Youth Z's Story

Before I came to Eat, Sleep, Ride CIC, in School, out of school and at home was very hard. Keeping a good and stable mindset was a struggle on its own, without having to speak to other people and be in the same seat for nearly an hour. I was on a constant spiral of forgetting things, getting angry, and not wanting to move in the mornings.

When I first started at Eat, Sleep, Ride CIC I didn’t really know many of the people that were there but made friends very quickly. One of the best friends I had was Ruby, one of the ponies at Eat, Sleep, Ride. She stopped me from spiralling and she saved my life and helped me realise my worth.

During my journey with Eat, Sleep, Ride I have learned to take things slow and when things don’t always go to plan, it's okay to start again and take your time. Since being with Eat, Sleep, Ride I have been doing Flexi schooling and that has helped me so much. Being sad all the time got really frustrating and being dyslexic and trying to read on top of it all was a massive weight on my shoulders.

I would describe my experience at Eat, Sleep, Ride as eye-opening, forward going and fun. Three words don’t begin to describe how much Eat, Sleep, Ride has helped me. Without it, I honestly don’t know if being here today would be possible.

Youth Z originally came to ESR as a Volunteer, they now attend Monday – Thursday on their Flexi school placement and attend school for half a day on Friday to work on Maths and English. This was due to the anxiety brought on by the pressure of learning in a school environment. Youth Z would often skip school, and their behaviour at home was deteriorating as a result.

Youth Z has always found horses therapeutic and cannot imagine a time where horses are not in their life.

A learning structure was quickly put in place and Youth Z is currently working on their Association of British Riding School Equestrian Care Award and has just started work on their Youth Achievement Award. For the award, they would like to arrange an Open Day, with outside stalls and a raffle raising proceeds for ESR. The theme of the event will be Inclusion, Diversity and Equality. Youth Z expressed they would like an event where everyone could “be themselves”.

Youth Z seems very enthusiastic and is a conscientious worker most days and is enjoying learning in a different environment from school. Youth Z finds their own way of working, for example, making notes to keep track of instructions to follow. Youth Z has new grown confidence in this setting and looks forward to all the experience and learning they can gain from the upcoming projects as well as the ones they are currently working on.