EQUESTRIAN CLASSROOM: STUDENTS DO TEACHING AT HORSE ARENA

FRUITLAND -- Jackson Middle School students received a different type of educational experience Wednesday when students became teachers and the classroom was moved to Flickerwood Arena.

Nearly 320 students attended Equine Day '99 to learn how to groom, saddle and tack horses correctly. The students also learned about general horse safety and anatomy during the sixth annual event.

"The unique thing about this is the kids are teaching the classes," said organizer and sixth-grade teacher Dan Stover. "It's a lot of fun and educational at the same time."

Stover has been grooming his students to teach different seminars for the event for several weeks. Many of the students had practical knowledge of horses because they own them or are around them, he said. His job, then, was to teach them how to write lesson plans, organize notes and speak to an audience.

Ashley Penny, 12, talked with students about quarter horses. Although she doesn't own a horse, she was grateful for the information she learned while preparing for Equine Day.

"I've been around horses before," she said. "I was in the stand and I read about horses. I learned a bunch of stuff, though, like not to walk behind a horse because that might be dangerous."

Stover said the experience helps students in several ways. Besides the knowledge they gained from preparing a curriculum, they also developed research and public-speaking skills, and they gained exposure to a possible career choice.

"We've got quite a few that do want to teach," he said. "Kids teaching kids seems to work very well, and this just seemed a way to give them a good idea what it's like to be in front of a class speaking."

Justin Oliver, 13, was one of the students attending peer classes. Oliver said he knew most of what was taught because he lives on a farm. The benefit of the day for him was enjoying a day out of the classroom and being around the horses.

"I did learn how to saddle a horse, but just being around animals was the best part," he said.

Besides the peer teachers, 11 students were on hand as riders for the event. Whether they were walking a Tennessee Walker to demonstrate a gait, running at full gallop to show off a quarter horse's speed, or posing to indicate why a miniature horse is aptly named, the students looked forward to showing off their equine friends.

"It's a good experience for the horses, and it's fun just to show off your horse to your friends," said Kelly Rees, 13, who rode her Tennessee Walker Joe during the event.

Rees said although riders had a fun time being with their horses, they also had to do a lot of work during and leading up to the event. Even so, she said she enjoyed the day out of her traditional classroom.

"We had to get them ready the night before, get up really early to get them here and warmed up, ride them and make sure they were brushed and fed and watered," she said. "The first time I rode (in front of the crowd), he took off on me, but after that he got used to it and calmed down some.

"It was a lot of work but it was fun, too," she said.