Lexington, KY - There's something special about the connection between a horse and a child. Every girl dreams of a Black Beauty or Rachel Alexandra, and what young cowboy travels without his trusty steed?
Despite Kentucky's storied relationship with the Thoroughbred industry, not all children of the commonwealth have the opportunity to interact with Keeneland's four-legged legends - or even those of fairy-tale lore.
Fictional horse heroes are out of reach for many young Kentuckians as well, despite the commonwealth's respectable rating in the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress. In 2011, 35 percent of Kentucky fourth graders and 36 percent of Kentucky eighth graders could read at or above proficiency, compared to 32 percent for both grades nationwide.
During the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in October 2010, Kentucky Horse Park volunteer and avid horseback rider Mollie Jameson had a vision of how to bring books and horses closer to Kentucky's kids when she caught a glimpse of Florida's Black Stallion Literacy Project at the International Museum of the Horse.
"The mission of the Black Stallion Project combined a love of the horse with a love of literacy through a really great horse book and a live equine experience," Jameson explained. "They go hand in hand."
The Kentucky Horse Park extended the Black Stallion Literacy Project to as many counties as they could acquire funding for, delighting more than 10,000 central Kentucky first and fourth graders for two years with three horse-related books from Black Stallion author Walter Farley.
"I like to say that those first two years, the Black Stallion Literacy Project gave us four legs to stand on," said Jameson. "They showed us how to do the program and what was involved."
Teachers, librarians and students were overwhelmed and overjoyed at the literary generosity of the project. When the Black Stallion Project changed directions late last year, The Kentucky Horse Park and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation took the opportunity to branch out on their own, creating the Kentucky Horse Park Literacy Program.
"This gave us an opportunity to change authors and books and hopefully go into other grades," Jameson explained. "This year, the entire student body at Russell Cave Elementary School (kindergarten through fifth grade) has been given the opportunity to participate."
"I was excited when I heard of the formation of the KHPLP," said volunteer Katherine Wheeler. "We have a chance to change the focus and really relate the program to our region."
This year, the program introduced War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, prior to the opening of the book-based film, as well as Meghan McCarthy's Seabiscuit, the Wonder Horse for younger children.
This past fall, 4,500 copies of War Horse were distributed to fourth-grade students in Fayette, Woodford, Bourbon, Grant, Scott, Clark and Madison counties. The first graders will receive Seabiscuit this month, when a live equine representative from the Kentucky Horse Park will visit schools with a literary gift to participating students. Each student will have the opportunity to interact with the resident horses at that first meeting.
"This is a great way to engage a new generation of horse fans," Wheeler said. "War Horse and Seabiscuit are stories that have received critical acclaim from those inside and outside of the industry. What an opportunity!"
From downtown Lexington to the rolling hills of Midway, many Kentucky children have never seen - much less touched - a horse.
"When the horses pull up outside of these schools, the reaction is amazing, and when students visit the Kentucky Horse Park for the show, there is electricity in that arena," said Moynihan. "It's something that you just can't explain. They're shaking they're so excited."
Students might be intimidated by reading to adults, but they are fearless in front of their newfound equine friends.
"They just sit down and start to turn the pages," said Jameson. "That's what it's all about."
After reading Seabiscuit, the Wonder Horse, participating first graders are invited to watch a live reenactment of the famous Seabiscuit/War Admiral race at the Kentucky Horse Park in April. Fourth graders will see a War Horse-themed show in the Alltech Arena in March. Both events are sold out.
Over the last two years, KHPLP has worked with more than 15,000 children from schools in 11 Kentucky counties. Jameson's hope is to expand to other grades and to broaden literacy and the love of horses to a greater number of schools throughout the commonwealth.
"We've chosen first and fourth grade, because first grade is all about learning to read, and fourth grade is about reading to learn," she said. "But we hope to be involved in literacy awareness for every grade."
In addition to the first and fourth grade programs, the KHPLP has donated books to the Kentucky Children's Hospital, Clay County elementary schools, Toys for Tots and the Blue Grass Farms Charities.
"We are open to working with anyone on equine and literacy-related projects," Jameson said. "Our mission is to expand a love of horses and a love of literacy throughout the commonwealth."
The Kentucky Horse Park Literacy Program is funded entirely through private donations and led by a dedicated group of community volunteers. The program's 2011-2012 sponsors include: Kentucky Bank, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, UKHealthCare Kentucky Children's Hospital, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, PNC Bank, The Little Foundation and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, among others.
"We love children. We love horses. And in Kentucky we need them both to succeed, so we are delighted to be able to expand our Kentucky Horse Park Literacy Program, which will allow us to reach out to far more children across the commonwealth," Jameson said.
For more information on the program or to donate to the KHPLC, contact Jameson at (859) 509-1915 or
molliejam@gmail.com.