BIG FLAT — There’s something magical about a horse.
Combine that with the magic of reading, and it’s a winning combination.
Seven years ago, Laura and Gene Graves decided they wanted to give something back to the children of Arkansas, and what better way than to find a program that would incorporate the couple’s horses.
“We raise horses, and we wanted to find something children could identify with in the horse world, and every child loves horses,” Laura Graves said.
Graves said she found a program called Horse Tales Literacy Project, formerly known as the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation, based in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Horse Tales Literacy Project is a nonprofit program based on Walter Farley’s best-selling Black Stallion series.
Just like the books, the program is targeted toward first- and fourth-graders.
“We went through the steps of the education process and made the program available to Arkansas children,” Laura Graves said. “We have shared over 100,000 books with children in Arkansas.”
Bob Holland of Searcy is also part of the program. He said he visits schools with his horse and gives students their books in March.
First-graders get Little Black, A Pony and Little Black Goes to the Circus. The fourth-graders get The Black Stallion.
Then in May, the students have a field day, either in Searcy, Rose Bud or Big Flat, when they can read to the horses and learn about the animals and how to care for them.
Holland hosts a field day at the White County Fair Grounds in Searcy.
“The horse is a character in the book,” Graves said. “Either Little Black or Big Red.
“One child had a stutter, and reading to the horse, she didn’t stutter. One child wouldn’t speak, then she sat down and read to the horse. … Horses are so large physically but such a kind-spirited animal.”
Trish and Ron Adams of Rose Bud also host Horse Tales events at Rose of Sharon Ranch in Rose Bud. The ranch is owned by Drs. Mike and Karen Pallone.
“We gather lots of volunteers because without volunteers this does not work,” Trish Adams said.
At each of the field days, there are five stations for the children to visit: nutrition, grooming, tack, horseshoeing and reading.
The field day at the Rose of Sharon Ranch includes fairy godmothers in sparkly dresses who help the kids make wishes on the Dream-Big Horse.
“It’s a light-gray horse, and the kids dip one finger in finger-paint and place it on the horse and make a wish,” Adams said.
Graves said it’s not only a day the children will never forget, but it makes reading fun.
“We want to create lifelong readers, and we want them to read for the joy of reading,” Graves said.
For more information on Horse Tales, or to book a field day, call Graves at (870) 746-4500 or (870) 213-5216.
To learn more about the project, visit horsetalesliteracy.org.
Staff writer Jeanni Brosius can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or jbrosius@arkansasonline.com.
Three Rivers, Pages 119 on 05/27/2012