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Horses work their magic for troubled teens

Seeing teenagers guided towards a positive path in life is part of the magic Cat Bycroft experiences each time she volunteers at Tauranga Riding for the Disabled.

The 25-year-old shares her passion for horses and riding during the therapy care programme (TCP) catering for young people aged 12 and above who are grappling with mental illness, troubled backgrounds and the challenges of growing up.

"I think it's hugely important (RDA) especially if you're turning kids that could get into trouble. You're getting them at an age where they're either going to spend the rest of their life in jail or be caring, compassionate people," she said.

Miss Bycroft said the teens were often stand-offish and lacking in trust and confidence when they arrived at RDA. "They don't think they can do much, they haven't had much encouragement or leadership," she said. "(At RDA) they learn that they can do something and there's an animal out there willing to work with them. It's a respect thing too, if you do something right the horse is going to work well with you.

"A lot of the kids have always been a bit different and around the horses it doesn't matter."

Miss Bycroft said she had gained knowledge and a compassion for different kinds of people during her two years at RDA, while the teenagers related well to someone relatively close to them in age.

"I give them guidelines, but I'm there to help them as well, they still have to respect me but I'm there to be their friend.

"I like the TCP programme because you watch the kids develop over the eight weeks.

"They learn so much and at the end of it you see how proud they are when their parents come to watch them," she said.

For Miss Bycroft a passion for horses began as a child. "What is there not to like? I love that they're so trusting and they're just beautiful animals. It's just enjoyable being around them. I will always be a volunteer as long as I can and pretty much every spare moment I want to be up there. It's magical, there's kids smiling and laughing, there's horses that are tolerant of everything, it feels like a little family, there's support for everyone."

Story Michele Mcpherson  Photo Mark Mckeown BOP Times