Mike James
The Independent
ASHLAND —
Anne Burchett took a friend to school Friday.
Rusty Be Quick is her name and she is part quarterhorse, part Arabian and part thoroughbred.
The two of them treated Anne’s sixth-grade classmates to a demonstration of horsemanship and a lesson on some of the disciplines in which top equestrians will be competing at the upcoming World Equestrian Games later this month.
Sixth-graders at Oakview Elementary watched as Anne and Rusty went through their paces around the school yard. They walked, trotted and cantered about and then paused for questions along with Anne’s riding instructor Susie Duncan, who was riding her own horse, Petra.
Principal Nancy McHenry arranged the visit because she wants to make sure students know about their proud Kentucky heritage and the honor that hosting the games brings to the Commonwealth.
Anne, who is 11 and barely four feet, 10 inches tall, towered over her classmates once she mounted Rusty, who is 15 hands high. Clad in the regulation black helmet, blazer and knee-high boots of equestrian competition, she demonstrated her own favorite discipline, called dressage. “It’s like ballet on horseback,” she said.
Her job is to lead Rusty through a precise routine of different gaits. It takes much practice and close communication with the horse. “It’s very challenging. You set a goal and you can keep going to higher levels,” she said.
Anne is planning to attend the games in Lexington, which run from Sept. 25 through Oct. 10.
Some representatives of Alltech, the major sponsor of the games, are planning a visit to Oakview Sept. 13 and McHenry wanted to make sure students understood the significance. “We don’t do enough to let our kids know about Kentucky. I mean, this is like the Olympics,” she said.
McHenry figures it doesn’t hurt for students to see that one of their peers has devoted time and energy to developing equestrian skills. “They’re learning through their classmate,” she said.
Character education, in short — through Anne, students see the fruits of commitment, ambition and hard work. Anne often rises at 5 a.m. on a riding day to get her horse ready, and she provides much of the care her horse needs.
Taking students outdoors is a subtle lesson itself, McHenry said. “They’re finding out that learning doesn’t just happen inside a school.”
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
