanna Wright put her foot in the saddle and settled into place, she knew it was exactly where she wanted to be.
“I wanted to ride a horse to get a new adventure,” said Jayanna Wright.
Monday was the first time Wright had ever ridden a horse.
“I was okay,” said Wright. “I was kind of scared when she was moving around, but after that it was pretty fun.”
It was a reality for many of the nearly 80 kids spending Spring Break at the Whayne Rodeo Arena in north Tulsa.
“We really challenge them to learn, to invest in their time while they’re here and just be all they can be,” said Whayne.
Whayne says Overcross Counseling and Equine Services is an outpatient mental health agency that uses horses to help clients reach their treatment goals. This week, it’s all about the kids.
“It’s really a neat opportunity to let them come out and see the horse, meet the horse, groom the horse, learn about them,” said Whayne. “They get to ride horses and most importantly they get to use the horses in the structured horse games as they learn effective coping skills and different things as far as their social emotional development.”
Whayne says the camp has five focus areas including horsemanship skills, social emotional development, science, reading, and exercise.
“These are all areas that our kids lack in, and they really need some extra support in so we thought it would be a cool way to do that and teach them these things,” said Whayne.
Whayne’s 9-year-old son, Trevor, said he’s learned to use the horses to help regulate his emotions.
“Anytime that you’re sad or feeling bad you can always go to a horse,” said Trevor Whayne.
The group will be at it all week, and Whayne says at the end she wants them to be more comfortable around the horses and have some tools to help them cope in difficult times.
“We are here for our community,” said Whayne. “Anything we can do for our community to improve their mental health that’s what we want to do.”
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