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Ride to Read Lessons

Lessons take place at the Blue Oak Ranch in Three Rivers, CA. Each lesson lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. They begin with the students greeting their horse and being fitted for a riding helmet. The student usually starts by helping lead the horse with the assistance of an adult volunteer in the riding arena where the lesson takes place. Lessons can also occur in the round pen (a 60' diameter enclosed training/riding pen), or on a short trail course. After this brief time of leading, students are mounted on their horse under the supervision of the riding instructor. The next 30 minutes are spent with the mounted students doing various activities such as exercises to music, word searches around the arena, spelling games, and other activities to warm up the body and the brain.

After this, our teachers come in and work with the students individually on whatever challenges they have in reading. They continue to work with the students while mounted and incorporate all sorts of visual and tactile props to promote learning. Letters, books, and games are all used by the teachers to encourage a deeper confidence and connection to learning during this time.

Students are then dismounted and the teachers take the students into our classroom in the barn. Students spend time writing, reading, drawing, and listening to stories as they interact with their teachers. Sometimes they write a story about their horse, and sometimes they listen to stories about their horse. Often they even go out and read to their horse!

The time flies. We see many smiles, hear lots of laughter, and often see a whole new attitude about reading form in our students. Yee Haw!!

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