News Article

Riding high with positive feeling

From a shy, wandering child who did not speak until she was 7, Shanaya Schuster blossomed into a confident girl who has found her passion with Tauranga Riding for the Disabled.

Now 12, the Omokoroa No 1 School student has delayed development and was mute until she was 7.

But talking to the bubbly girl, whose smile lights up the classroom, it's hard to imagine she was ever shy with a negative outlook on life.

The school's special education needs co-ordinator Megan Coombes said Shanaya loved sports, particularly basketball, but with no girls' team at the school another idea was needed to give her a passion of her own.

"When she was first there she would be quite scared and she would often be quite negative."

Now into her third term at RDA, the transformation has amazed both Mrs Coombes and Shanaya's teacher aide, Jen Maxfield.

"She now sits up straight and smiles, and is a lot more positive. She's got this real sense that she's got success with it," Mrs Coombes said.

Each week Shanaya collects photos and videos of her sessions at RDA, then writes a blurb about her experience. At the end of each term she delivers a Powerpoint presentation to the students in her class.

Mrs Maxfield said the class responded "brilliantly" to these presentations, while horse riding also gave Shanaya a way to relate to other girls in her class.

"They quite enjoy it actually," Mrs Maxfield said.

The interaction with the staff and volunteers at RDA has also helped develop Shanaya's conversational skills.

"She's trying humour which is never something that she would have tried with adults before," Mrs Coombes said.

Shanaya described the RDA experience as "good" and "fun" while the highlight was riding her favourite horse, Honey.

Mrs Coombes said the school felt confident they were sending Shanaya, and other students in the past, to "a really safe and encouraging, inspiring environment" at RDA.

"They just feed our kids with great positive ideas."

Story Michele McPherson  Photo John Borren  BOP Times